In truth it might be right to say they have experienced a renaissance ever since Joan Laporta became president in 2003, and after him his former chum and now sour enemy, Sandro Rossell.

When Laporta appeared at the club they had not won a major title since 1999 and the self esteem of the squad had plummeted. He brought on board Frank Rijkaard as team coach, who after a slow start started winning matches; and his right hand man (at the time, till they fell out and he resigned from the Barça board) Sandro Rossell used his contacts to sign Ronaldinho.

While the Brazilian player definitely had talent[**] he hadn't always done much with it. However , he did show plenty of flare with FC Barcelona even when they were never making the turn-around needed.

That turnabout happened when Barça signed Edgar Davids for the second half of the season. Whether it was his arrival at the club, or whether his arrival coincided with everything coming together is impossible to claim. What is certain though is that the club started winning game after game. And at last the beaten down Barcelona rose up again and started to become the team it is today.

The club went from strength to strength after that, although Davids decided to come back to his old club after the half season loan. While he could have been missed, the fortunes of the club continued to improve and Barcelona won the second season under Laporta. After that the team continues to go ever upwards and unde Pep Guardiola were the first tea, to win the treble – la liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

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It turns out that the pitch is 2 metres or so below ground level and done in order to increase the stadium’s capacity at some particular point in its history. The Nou Camp was opened in 1957 and though it's been extended and expanded since then, at 1 time it might hold more than 100,000 spectators. Nevertheless there days out because the stadium is all-seater it can only hold 98,000 – that's still plenty of people.

With such a large crowd you might think it takes a very long time to unpack the stadium after a match. However , it is extremely surprising that it empties so fast and actually the club claims to can empty in just 5 minutes. The streets round the stadium get pretty packed though and transport it tough. The roads get blocked by people, buses full and the metro is log jammed with people – luckily I was within walking distance.

When I first started going to look at Barça play it was after a period of relatively inadequate performance and it is fair to say that Laporta inherited a club that had lost any faith in its capability to win trophies.

But with Frank Rijkaard as coach and stars such as Ronaldinho, the club started to win. Though they didn't win the Spanish League that year theydid the following. As significantly they revived their self-esteem and crowds started to come back to watch them play. Nowadays it’s far harder to get good seats at all but matches against the lowliest of teams as season tick holders and club members have the pick of what’s available.

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Nevertheless while Barcelona certainly does have a number of players bought in to strengthen the side, the center of the team went thru Bara’s youth academy and have been playing together for years. This is maybe one of the reason’s for Spain being so strong in the South African FIFA World Cup in 2010 as the majority of the team were FC Barcelona players.

Players such as Lionel Messi, originally from Argentinia, Xavi Hernandez, Carlos Puyol, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Gerard Pique were all talent spotted by Bara’s agents when they were young and joined up for the “masia” as it is known. Even Pep Guardiola attended the masia when he was younger.

The youth academy is one of the most hardly regarded in the world and costs roughly 6 million a year, principally for accommodation for the boys who stay there full time. The minimum entry age is just six years old and so by the time they're prepared to play in the youth selection plenty will have been signed to Bara for a bunch of years.

The academy was advised by Johan Cruyff when he was Barcelona’s chief as he had profited from the youth academy of Ajax in Holland.

The success of the academy is easy to see in the current day's squad. Lionel Messi was 11 years old when he signed with Barcelona; he'd been seen playing in Argentina, but suffered a problem that affected his growth and part of the bargain with FC Barcelona was that they'd pay for his treatment. Given that he is such a extraordinary goal scorer that could have been one of their best investments ever!

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The Spanish League got off to a late start after the 1st round was postponed thanks to a strike by the players’ association. A number of clubs in the top 2 divisions are in administration and lots of players have not received wages as a result. The action against the league was to get them to put into place measures that would guarantee payment or allow the players to terminate their contracts and move to a club that would afford to pay them.

In the end the first match of the season didn't take place and for a period of time it looked like the second match also wouldn't take place either. Nevertheless the two sides reached a last minute compromise and so it was that week 2 was played. Week one has been deferred to Jan, when the second 1/2 the season was due to start, with that match now taking place in May.

Barcelona of course played for 2 more major prizes. First there had been the Spanish Supercup, this year against Real Madrid. Madrid’s coach managed to be as petulant as usual and bad feelings spilled over onto the pitch with several red cards awarded at the end of the match yet again.

At the end Barcelona took that trophy and then the Western european Supercup, against Porto, which was way more friendly. Aside from that they played Napoli in the Gamper Trophy. And one of the top items of FC Barcelona reports is that Cesc Fabregas is now on board, who has quickly fallen into place and added to the goal total.

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For many people the team is summed up by Argentine player Leo Messi. The number 10 for the squad would also be the number 10 for the entire globe if the whole world fielded one team. A hugely exciting player to watch, he can score with either foot and can defeat single-handed the entire opposition defence at times. He can score at anytime and opponents can’t do much to slow him down.

When you have Messi on your team, it’s certainly easier for everyone else to get their own work done as well. They know that some of that attention will be spread to him, and they know that if they set themselves up in the right position, they should find themselves with great opportunities to score and make plays.

Joining the FC Barcelona squad last year was striker David Villa. He’s a great shot and an excellent addition to Barcelona attack. Part of the winning Spanish World Cup squad he’s always keen to make a break for the ball and knock it into the back of the net.

So much of what Barcelona is known for though is their majestic passing game. With the ball in their control they can make many quick passes, quickly wearing out the opposition. The two maestros in the middle of the field are Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The pair of them help to frustrate the opposition while dictating the speed of the game to suit their own team.

Nevertheless, however good they are the opposition team is sometimes going to get a lucky break. FC Barcelona isn’t too shabby on the defensive front either. There they have team captain Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Brazilian Dani Alves. Then in net, one of the most respected members of the team keeps things solid, Victor Valdes.

That’s the reason FC Barcelona goes on winning, again, again and again. With a cast of stars that starts with – but by no means ends – Leo Messi, they have some of the world’s finest players. If you ever have the opportunity to get FC Barcelona tickets, you don’t want to miss out, because this kind of collection of players doesn’t always come around.

While there is a definite buzz beforehand, during the match the stadium breaks into party mode. If you count yourself as a serious football fan then you should definitely see Barça play at least once – and now is the time to make that a realityand experience the excitement and passion of a match at the Nou Camp.

While Barça was unable to match their 2009 achievement of the treble it was notheless an extraordinary year for FC Barcelona.

As I write this the season is over and we’re counting down the (many) days until the season gets going again and the transfer window is open.

 After the 2010 World Cup, which had an impressive tally of Barça players in the lineup for the final including new signing David Villa, the players were really fired up for the start of the season.

That turned into win after win after win for Barça, often with huge goal tallies – a 5-0 win against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu was one of the highlights.
For a time scoring 5 goals seemed to be par for the course but they peaked with an 8-0 awaqy win against Almerica. With a string of wins like that it just shows how dominant Barcelona really was, much more so than the points difference with Madrid.

One of the keys to Barcelona’s success is the high possession and undoubtedly high fitness levels of the squad to maintain that. Their game is beautiful to match, consisting of pass after pass while they control the pace and position of the ball; and when an opportunity opens up it is the trinity of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi that often makes things happen.

Of course one of the best loved players is Leo Messi for his sublime performances. He can create moments of pure magic, whether they work out or not and always makes entertaining football. And workhorses like Carles Puyol, who despite being out of action for a good chunk of the season is hoping for a strong comeback following successful knee surgery.

Of course all that is appreciated by Barcelona’s fans, or Cules as they are known. When the Barça squad is on the pitch it’s as if everyone’s cares in the world have fallen away as they forget about real life and enjoy the spectacle. You can experience the atmosphere and excitement of the Nou Camp too by buying FC Barcelona tickets online. That way you ensure you have tickets in hand when you arrive at the stadium and experience sublime football by one of the greatest teams the world has ever seen!

The top two teams in Europe faced each other at the end of May 2011 for the final of the Champions League, which took place at Wembley. FC Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 and despite a few worrying minutes while they took some time to find their feet, Barça ran rings around their English competitor. Clearly Pep Guardiola’s team were at the top of their game.

How much longer for Barça?

Probably the biggest doubt is how long Pep Guardiola will remain at the club. Even if he continues to deliver as he has since taking over as coach, their is no guarantee that his successor will.

While on one hand Guardiola is FC Barcelona through and through – he played as part of Cruyff’s “Dream Team” and prior to being first team coach he was coaching Barcelona B – but on the other he has said that he doesn’t want to be in the job for 25 years like Sir Alex Ferguson, delivering results year in and year out – the pressure of doing that must be immense.

It is therefore perfectly understandable for Pep Guardiola to want to look for challenges outside the club, somewhere where he can apply his considerable managerial talents to built up a team and give them the same kind of winning streak he has done while Barça’s coach. The 2011-2012 season could therefore be Pep Guardiola’s last at FC Barcelona as he looks for other challenges; it could also be your last chance to see them play at such a high level as it is by no means certain that they will be able to retain their current streak of form.

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Cruyff’s squad was only gained the “Dream Team” monikor after the 1992 Olympics, which were hosted by Barcelona, after the US basketball squad. As well as Spanish players such as Pep Guadiola, Txiki Beguiristain, Jose Mari Bakero and Jon Andoni Goikoetxea, as wel as Romanian Gheorghe Hagi, Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, Dutchman Ronald Koeman, Brazilian Romario, and Dane Michael Laudrup.

The Dream Team’s successes were remarkable; they won the Spanish League title in four years straight from 1991 to 1994; They won the 1989 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup against Sampdoria; the 1992 European Cup (now retitled Champions League) at Wembley Stadium after Ronald Koeman scored from a free kick; the Copa del Rey in 1990; 1992’s European Supercup; and they were three times winner of the Spanish Supercup, which is played between the winners of the Copa del Rey and the Spanish League.

How exactly the Dream Team was able to accomplish what it did is open to speculation. The players were certainly a factor, but much of their success was to do with their manager; while none displayed the kinds of ego we are sometimes used to on footballers, that must be at least in part to Cruyff’s strong management skills.

Barcelona’s supporters quickly fell under Cruyff’s spell when he first joined the club in the 1970s, quickly annoucing that he could never have played for real Madrid thanks to its links with dictator General Franco.

Naming his son Jordi, a Catalan name, could only have added to his attraction in the city. Cruyff was named European Footballer of the Year in his first year with FC Barcelona and helped them win La Liga for the first time in fourteen years, defeating Real Madrid 5-0 along the way on their home field at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.

Cruyff was renowned for his style of play and dynamic ideas on how the game should be played, which he learned during his pre-Barça days with AFC Ajax in Amsterdam. His style was called “Total Football” and consisted of a system in which a player could move out of his position and be replaced by another on the field. This effectively maintained the organization of the team yet allowed all players to play all positions. With players able to play in any position they were able to act cohesively at all times as a winning unit.

Many football lovers dream of seeing FC Barcelona play at the Nou Camp when visiting the city. If you’re planning a trip to this fantastic city make sure you don’t miss out – order FC Barcelona tickets online.

The club is often known simply as Barça, Spanish league matches at the Nou Camp are massively popular among tourists visiting the city for the weekend. The rise in popularity of Barcelona as a short stay destination has resulted from super-cheap flights from EasyJet and Ryanair amongst others. When Joan Laporta took over as club president Barça had been experiencing a few lean years, however the renaissance under Laporta meant that within a few seasons attendance skyrocketed .

Sandro Rossell is the current president, with Pep Guardiola coaching the squad. Guardiola is an ex-Barça player and took over the position from Frank Rijkaard when he was sacked after a dismal season .

Faces often change in football, as Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o show, both of whom experienced successful careers at Barcelona before moving on.  Lionel Messi remains with the club and demonstrates again and again why football is often known as “the beautiful game” . Other core players include goalkeeper Victor Valdes, captain Carles Puyol, Xavi, and Iniesta.

If you attend one of the more popular matches at the Nou Camp you’ll experience the passion of the local crowd. If the visiting team is Real Madrid then that passion is displayed at full force, venting Catalonia’s longstanding feud with Madrid .

Almost a hundred thousand spectators can be seated at the Nou Camp and when at capacity the noise from the crowd is really deafening. You’ll find people of all ages and backgrounds and if the match coincides with a public holiday in particular then many children will be treated to a match, accompanies by parents or grandparents.

Firstly look for companies who have been involved with ticket sales for a while and it should be easy to get in touch with them, for example Simply Barcelona . Since they have achieved vast experience selling online tickets there is far less possibility to experience problems with your order and any issues you have will be dealt with quickly..

Next you should really decide what the most important criteria are for you. Do you require the best tickets in the house regardless of the price? Can you afford to be present at “el clasico” between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona? Or do you just want to see the match while you’re in Barcelona and just want the cheapest seats in the house. You must be conscious that ticket agencies will set a markup on the face value, however the benefit you get from them may make up for this in terms of saving time while in Barcelona.

It can also help to ask your friends if they have any experience of online ticket agents for FC Barcelona matches. You may be better off using one of the FC Barcelona specialists whereas there are several companies that sell tickets for all kinds of events Specialists have better access to tickets and by focusing on one sport they really know their business inside out. However, if you have previously bought tickets from a general ticket agent and been happy, then perhaps they are worth considering again.

The great thing about going online is that you can compare sellers of FC Barcelona tickets directly in terms of price and what they seem to offer. Once you are pleased with your choice make sure you book with your credit card and place your order – after that you can count the days before seeing FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp.