Introduction               Ahmed Boukhelfa     

When, on November 29, 1899, Hans Gamper founded Futbol Club Barcelona, along with eleven other enthusiasts of 'foot-ball', a game that was still largely unknown in this part of the world, nobody could have imagined the magnitude of what that initiative would eventually develop into. Over more than one hundred years of history, FC Barcelona has grown spectacularly and is now so much more than a mere sports club.

Barça has become, for millions of people all around the world, a symbol of their identity, and not just in a sporting sense, but also in terms of society, politics and culture. Throughout the most difficult of times, Barça was the standard that represented Catalonia and the Catalan people's desire for freedom, a symbolism that has continued to be closely linked to the idiosyncrasy of the Club and its members to this day.

For a whole century, Barcelonisme has passed through moments of glory and pain, periods of brilliance and other less successful ones, epic victories and humbling defeats. But all these different moments have helped define the personality of a Club that, due to its peculiar nature, is considered unique in the world.

The grandeur of Futbol Club Barcelona is explained, among many other factors, by its impressive honours list. Very few clubs anywhere in the world have won so many titles. The Intercontinental Cup is the only major football trophy that has never made its way into the club museum, where the club's greatest pride and joy remain the two European Cups won in that legendary Wembley final and last season in Stade de France.

This was Barça's finest hour on the continental stage, but the Club also has the honour of being the only team to have appeared in every single year of European club competition since the tournaments were first created back in 1955. Barcelona's many achievements on the continental stage include being considered 'King of the Cup Winners Cup', having won that title a record four times.

In addition, FC Barcelona also won three Fairs Cups (the tournament now known as the UEFA Cup) in 1958, 1960 and 1966. In 1971, Barça won that trophy outright in a match played between themselves, as the first ever winners of the competition, and Leeds United, as the last.

But Barça not only rules in Europe, but also in Spanish competitions, specifically in the national cup, the Copa del Rey, which they have won 24 times, more than any other club.

The Spanish League has traditionally been one of the competitions Barcelona has found it hardest to win, but especially thanks to some wonderful seasons in the 1990s, a decade when six championships were won, Futbol Club Barcelona went into its centenary year with 18 League championships among its honours.