Tell about Barcelona FC ?

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Even before they changed the football landscape by inventing the tiki-taka style of play, FC Barcelona have been known for their likable and highly watchable brand of football that always seemed to produce results

During their long and immensely successful history, they have won 23 La Liga titles, 27 Copa del Rey trophies, five Champions Leagues and four Cup Winners' Cups.

As one of the richest and most popular clubs in the world, they can afford to be owned and financed exclusively by their own supporters.

Since its inception, Barcelona has been a major symbol of Catalonia and its culture, as evidenced by its motto, which says "More than a club" (Més que un club).

In 1899, football pioneer Joan Gamper decided he wanted to form a football club.

After eleven other enthusiasts responded to his newspaper advert, the dream became a reality and Barcelona was born.

The new club started off its journey successfully enough; after losing to Bizcaya in the final of the inaugural Copa del Rey in 1902, Barcelona bounced back in style by winning the competition eight times between then and 1928.

The following year, they clinched the inaugural La Liga before entering a period of decline due to the ongoing political conflicts in the country, which eventually grew so large that they resulted in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of Franco's regime.

Gamper’s time in Barcelona ended abruptly after he was deported from Spain because of political reasons.

A few years later he committed suicide.

Josep Sunyol had become the new director of FC Barcelona.

He was a left-wing politician and this would finally lead to his death,

he was executed by the Francoist regime in 1938.

While life under Franco was proving arduous from a political point of view (the club was in fact forced to change its name to the less Catalanian and Anglian sounding Barcelona Club de Futbol and the Catalan colors were removed from the crest), the next two decades were reasonably successful for the club.

In the period from 1942 to 1957, Barcelona claimed five La Liga titles and five Copa del Rey trophies.

Following their move to the newly built Camp Nou, the club's officials decided to turn a new leaf and appoint Helenio Herrera as the new manager.

The first FC Barcelona Stadium was located near the current location of the Camp Nou Stadium but was too small to host all supporters.

That’s right. Many football fans are unaware that there is in fact another football team based in Barcelona which enjoys strong support in the city. The RCD Espanyol was formed back in 1900 and was the first football team in Spain to be formed entirely of Spanish players.

FC Barcelona supporters are called “culés”; the word means “ass” in Catalan. According to the legend, during the twenties in the former Stadium in Les Corts, passerbys could see the bum of supporters sat in the highest row of the stadium.

Under Herrera's guidance – and with a Ballon d'Or winner Luis Suárez (not the Uruguayan footballer) as the team's leader on the field – Barcelona won two consecutive La Ligas and one Copa del Rey in the next three years.

The club was founded by Joan Gamper, a Swiss football lover, on November 29th, 1899.

. It is closely associated with the affluent neighbourhood of Sarrià located on the outskirts of the city and unsurprisingly has a history of rivalry with FC Barcelona.

Under Franquismo, the Catalan language and symbols were banned. In 1939, the football team was also forced to change their name to Club de Football Barcelona. The Catalan flag was removed form the shield of the club. Yet, at this time, the Stadium remained one of the rare places where Catalan could be spoken and Catalan flag could be shown freely.

FC Barcelona is the football club with the most Ballon d´or winners in the world –a prize granted to the best football player of the year, worldwide- with 10 cups.