Barça Chasing History On The International Stage.

For the fourth time ever, Barça are participating in FIFA’s Club World Cup since its incarnation. Another successful conquest would be a vital accomplishment in the club’s long history regarding their short history of winning on the international stage.

Before FIFA decided to launch the FIFA Club World Cup in 2005, football fans were entertained by the Intercontinental Cup which pitted the champions of Europe against the champions of South America. It was the Super Cup of Super Cups for us football fans. It started out as a home and away two legged cup clash that then became a one match final held at a neutral site in Japan.

Even with Barça’s rich football history, they only featured in this competition once during the 20th century. That was during the Johan Cruyff “Dream Team” era in 1992 after Barça finally ended their long wait and won the European Cup against Sampdoria. Barça would face Brazilian side São Paulo back then in Japan and took the early lead through Hristo Stoichkov. However, the very talented, and in my opinion historically underrated, São Paulo side equalized in the first half and scored the game winner in final 15 minutes of the match. Thus, Barça were denied their first ever Intercontinental trophy.

Barça’s failure to win another Champions League meant only Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were the only Spanish clubs to win the Intercontinental trophy. Real Madrid won it a record three times while Atlético won it once even though they were European Cup runners-up because European Champions Bayern Munich declined to participate. The trophy back then was considered too dangerous to play for because of the tendency of South American’s clubs to play rough and dirty in these matches.

Barça’s long wait to win another Champions League title ended when they defeated Arsenal in 2006 under the management of Frank Rijkaard. This triumph meant that Barça booked their first ever ticket in the new FIFA Club World Cup where they defeated Mexican side Club America 4-0 to face another Brazilian club, Internacional in the final. Unfortunately, Barça’s long wait in capturing this elusive trophy would have to continue as they fell to their Brazilian foes 1-0. Barça’s two bites at the apples were denied by Brazilian opposition much to the Blaugrana faithful’s chagrin.

However, Barça proved that the saying “Third time’s a charm” is true when they finally captured their finally ended their wait in 2009. Under the guise of Pep Guardiola, Barça won their first ever treble and then continued their winning ways by capturing the UEFA and Spanish Super Cups. All that was left was for the club to end their hoodoo at this stage and bring home the sixth and final cup of the “Sextuple”. Barça defeated another Mexican side, Atlante, in the Semi-Finals before facing Argentinian side Estudiantes in the final. Barça were down before halftime and it seemed that Barça were going to miss out on this trophy for the third time. Fortunately, the Blaugrana did not relent and  Pedro scored in the 89th minute to level the score and thus became the first player to ever score in all six competitions. Messi’s legend grew when he scored the game winner in extra time with his chest and was awarded the player of the tournament.

Finally, Barça had captured the missing piece for their museum. They would not wait too long to add another one as Pep and the players were back in 2011 after defeating Manchester United, just as they did in 2009, in the Champions League Final. Barça defeated Qatari side Al Sadd 4-0 while resting a few of their key starters. The venue was Japan and Barça’s opponent in the Final was Brazilian side, Santos, which featured a 19 year old Neymar. There was some concern as to whether Barça can end their short comings against Brazilian sides in this competition with the bitter taste of 1992 still in the minds of many fans. Whatever concerns existed were soon eradicated when Barça demolished Santos with three goals in the first half alone through Messi, Xavi and Cesc. Messi scored his second in the second half for Barça’s fourth and final goal of the Final. Messi would win his second player of the tournament which no other player has ever accomplished in this competition’s brief history and also matched Pedro in becoming the second Barça player to ever score in all six competitions.

So here we are in 2015 and once again, Barça are back in Japan. Their Semi-Final opponents are Asian Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande who are coached by former Brazil’s World Cup winning manager, Felipe Scolari. Scolari was once rumored to be the next Barça manager if the Blaugrana had fired Rijkaard during his first season in charge. Fortunately that did not happen and the rest is history. Also featuring for the Asian champions is former Real Madrid player, Robinho, so we will get to see another duel between him and Messi which was widely debated in the Spanish media during Messi’s early years. Messi is also only one goal away from tying another Argentinian, “El Chelito” César Delgado as the competition’s top scorer with 5 goals.

If Barça succeed in defeating Guangzhou Evergrande, they will face Argentinian side River Plate in the final. It’s not too often teams from the world’s two biggest Clásicos get to face one another. In 2000, Real Madrid lost to Boca Juniors in Japan and now the other two Clásicos teams might face one another. There will be a reunion of some sorts if both teams meet in the final since former Barça player and teammate to some of the current Barça players, Saviola, is now a member of River Plate. Saviola was a member of the 2006 Barcelona team that came up short.

Barça will be chasing history and making history this week. Success would mean they would be the only side to ever make it to a fourth Final and also become the first club to win the FIFA Club World Cup for a record third time. This would also mean that they would be only one title behind Real Madrid who won this trophy last year. A loss in the final however would also make them the first side to ever lose in a final twice. But before we think ahead to the final, Barça also have to make sure they do not become the first European side to fail to make it to the final if they fail to handle their business against Guangzhou Evergrande.

Luis Enrique and his players are hungry for success and this trophy will help quench their thirst for more titles. Barça are about to embark on a new adventure where unwritten pages of the next chapter in their history book are about to be typed. Here’s hoping they fill those pages with success and new records.

No Busquets, No Party.

When UEFA.com released its nominees for UEFA’s Team of the Year, one omission struck a nerve with the Blaugrana faithful. It’s not a team if Sergio Busquets is not part of it.

Busquets seems to be one of the most under-appreciated players of this era. Perhaps it is because his style of play on the pitch is so discrete that it is undetectable. It’s hard not to appreciate the hard and dirty work he puts in for the club in every match ever since his debut back in the 2008-2009 season. So when his name was missing from UEFA’s Team of the Year nominees, the Blaugrana fans protested and some even mocked the decision.

Sergio Busquets made his debut with Barça back in the 2008 summer friendlies during Pep Guardiola’s first year in charge. I won’t lie; I had no clue who he was and had to ask, “Is that Busquets’s kid?” when I first saw the name. His father, Carles Busquets, was Barça’s backup keeper, serving as Zubizaretta’s deputy who was mostly remembered for his blunders.

Nevertheless, the son of the goalkeeper whose back of the shirt only has his first name has done a great job in making a name for himself since his debut. He filled in superbly for the injured Yaya Toure at the start of the 2008-2009 season and I had no qualms with him remaining the starter after Yaya was fit. Barça were on a superb run at the time, so why tinker with it. Guardiola also preferred the younger player and Yaya left the club after 2009-2010 season.

Busquets was only 20 during that magical 2008-2009 season that saw the club win a treble. Again, he was just 20 when he started both Copa del Rey Final and Champions League Final and became one of the few players to ever win a treble. Fast forward to today and he is one of the rare few to win two trebles. Since his debut, he has won five league titles, three Copa del Reys, and three Champions League titles along with a World Cup and European Cup for Spain. Yet, Busquets seems to not get the love or the respect that he deserves.

Football fans keep bringing up the “Peek a Boo” incident against Inter in the Champions League Semi-Finals after Motta struck him in the throat with his arm. Motta had already been booked prior to that incident so his sending off was inevitable after that second bookable offense. Yet, Busquets was the villain for his actions. That is an odd reaction seeing as many of those same fans seem to worship Totti even though he was sent off for spitting at an opponent during Euro 2004 and Zidane, who also saw red for head butting Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final.

Busquets is one of those rare players who has a knack for being at the right place at the right time to recover the ball on the pitch while putting his body in harm’s way. Fans might prefer defensive midfielders who are swashbucklers and fly in with sliding tackles to win the ball. Give me Busquets who will be in the right place to win the ball back and then pass it to the right player in an instant while leaving his body in harm’s way. David Beckham received criticism after England’s elimination to Brazil in World Cup 2002 after he jumped to avoid a tackle and lost the ball that resulted into an equalizer from an ensuing counter attack for Brazil. Busquets though is the type of player that would do the opposite to protect his team.

Busquets also possesses superb skills with the ball where his one touch passes are mesmerizing and his first touch is sublime. The opening seconds of the most recent Clásico is a great example of his underrated skills. After the opening whistle blew, Busquets played the role of a matador with a cape to perfection when the bull, Gareth Bale, rushed at him to win the ball, only for the midfielder to drag the ball behind him in a manner much like the matador performing a “veronica” and elude the ball away from Bale.

Fortunately, there are those who do appreciate Busquets. Former Real Madrid manager and current Spanish National team manager Vicente del Bosque once said, “If I were a player, I would like to be like Busquets.” Guardiola paid Busquets the highest compliment possible when he stated, “If I was reincarnated as a player, I’d like to be like him. He’s the best defensive central midfielder in the world. Barça has a priceless player.” After UEFA announced its nominees for team of the year, former Barça player and teammate of Busquets, Éric Abidal said, “Those who have made the list have no idea about football because Busquets isn’t on it.”

Barça fans will forever be grateful for Busquets. This team is not the same without his presence and influence on the pitch. He may not get the recognition that he deserves and he might not care about such recognition. However, what is obvious is if there is no Busquets, there is no party. So the next time you watch a Barça match, pay attention to Busquets while operates and appreciate his body of work.

Crunch Time for Barça.

With possibly nine matches left, Barça are entering the crunch time of their season.

Barça are still on track for an amazing season if all things go according to plan. Their match against Getafe is the last match of April before they enter “Crunch Time” in May. That month alone can see them win all three titles available or some, or worse, none.

Barça have only five league matches remaining in their quest for the league crown. I have been a firm believer that La Liga always comes down to the final five matches of the season. It is a rarity when you see a club win La Liga with a big gap atop of the standings so these next few games will be interesting. Barça’s remaining league matches are against Getafe, Cordoba, Real Sociedad, Atlético and Deportivo. They win those matches, and La Liga is theirs and that could happen sooner if Real Madrid slip up in their matches against Sevilla and Valencia, which are bunched in between their clash against Juventus. They also have a Copa del Rey Final against Athletic Club at the Camp Nou at the end of May too.

Now, some have already ruled them out of the Champions League after being paired with Bayern Munich, but it is not over till the referee blows the final whistle. Yes, Pep and Bayern Munich will be their opponents but you can never write off Barça. It is not that difficult to feel optimistic. While Pep loves his team to play possession football, Lucho has Barça displaying similar features that aided Real Madrid when they eliminated Bayern from the Champions League last season; scoring from direct counter attacks and set pieces. I would not rule the Blaugrana out and do not compare what happened two seasons ago with this team.

So Barça are heading down the final stretch of the season. They just need to remain healthy, focused, and confident, while taking it one game at a time. If they can do that, then the sky’s the limit for them. They just need to take it one game at a time.

Vicente del Bosque’s Possible Successors.

With Vicente del Bosque set to step down from the Spanish national team after Euro 2016, the choice of his successor is still up in the air.

Today, Spain and Holland renewed acquaintances for the first time since the 5-1 drubbing the Oranje gave La Roja in Brazil during their opening World Cup match. Many thought that Vicente del Bosque would step down after that disappointing World Cup where the defending champions exited without qualifying from the group stage. However, the man with the recognizable moustache was still the man in charge of qualifying Spain for the upcoming Euro 2016 and was in the dugout for Spain’s friendly against Holland.

So who are the candidates to become Vicente del Bosque’s Possible Successor?

Michel

The former Madrid player comes from the same pedigree as del Bosque. He came through the ranks at Real Madrid academy and represented club and country. Just like del Bosque, he also managed Madrid at the youth level before making the leap to manage Getafe and Sevilla and Olympiakos in Greece. He found some success with the Greek side by winning back to back league titles and getting them to advance to the knockout stage in last season’s Champions League where they won the first leg against Manchester United at home before being crashing out following a loss in the second leg at Old Trafford. Michel is currently unemployed after his contract was terminated in January.

Pros: He is available and fits the profile with his background as a player for Madrid and his coaching stints.

Cons: Just not good enough to be in charge of the Spanish team.

Julen Lopetegui

Julen is one of the few players to have played for both Barça and Madrid, as a backup goalkeeper. He also came through the ranks at Real Madrid’s academy. His coaching experience consists of a brief tenure with Rayo Vallecano followed by coaching at the youth level with Real Madrid. However, he had great success managing the Spanish national youth teams. He coached Spain to the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2012 and followed it up with a UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2013. He became Porto’s manager this season and succeeded in guiding the Portuguese club to the Champions League Quarter-Finals where his side will face Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.

Pros: His experience and success with Spain’s youth national teams makes him ideal to take over from Del Bosque. Some of those players he managed such as Alcácer, Jesé, Deulofeu, Bernat, de Gea, Bartra, Iñigo Martínez, Koke, Thiago, and Isco are just to name a few. Most of those players are or should be featuring for the national team now so why not have him coach them again.

Cons: Is he ready for this level? At this moment, he is only concerned with managing Porto and is doing well with Porto who are three points behind Benfica in second place in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and has his side in the Champions League Quarter-Finals. However, will there be hesitation by the Spanish Football Federation to go down that road and appoint him after what happened with Iñaki Sáez? Sáez did well with the youth level but was a disaster with the senior team during Euro 2004.

Guardiola

The man does need an introduction. He has found success with Barça B, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich. His teams are known for playing a great style of football and a few of his players, young and old, are still part of the national team set up,. His contract with Bayern Munich also concludes in 2016 so he would be available for the job when del Bosque steps down.

Pros: He is considered one of the greatest managers of the century and it would be absurd not to consider him for the job. The style of football would not be a complete transformation of what he likes his teams to play. He is also not hesitant to play some of the younger players that del Bosque seems to neglect and will tinker with the tactics to suit the team’s needs.

Cons: Does he want the job? He seems interested in managing in the Premier League and perhaps both Manchester United and City will be available for him. Additionally, since he won when Xavi and Iniesta were at the peak of their careers, some wonder if can he adjust to other midfielders. Finally, there is the political aspect of his hiring. Is Spain ready for a Catalan Spanish national team manager who has voiced his support for Catalan independence?

Paco Jémez

Paco Jémez is one of the gutsiest and impressive managers coaching in Spain right now. The Rayo Vallecano manager is known for his attacking style philosophy where he does not accept playing for a draw. He saw some success as a player with both Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Zaragoza and represented Spain during Euro 2000. Most of his managerial experience has been in the lower divisions. However, one cannot deny the work he has done at the top level with Rayo Vallecano thus far. In his first season at the top flight, his side finished in 8th place, and ahead of Sevilla and Athletic Club, which is remarkable considering the club’s limited budget. Last season, they finished 12th and they are currently 11th in a league that has Barça, Real Madrid, Atlético, Valencia, Sevilla, Athletic, Villarreal, and Real Sociedad battling each other. They might not be contending for any titles but a small club like Rayo Vallecano will also not be fighting a relegation battle anytime soon. One only has to wonder what Jémez would be capable of at a bigger club.

Pros: With some claiming Spain’s playing style is boring, Paco’s gusty swashbuckling style of football would be a pleasure to watch with all the talent that La Roja has. He gets the best out of the talent that he has with Rayo Vallecano so imagine what he could do with Spain. He would be the right type of manager to motivate the Spanish players and its fans.

Cons: His hiring is one for the romantics. It is doubtful that the Spanish Football Federation would appoint someone like Paco Jémez. Additionally, unlike the other candidates, he has not won titles as a player or a manager so would the players listen to him? It is one thing to manage a small club and have players listen to you and another thing to walk into a big club or a national team where the players have won a lot, and more than the manager, and expect to take you seriously.

Rafa Benítez

Rafa Benítez may not have been a great footballer but his managerial career has been impressive for the most part. For most of this young century, Rafa Benítez was considered one of the greatest current managers in the game. He managed to win two league titles with Valencia and a UEFA Cup. He then took Liverpool to two Champions League Finals, winning one of them and won an FA Cup along with the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield. However, his career has been in a decline since 2009 where he was let go by Liverpool after finishing 7th in the Premier League. He had a short stint with Inter and won a few cups there and then won the Europa League with Chelsea. He is currently managing Napoli where he has already won the Italian Cup and Super Cup. He started out as a player with the Madrid youth teams and after he retired as a player, he coached Real Madrid Castilla in the mid 90’s and even temporarily served as Vicente del Bosque’s assistant when the latter was appointed as an interim manager following the sacking of Benito Floro during the 1993-1994 season. He found it hard to get going as a manager following coaching stints with Valladolid, Osasuna before finding some success in guiding Extremadura to promotion to La Liga before they were relegated after one season. He then helped guide Tenerife gain promotion which is when Valencia nabbed him to be their new manager and the rest is history.

Pros: His resume speaks for itself. Benítez’s profile matches the same sort of profile of del Bosque regarding his background with Real Madrid, league titles in Spain, a Champions League title and other titles in his career. His deal with Napoli expires after this season and there is talk he might extend his stay at Napoli. He could extend his stay for another season which would coincide with the Spain position being available.

Cons: Realistically, he’s Rafa Benítez. His style of play is considered too defensive and too dull, with former Real Madrid legend Valdano calling it, in a censored way, “poop on a stick.” Furthermore, his magic seems to have run out after that Champions League Final loss to Milan. The fact that Napoli are not fighting for the Italian league title is disappointing seeing as the quality of the rivals in Serie A have dipped and he has failed to take advantage of that.

My final prediction? I have a feeling that when Vicente del Bosque steps down, Spain’s next manager will be… Rafa Benítez. I can’t see the Spanish Football Federation going for the other candidates unless Benítez declines the position. However, I can’t see Benítez declining this position. By this time next year, we will know more on who will be the successor. Spain better choose wisely or risk more disappointments and regression after all that they have accomplished. By the way, Spain lost to Holland 2-0, which is not a good result for del Bosque. The fact that it was a friendly should not change the fact that the results have been disappointing since the summer of 2014 and his successor will have to figure out how to lead this team back to glory. The Spanish Football Federation better choose wisely.

UEFA Forgets Rijkaard’s Barça in UEFA Legendary Moments.

UEFA is celebrating the 60th birthday of the European Cup, A.K.A Champions League, and launched a Legendary Moments video campaign that lets fans all over the world select the tournament's greatest moments. 60 moments were selected by UEFA with 9 of them involving FC Barcelona throughout its history. Yet, UEFA ignored the Barça team of Rijkaard.

UEFA chose 60 videos from the 50’s to the present, with the top five videos voted by the fans to be shown before the Champions League final in Berlin on June 5th, 2015. Barça have 9 legendary moments for fans to vote from. Sadly, there are no Barça legendary video moments from the era of Kubala, Luis Suarez and Ramallets, the era of Cruyff and surprisingly the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.

The 9 Legendary Barça moments are:

• 16/04/86: ‘Pichi’ Alonso hat-trick helps Barça retrieve 3-0 semi-final first-leg deficit against Göteborg.
• 20/05/92: FC Barcelona beat Sampdoria in extra time thanks to Koeman’s fierce free-kickto win first European Cup.
• 02/11/94: Romário and Stoichkhov spearhead FC Barcelona's 'Dream Team' to emphatic group stage defeat of Manchester United.
• 06/05/09: Iniesta’s 93rd-minute effort earns FC Barcelona away-goals triumph over Chelsea and place in Rome final.
• 06/04/10: Messi scores four to take FC Barcelona into semi-finals after Arsenal briefly take 3-2 aggregate lead.
• 27/04/11: Messi scores twice – the second a virtuoso effort – at Barcelona’s great rivals in semi-final first leg.
• 28/05/11: Guardiola’s Barça team beat Manchester United at Wembley to win second European crown in three years.
• 07/02/12: Messi becomes first player to score five in a UEFA Champions League game in 7-1 defeat of Leverkusen.
• 25/11/14: Messi passes Raúl as top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with first goal of hat-trick against APOEL.

I can understand not picking a moment from Kubala and Cruyff eras since the club did not win a title at the time. Yet, Pichi Alonso’s hat trick from the 80’s Barça team made the cut. However, how can the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho be ignored? That team was a phenomenal team that left us with many legendary moments. 

When I look back at that era, you had some classic moments. There is the Ronaldinho game winning goal against Milan at the Camp Nou in 2004, Ronaldinho’s second goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2004, Eto’o scoring that gem when he lobbed the ball from outside the box and over the Panathinaikos keeper at the Camp Nou in 2005, Barça’s awayand home clashes against Chelsea in 2005-2006 Champions League knockout stages, and the unforgettable final in Paris in 2006 when Barça came back from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 with goals coming from Eto’o and Belletti. 

UEFA got it wrong there with forgetting about the 2005-2006 team and that Final. The game is a classic that turned in Barça’s favor once the legendary goal scorer Henrik Larsson came off the bench and assisted on both goals. UEFA ignored the legendary Ronaldinho and the Barça team coached by Rijkaard and that is unfortunate.

Interview with FC Barcelona Historian Ángel Iturriaga.

Over the years, many have written books about FC Barcelona, its history, managers and players. However, not many have written encyclopedias about Barça’s players, coaches, trainers, and presidents throughout the club's history.  Ángel Iturriaga has the claim to fame of doing so, and Penya Member Ibrahim Ayyub was fortunate enough to interview Mr. Iturriaga and answer some questions about Barça’s history and future.

Ángel Iturriaga Barco is a gifted writer and historian, and also a Barça fan. He first publishedDiccionario de jugadores del F.C. Barcelona, back in 2010 and then publishedDiccionario de técnicos y directivos del F.C. Barcelona in 2011. 2013 was a busy year for him as he published Diccionario de jugadores de la selección española and collaborated with David Valero Carreras, on Paulino: el primer crac de la història del Barça, the autobiography about former Barça player, Paulino Alcántara. He has also helped me with his input on the Penya's  "A Look Back At Barça Legends" series. I am honored that Mr. Iturriaga was gratuitous enough to take time for this interview. 

What inspired you to become a sports Writer/historian? 

Ever since my childhood, I had a passion for history, especially contemporary history. I always felt the need to know what generations before mine did, something basic to understand the world in which we live in. The act of publishing my research was somewhat derivative of the same thing; in trying to share the knowledge with whoever shares the same concerns as mine.

How much time and research does it take to write these Diccionarios?

The Diccionarios (Encyclopedias) has been a slow process that I have been working on while doing other research. I have been accumulating data on players, coaches and managers of FC Barcelona for a long time. I published my first two Diccionarios after I managed a large volume of information and data that provided news to the club's history.

It's no secret that you are passionate about FC Barcelona, where does that come from?

Actually, the origins of my passion towards the club come from my father, who was passionate for Barça during the time he lived in the Catalan capital. He always spoke to me of the Barça of Kubala, of Cruyff and journey through the desert. Since childhood, all of this awoke in me with sympathy and curiosity for the club.

What FC Barcelona team was the one that you think was head and shoulders above the rest?

I think it's impossible to compare different time periods because we do not have sufficient data. I think we should mention the magnificent Barça of the twenties and fifties. Without them, the enormous club we know today would not have been successfully built. Yet, for footballing reasons, I think you have to go with Pep Guardiola’s Barça, a sublimation of the idea of playing style that has prevailed in the club since the seventies, the same style that Cruyff improved as a coach.

Who were your favorite FC Barcelona manager and player?

My favorite manager is Pep Guardiola. My favorite player, obviously, is Leo Messi, but I would like to recall a legend, without which nothing that happened after his time, would have been possible, Paulino Alcántara.

Where does FC Barcelona’s "Mes que un club" motto come from?

Traditionally, this stems from a speech given by Lluís de Carreras when he took over the presidency of the club back in 1968. It was a feeling that existed among many Cules but Mr. de Carreras was the first to express it publicly.

Is that still true today?

Certainly. The club is an institution that goes far beyond sports to have great significance in Catalonia, both socially and politically. This has been true since the beginning of the club's history, especially since Joan Gamper took over the presidency.

It seems that FC Barcelona has two playing styles, Cruyff and everyone else? What makes coaching this team difficult?

Since the seventies, FC Barcelona won major titles with only one style, the one imposed by people like Laureano Ruiz, Buckingham or Michels and subsequently improved by Cruyff, Rijkaard and Guardiola. The team has sunk whenever it moved away from that model, as we are seeing today. Children of La Masia have been trained with that style of play that no longer is being practiced today by neither the first nor the second team.

With all the legendary FC Barcelona players to choose from, why did you, along with David Valero Carreras, choose Paulino Alcántara?

Paulino is the first star in in club history. When David and I started working on this book, he was the top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona history only to be surpassed by Leo Messi today. His transcendence was beyond football because he featured in an era when the club was on the verge of disappearance. He made football became a popular sport in Barcelona, and the increase in fans that resulted from that, which made it possible for the club to survive.

When did the rivalry with Real Madrid take off?

In the twenties, Real Madrid already appeared to be a strong rival. However, during the fifties, Real Madrid was the second best team, after Atletico Madrid, from the capital of Spain. After the Kubala signing by the club, who was wanted by Real Madrid, and after the case of Di Stéfano, hostilities began as we know them today.

What went wrong with the Di Stefano signing?

It's a long story, a very convoluted case with many edges. Ultimately, Barça, who had the right to expect the player, the player had to renounce to the Barça president after some threats coming from the Franco regime. To further understand this subject, I recommend reading “El Caso Di Stéfano” by Xavier García Luque and Jordi Finestres and Sid Lowe’s“Fear and Loathing in La Liga” book.

How big of an impact was Cruyff's signing from Ajax?

Cruyff changed everything though he only gave a great performance in his first season. He brought modernity and color to the gray society during the final years of Franco. He managed to be the key man for the club in order to be able to win its first league title in over a decade and a half. His impact was absolute and his signing, in a way, was a symbol of the restoration of Catalonia’s democracy.

Will we ever see anything like the Hesperia mutiny again?

It is very difficult during this era for players with very different interests to all agree on something. We have seen it all in football, but I think it is almost impossible.

Do you agree with those who believe that the club is regressing back to the days of uncertain playing style following Cruyff's firing?

No doubt about it. The current leaders have a great resentment towards Cruyff, Guardiola and all that they both represent. They would like to win with a totally opposite style, although it has been demonstrated that this club can only achieve titles when they return to the Dutch style.

How important has La Masia's role been in the history of FC Barcelona in the past and present, and the future after the Transfer ban?

It has a huge significance. La Masia has been a blessing. It has really only been useful since the arrival of Cruyff, where all teams began to play in a certain way, with equal roles in all lower categories. La Cantera has been the nursery of the club; the pride of the Catalans. Since the arrival of Rosell as president, great masters of it, Capella, Benaiges, Alexanko, Amor, Òscar, Puig, have been dismissed, risking an end to an extraordinary model.

With Atletico winning La Liga last season and Valencia under the ownership of Peter Lim, is La Liga still a two team league?

I think not. Atletico is certainly a team that can already compete on equal terms with Barça and Real Madrid. The project of Valencia is equally interesting, although I think it will take a few years for it to fully materialize.

Has the intensity of media coverage and bias from both Barcelona and Madrid towards their teams, and their rivals, increased over the years or has it always been this way before the arrival of social media?

Absolutely. Since the fifties, the media coverage has increased, as football became a high profile sport and the media continued to spread it. From the seventies, there were already dozens of the media credited to cover one of the biggest games. Today, there are more than 200 types of media around the world covering every game of the top teams.

Did the success of Spain during their amazing run help bridge the gap between Spaniards and Catalans, especially with Catalans in favor of independence?

I do not think so. There was Catalan separatists who were glad to see men like Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets win a World Cup, but in no way did it influence their political visions.

Are there any upcoming books about FC Barcelona players or figures?

I am doing research on the political and social history of the club throughout history. You may have a publication in the future, but not anytime soon, because there is still a series of interviews to conduct that serve to retrieve part of the club’s memory.

Are you a member of a Penya?

I'm not a member although I have collaborated with some who are interested in issues that go beyond just the mere weekly match, as is the case with your Penya. I would encourage the Penyas to become more involved in the social life of the club and to be interested in knowing the history of the club, because to know where we're going, we must know where we come from.

Well Sir, I hope you accept our kind offer of making you an honorary member of Penya Barcelonista De Miami.

Oh, a big honour for me!! Thank you very much!!

If you are interested in knowing more about Ángel Iturriaga Barco, you can follow him on twitter - https://twitter.com/anituarco. He also has a blog dedicated to remembering the recent passing away of former football players - http://jugadoresfallecidosrip.blogspot.com.es/.  His books can be purchased from Amazon website for Spanish and US shoppers.

Barça Needs Elections to Clean House.

2015 is upon us and we are already facing an enormous crisis with our beloved Barça. Barça’s weekend loss to Real Sociedad was followed with the dismissal of Andoni Zubizarreta as the club’s Sporting Director. Pressure is building against manager Luis Enrique and club president Josep Bartomeu, especially with talk of fallout between the manager and Messi. Without a doubt, this is the beginning of the end for this Barça board. 

When the CAS dismissed Barça’s appeal of the FIFA transfer ban, we knew heads were going to roll. Zubi was the likely scapegoat for the club thanks to his personality and his track record in the transfer market.  After Barça’s loss to Real Sociedad, he basically signed his death warrant with his comments to the media. When asked about the transfer ban, Zubi replied, "I assume my responsibility as the person in charge of the football department, but the sporting vice president at the time, Josep Maria Bartomeu, is the one who knew the situation better than anyone." The next day, the club announced that Zubi was sacked.

Zubi decided not to go down without dragging people with him. However, Zubi was correct in his statement. Even though he was the sporting director, president Bartomeu was in fact the one responsible for the Athletic Area of the Club. Yet, Zubi seems to be the one who is paying the price of this error. Nevertheless, that is enough. This board has to got to go. It’s time to call for elections, not in the summer, but now. Of course, that cannot happen so we should expect elections in the summer. My disdain for this board is no secret and there is no reason to discuss in depth the mistakes of this board during both, the presidency of Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu. Graham Hunter, who wrote a marvelous book about Guardiola’s Barça, summarized the failure of this club.

In summary, recent years have seen Barcelona divorce themselves from their spiritual leader, Cruyff; cause Pep Guardiola to feel alienated then leave his post as manager; lose their elected president Rosell over the way Neymar was recruited to the club; misjudge the consecutive coaching appointments of Gerardo Martino and Luis Enrique; disgracefully mishandle Eric Abidal's contractual situation; sack Antoni Rossich, their director general; receive from FIFA a ban from the transfer market and lose at the Court for Arbitration for Sport a hopeless appeal, which was formulated simply to suspend the ban so that the club could restock the squad last summer; haemorrhage football credibility and competitiveness; alienate their best ever goalkeeper; sack their director of football and, finally, mishandle Messi so comprehensively that there is a real danger he opts to leave.

What Mr. Hunter forgot to mention was Barça selling out the club to Qatar via Qatar Foundation/ Qatar Airways, the board losing their lawsuit against the previous president Laporta and his board, lack finding a sponsor for the basketball team shirt, and there’s also the upcoming MCM breach of contract case where MCM are seeking €100 million in damages. So quite frankly, the fans are tired of this club constantly finding itself in a new scandal. Now, we have a fallout between Messi and Luis Enrique where there is talk the manager’s days are numbered.

 Messi did not show up to yesterday’s training session that was open to the public, which upset Lucho. Allegedly, Messi had gastroenteritis and could not make it but then turned heads when he followed Chelsea on Instagram. Perhaps it is a message to the board that he is fed up with the dictatorial style of Lucho, which quite frankly has not resulted in much success or a boost of confidence amongst the players and the fans. Sport conducted a poll that shows the fans are in favor of the player over the manager.

I did caution that people should not expect Barça under Lucho to be like Pep. Both may have played together but both come from different schools of thought. Pep is a Cruyff pupil while Lucho was managed by the likes of Bobby Robson, Louis van Gaal, Rexach and Antic to name a few. So it is not surprising he acts like van Gaal and Mourinho. Unfortunately, Lucho has adopted Mourinho’s toxic attitude and we saw how bad things ended up at Madrid for Mou. We are witnessing the same Mou Casillas battle at Barça with Lucho and Messi. Quite frankly, you would be insane to say Messi has to go. It would be the equivalent of Bulls fans wanting to side with the ownership over Michael Jordan during his prime, especially when voiced his opinionon what his team should do and how he would walk if his coach and Scottie Pippen were not kept. Great players need to be listened to, especially if you are building a team around them, which Barça has done a poor job thus far.

Of course, president Bartomeu is not an idiot. He will not go down in history as the man who sold Messi to Chelsea or any other team. We will see what he has to say tomorrow when he addresses the media. What is obvious is that it is time for a change. Rosell and Bartomeu inherited a great team from Laporta, while he inherited a disaster from Gaspart and Reyna. Barça were once considered one of, if not, the best team in the world. However, this team has regressed under this leadership with Barça being competitors instead of contenders, and Barça B under Eusebio are hovering right about the relegation zone. Financial stability does not mean much when you’re not winning titles and of course it is a profit when bonuses are not being paid to players for not winning titles. Everything reeks, even though they are still competing for all three titles, there is no sense of optimism anymore and they could be out of all three competitions in a couple of months. Thus, it’s time for the board to resign and call for early elections this summer while a Managing Commission takes over for the rest of the season so we can have a clean house of board, football manager, and B team manager. That’s the best way to give the fans some hope and ease the tension for now.