Brief history - FC. Barcelona

Associated with FC Barcelona, ​​the club's history can be clearly divided into three major stages. At first, this club always move from the field to another field. In the second stage, the club settled by finding a place that remained at Les Corts. And in the third stage, and the construction of Camp Nou, reflect on the development and glory of this club on a global scale.

The old Les Corts field, unveiled in 1922, was rebuilt several times to provide a place for a growing fan base. After the Spanish Civil War, the club began attracting more members each year, which also meant a much larger audience in matches.

This increased support is an inspiration for several development projects, from the southern wicket (1946), the north goalkeeper (1950), and the main tribune capacity (1944). However, it becomes increasingly clear that what the club really needs to do is build a whole new stadium, and therefore, the board of directors combines all these developments into Les Corts with plans to make the dream of a new stadium a reality.

NEEDS A NEW STADIUM From 1948, people were increasingly passionate about the idea of ​​building an entirely new field, but this was not an easy thing to do, and it was necessary to convince the local authorities that the new stadium would be compatible with the plans at that time to develop the upper area of ​​the Diagonal. It is often said that what ultimately leaves the council convinced that there is no choice but to build a new field is the joining of Ladislau Kubala, now known as the legendary and one of the best players ever at FC Barcelona. And although there is no doubt that Kubala attracted more interest than ever in this team and means the spirit of the club is increasing, the decision to build a new field is inspired by two League titles won in 1947-48 and 1948-49 before the The famous Hungarian signed a contract with the club.

In fact, the first definite step towards a new stadium came in September 1950, fifteen days before Kubala played in his first friendly match with the new Barça colors. It was then that President Agustí Montal y Galobart chose to buy land in an area known as La Maternidad, a choice to be made only two months later. Next was a turbulent period, when the Camp Nou commission decided on 9 February 1951 to change the location of the new stadium to the area above Diagonal, and this resulted in a series of fruitless negotiations with the Government that seemed to be fruitless. This issue seems to be closed for good when Francesc Miró-Sans won the FC Barcelona presidential election on November 14, 1953. The new president was a strong supporter of the idea of ​​building a new stadium as soon as possible and one of the first things he did after taking office on 18 February 1954 was set a new stadium in the place purchased in 1950, not a place located at the top end of the Diagonal. And then, on March 28, in front of a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans, the first stone of Camp Nou to be built was put under the presidency of the civil governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Gregorio Modrego.

DEVELOPMENT (1954-1957) Architects for the new stadium are Francesc Mitjans Miró, cousins ​​of Miró-Sans, and Josep Soteras Mauri, in collaboration with Lorenzo García Barbón. More than a year later, on July 11, 1955, the club handed over construction work to INGAR SA company, which rated the project as 66,620,000 pesetas, claiming the construction would take 18 months. However, the stadium ultimately costs far more than the initial estimate, the final total of about 288 million pesetas, the amount to be closed through the successive issuance of mortgage bonds (100 million pesetas) and short-term bonds (60 million pesetas).

This step means the construction of the stadium can be financed, but will cause this club to bear large debts for a long time. INFORMATION The date of the inauguration of the stadium was September 24, 1957. A special commission was established which the task was to carry out an appropriate opening ceremony, with two persons responsible for its implementation: Aleix Buxeres (public relations) and Nicolau Casaus (organization). At the Salon de las Crónicas Barcelona City Council on Saturday 21 September, José María de Cossío, a member of Real Academia Española, officially announces the celebration of the inauguration of the new stadium opening.

On the same September weekend, a series of international matches al was held at Les Corts and the Palacio Municipal de Deportes by involving various club sports teams. These periods were included in the club's history, and spilled in a series of words by great poet Josep M. de Sagarra in his sonet 'Azul Grana', while the national anthem was written in honor of the new FC Barcelona stadium, and Josep Badia wrote the lyrics for music which Adolf Cabané created. In the Mercè Festival event in 1957, the city was decorated with the colors of FC Barcelona. The celebration continued with the holding of a solemn mass and the blessing of the stadium by the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Gregorio Modrego. Later, Orfeón Graciense's choir featured 'Hallelujah' from Händel while the statue of the Virgin from Montserrat was elevated.

The presidential tribunes were filled with important figures in the sports and political world at the time, including club president Francesc Miró-Sans; José Solís Ruiz, general secretary of the Movement, which is equivalent to the sports ministry at the time; José Antonio Elola Olaso, head of the National Athlete Delegation; Felipe Acedo, Barcelona's civilian governor, and Josep M. de Porcioles, Mayor of Barcelona. Although the stadium is not yet complete, more than 90,000 spectators can witness the event, which continues with representatives from all major football clubs in Catalonia paraded on the pitch, as well as members of other sports teams from clubs and support clubs. The national anthem of the new Stadium was then played and the first game played at Camp Nou kicked off at four-thirty that afternoon.

FC Barcelona played a friendly against Poland's Warsaw. Barça's first line at Camp Nou featured: Ramallets, Olivella, Brugué, Segarra, Vergés, Gensana, Basora, Villaverde, Martínez, Kubala, and Tejada. Eleven others appeared on the field in the second round: Ramallets, Segarra, Brugué, Gràcia, Flotados, Bosch, Hermes, Ribelles, Tejada, Sampedro, and Evaristo. Barça won the match 4-2 with goals from Eulogio Martínez (whose 11th minute kick was the first goal at Camp Nou), Tejada, Sampedro, and Evaristo. In half the game, 1,500 members of Agrupación Cultural Folclórica de Barcelona performed a great sardana dance and released 10,000 pigeons. And this marks a new period in the history of FC Barcelona that has begun.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF STADIY SINCE 1957

When inaugurated, the Camp Nou has a capacity for 93,053 spectators and the field dimension is 107 x 72 meters (currently 105x68, following UEFA regulations).

The main material of construction is steel and concrete. From 1957 onwards, the Camp Nou stadium has undergone many changes and improvements. Among the most prominent were the spotlight placement (1959), the electric scoreboard in Tribune 2 (1976) and the private space, the VIP room and the press room (all in the 1981/82 season). DEVELOPMENT IN 1982 In 1982, the capacity of Estadio del FC Barcelona added 22.150 seats in the third tribune or the top tribune. Thus at Camp Nou added about 115,000 new places (at that time, the viewer did not have to always watch in the chair but also stand). In 1982, Camp Nou became a place for upacra and inauguration from the Spanish World Cup (soccer). Two years later, in 1984, inaugurated the Museum Club, relocated in Tribune 2.

During 1994, new development was carried out. Due to the diminution of 2.5 meters nivel field, then added the seat of the audience at the bottom level, which changed the location of the audience standing behind the goal into chairs and the removal of security holes surrounding the playing field. Before the turn of the century, modified where standing watch with chairs. Thus the existing capacity is close to 99,000 seats that exist today.