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FC
Barcelona - A History & Insight Into Barcelona Football Club
by James Burrows
It certainly is the city of
Barcelona where you can have a wonderful sporting vacation. The howling
capital of Catalonia is widely known for its 3S – Spanish Sporting Spirit.
The city has really been the powerhouse of Spanish sports since it hosted
the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Football
surely is the main passion of Barcelona. Sitting on the Mediterranean coast,
on the Llobregat & Besòs river mouths, Barcelona seems to be
the city created solely for football. The city was chosen to host several
matches of the Football World Cup 1982. Barcelona is home to the FC Barcelona.
It’s a fantastic destination for your football vacation. FC Barcelona –
Futbol Club Barcelona, is a Barcelona based sports club, which is widely
known for its Football team, although it also has teams for other sports,
such as rugby, wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, athletics, baseball,
cycling, field hockey, figure skating, and volleyball.
The other well known
teams of FC Barcelona include FC Barcelona B, FC Barcelona Women’s Football,
FCB Rugby, FC Barcelona-Institut Guttman, AXA FC Barcelona (Basketball),
FC Barcelona Handball, FC Barcelona Futsal and FC Barcelona Sorli Discau
(Rink Hockey), which represent the club at Women's Football, Rugby Union,
Wheelchair Basketball, Basketball, Handball, Futsal, and Rink Hockey Championships
respectively.
Familiarly known as Barça,
FC Barcelona was founded in 1899 by Joan Gamper under the aegis of a group
of Swiss, English, and Catalan men. Since then the club has been a prominent
sports institution of Catalonia. The motto of the club is “Més que
un club,” which literally means ‘More than a club’.
Along with Real Madrid and
Athletic Bilbao, FC Barcelona was the founding members of La Liga in 1928.
It was also the first La Liga champion. Uptil now, the club has won total
of 18 La Liga, 24 Copa del Rey, 7 Supercopa de España, 32 Joan Gamper
Trophy, 2 UEFA Champions League, 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 3 Inter-Cities
Fairs Cup, and 2 European Super Cup trophies.
Camp Nou, officially known
as Estadi del FC Barcelona, is the main stadium of FC Barcelona. Having
the capacity of 98,772, Nou Camp is one of the largest stadiums in the
Europe. FC Barcelona has volumes of fans all over the city of Barcelona,
Spain, and Europe. The fans of FC Barcelona are known as culers or culés
"oder boixis nois".
FC Barcelona’s current football
squad (as on 1 September 2007) include Víctor Valdés (vice-captain),
Gabriel Milito, Rafael Márquez, Carles Puyol (captain), Xavi Hernández
(vice-captain), Eiður Guðjohnsen, Andrés Iniesta, Samuel
Eto'o, Ronaldinho (vice-captain), Gianluca Zambrotta, Thierry Henry, Edmílson,
Sylvinho, Giovani dos Santos, Santiago Ezquerro, Lionel Messi, Deco, Lilian
Thuram, Éric Abidal, Oleguer Presas, Yaya Touré, Albert Jorquera,
Marc Crosas, Bojan Krkic, and Oier Olazábal.
With estimated revenue of
€290.1 million, FC Barcelona was the 2nd richest club in the world
during the 2006-07 season. The club has sponsorship deals with the world’s
leading companies including Nike, Coca-Cola, TV3, Audi, Telefonica, Estrella
Damm, La Caixa, bwin, and MediaPro. Definitely, FC Barcelona is one of
the top sports clubs in the world!
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Watching
football
in the city of Barcelona by Paul Symonds
Going to Barcelona is
always a great thing and there is so much to enjoy and see, including the
various Gaudi monuments and museums, the long sandy beaches of Barcelona
and nearby Sitges, a number of good shops and hundreds of decent restaurants.
One of the highlights of every trip to Barcelona though has to be a trip
to see one of the two Barcelona teams, FC Barcelona or RCD Espanyol.
The rivalry between FC Barcelona
and RCD Espanyol is strong although the two teams people always think about
in terms of rivalry are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona are
certainly a powerhouse in Spanish and European football, with players including
Eto'o, Thiery Henry and Ronaldinho all part of the Barcelona squad.
What makes a visit to the
home of FC Barcelona even more amazing than just seeing a game is the chance
to see the Nou Camp Stadium; a stadium which is arguably one of the most
amazing architecturally in the world and which when full for a game such
as the Barcelona v Real Madrid games, has a quite incredible atmosphere.
You can visit the stadium regardless of if there is a game on and do the
Nou Camp organised tour and see behind the scenes at the stadium. This
tour is well worth doing in my view.
To see an FC Barcelona game
you can get Barcelona football ticketsby going through an organised UK
or Spanish company such as Spanishfootballtickets.com and purchasing tickets
ahead of the game. You can also get lucky sometimes and find season ticket
holders outside the stadium selling their spare seat or seats on match-day,
for a reasonably price.
One piece of advice is to
wear something warm because the Nou Camp Stadium has an open roof and despite
the warm day temperatures, it can still get cold in the late evening and
thus it can be worth taking a jacket just in case.
RCD Espanyol play just across
the city in the Olympic Stadium in the Montjuic area, on the hill top and
even though attendances are usually smaller then those you will find at
the Nou Camp, the fans are extremely passionate and the atmosphere is very
much like a real English Premiership style game with plenty of singing
and crowd participation. You can purchase tickets for RCD Espanyol in much
the same way as you do for FC Barcelona and tickets are usually available
ahead of the game. Learn more about buying Barcelona
football tickets.
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Most
Popular Places in Barcelona
Everyone wants to visit a place
which is very peaceful, relaxing and fascinating but this is really a tough
job to find such place. You will really please to know that Barcelona vacation
is a place you are searching for. This city is one of the most popular
cities of Europe of today. It is located on the Mediterranean coast. This
city is really a collection of multi-faceted and diverse cities. It also
consists of 68 municipal parks, the largest of which is Montjuic, situated
on the hill of the same name and is home to some fine museums and leisure
attractions. The tourists or visitor unfamiliar with its history might
be surprised that such a modern and enterprising city preserves its historic
Gothic center almost intact, or by the curious contrast between the maze
of narrow streets and the grid-like layout of the Eixample, the urban planning
"Enlargement" project of the end of the 19th century.
This stunning city called
"Barcelona" has numerous places to visit, activities for people of all
ages, and fun for every taste after dark. It offers us array of after dark
venues ranging from inexpensive tasces (taverns) or pubs & cafes, old-fashioned
dance halls, vaudeville theatres, movie houses, shops to posh clubs, big
avenues, bars, restaurants, concerts, live shows, etc. The city certainly
has plenty of places to eat, drink and get merry late night.
Ciutat Vella has some
nice after dark venues, such as Les Rambles, Barri Gòtic, and El
Raval. Popularly known as La Ramblas, Les Rambles is the popular boulevard
running down the center of the Ciutat Vella, dividing the Raval and Barri
Gòtic, which is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Les Rambles
and Barri Gòtic are the major tourist traps for tourist and newcomers.
You can find many clubs, bars and restaurants, here; some of the notables
are Jamboree, Kane Room, Fonfone, Club 13, La Veronica, Schilling, Fennelli
and Margarita Blue. El Raval is often referred to as el Barri Xinès,
or China town, famous for several fashionable restaurants, cafés,
and wide range of pubs and bars, such as Dos Trece, Ra, Rita Blue, Lupino,
Ambar and Manchester.
This city is located just
north of the city centre; L'eixample in Eixample is your place for a lot
of fine clubs, bars, restaurants and cafés, such as Buda Bar, Sweet
Cafe, and City Hall. It is also known one of Barcelona's gay villages,
and thus often nicknamed as gaixample. It has many gay-oriented establishments,
such as gay bars or pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, bookstores,
and other businesses. It is also famous for its remarkable avenues, such
as Passeig de Gràcia, and Avinguda Diagonal.
The Poble Espanyol (Spanish
Village) on Montjuic (Sants-Montjuïc) also has some of the nice
bars and discotheques. The illuminated fountains of Montjuic are very popular
after dark venue. The funicular ride up the Tibidabo (Serra de Collserola)
is also popular after dark. The Olympic Village in Poble Nou (Sant Martí)
is also known its good selection of bars and discotheques. You can also
find a number of bars lined up in the areas of Carrer Avinyo, Rambla del
and in the streets of El Born in La Ribera. Additionally, Barcelona beaches
have some of the nice bars the offer late night fun on beaches. Modernist architecture in
Barcelona is marked by the works of one of the most outstanding 20th-century
architects, Antoni Gaudi. The most prominent of his creations include the
Park Guell, a garden complex on a hill remarkable for its curving lines
and beautiful mosaics, the Palau Guell with its parabolic arches, intricate
forged iron decoration and original receiving room design, La Pedrera (Casa
Mila), a building without a single straight line, more of a sculpture than
a work of architecture, with an astonishing sculptured roof, and, of course,
the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished shell of a church, something out of
this world, particularly when lit up at night.
Palau de la Musica Catalana
(the Palace of Catalan Music) is another brilliant example of Modernist
architecture in Barcelona and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The concert
hall designed by Lluis Domenech i Montaner was inaugurated in 1908. Its
stage is apse-shaped, a grand central skylight adds to the effect of the
stained-glass windows, its façade features colourful mosaic decorations
and a large sculpture of Catalan Popular Song.
Your nights in Barcelona
often turn mornings! Barcelona is the city that comes rocking after dark.
The Catalonian jewel, known for its art & architectural magnificence
during daytimes, unveils its cabaret character after dark. Barcelona becomes
dazzling after dark. The after dark fun often begins with evening strolls.
Its streets and squares start getting thronged early evening, and they
are the common places for alfresco drinking, which is pretty popular in
Barcelona. The atmosphere at bars, clubs, lounges and cafés is electrifying
after dark. Music is the real fuel of Barcelona after dark life. The nightlife
typically features all types of music including Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul,
House, Techno, Rock, Razz, Jazz, Flamenco, etc. Flamenco is not as popular
as it is in Seville and Madrid, but Jazz certainly has lots of fans in
the city. You can feel music in air and everywhere in the street, concerts,
halls, clubs and even private parties.
The evening fun usually begins
from around 6 to 8pm. The moderate clubbers enjoy in their favorite clubs
and bars from 10 to 12pm. However, the fashionable clubs open their doors
at 1am; actually, time from 11Pm to 2/3Am, is the peak time for hardcore
nightlife. If you are looking to have great after dark fun in Barcelona,
you may get started with twilight promenading along Les Rambles. During
high season nightly entertainment for young or old is of a very high standard,
a good night will be had by all.
During high season nightly
entertainment for young or old is of a very high standard, a good night
will be had by all. A bus service from the campsite entrance operates every
15 or 20 mins which takes you into the bustling Spanish town of Vilanova
i a Gelru with its many high street shops, piazza's, restaurants, bars
etc. Next to the towns marina is the most magnificent safe sandy beach
in Spain all within 1.5 km away from the Spanish campsite near Barcelona
which has a huge range of facilities and services the campsite is located
on the Costa Dorada, with good weather all year round.
Being close to Barcelona,
Tarragona, Salou, Universal Studios Port Aventura etc makes Vilanova-i-la-Geltrú
the perfect base for campsite camping holidays near Barcelona. The camping
holiday park near Barcelona and campsite Spain is situated on the outskirts
of the town in a natural park, with a wide range of animals and vegetation,
including a mini-zoo also.
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So near,
yet Sónar: Barcelona's City Festival by Andrew Regan
Every June, for three nights
and three days, the bars, clubs, pubs and streets of Barcelona become even
more busy than normal, as people from all over Spain, Europe, and the rest
of the world descend upon the city to experience Sónar, an Advanced
Music and Multimedia Art festival. The official website describes the festival
as "the essential meeting point for an alert public, cutting-edge artists
and the most influential professionals from the sectors of music and modern
arts."
Sonar has been running for
the last 15 years, and now attracts 80,000 people to the city annually.
Unlike many other music festivals that have popped up over the last decade,
Sónar is completely city based, meaning no mud, no portaloos and
no camping. For those that prefer their festivals to be situated in a civilised,
urban environment, rather than out in the not-so-great outdoors, Sónar
is the festival for you.
Though Sonar embraces many
forms of music, the emphasis is definitely on electronic styles; artists
that have appeared in the last few years include: Aphex Twin, Cut Chemist,
DJ Yoda, Kraftwerk and The Chemical Brothers.
The festival has two distinct
components; "Sonar by Day" takes place in the centre of contemporary culture
and the Museum of contemporary art, which is very close to the La Rambla.
Here, visitors will find live music performances, DJs, multimedia art,
record and clothes fairs, technology demonstrations, cinemas and other
activities, split into a number of official areas known as SonarVillage,
SonarCinema and Sonarama amongst others.
At around about 10pm each
day, as the heat of the day starts to give way to slightly cooler night
air, "Sonar by Night" begins. This takes place outside of the city centre
and special coaches are laid on to transport festival goers to the main
arena, which is split into four areas.
As Britain's biggest festivals
such as Glastonbury and Reading become increasingly more difficult to get
tickets for, more people are looking further a-field to get their festival
fix. Foreign festivals make ideal short breaks, offering music fans the
chance to see their favourite artists, and also enjoy a cultural adventure,
not to mention warmer, dryer weather!
The are now hundreds of big
music festivals throughout the world, including Fuji Rock Festival in Japan,
Exit Festival in Serbia, Mera Luna in Germany, Southbound Festival in Australia
and EuroSonic Festival in Holland, to mention just a few, so maybe you
should head further a field this summer and explore the wide world of festivals
outside of the UK.
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About the Author: Andrew
Regan |
Featured
Barcelona and Area Tours
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Barcelona
Beaches by Orson Johnson
Barcelona has become a very
popular tourist destination in recent years, and it is easy to see why.
The gorgeousness of the beaches is unsurpassable, and Barcelona. With over
4km of beaches, Barcelona has something for everyone. The most famous beach,
and still a great place to visit, is Barceloneta. Known as Little Barcelona,
the enormous stretch of golden sands can take your breath away. The joy
of Barceloneta is its extensive series of eat-in restaurants, whether you
fancy pizza or a more traditional Catalan Dish. The Beach merges into San
Sebastian, favoured by the locals and those that consider themselves in
the ‘know’.
The Nova Icaria, well known
to tourists as it is only a short walk from the Olympic Marina, this beach
will be crowded no matter what type of year, though it offers not only
great beaches, but a series of beach bars, restaurants on the promenade,
and a handful of other bars and restaurants not far away; though it may
be a case of deciding whether to abandon your place on the surf for food,
or stay put and starve.
Bogatell
is right next to Nova Icaria, but is mainly loved for the stone walkway,
which attracted roller bladders and cyclists from near and far. You might
take your life in your hands walking there, but the raised level means
that traffic noise is blocked, and you just have the peace and quiet of
the sands.
Should you want to, the nudist
beach is just along the strip from Bogatell (which it is separated from
by a windsurfing and kayaking school and hire shop). This beach is carefully
hidden from other holiday makers with a long stretch of bamboo; and there
is an excellent park nearby where you can eat or just crash out away from
the sun.
The southern end of the Barcelona
strips are longer, with more shallow waters, making it the best option
for people with children. The northern points are smaller and pretties,
with deeper waters, proving an attraction with the extreme sports crowd.
Barcelona’s beaches have been given the European Foundation of Environmental
Education’s “The Blue Flag”, which means that the beaches have fulfilled
some of the requirements, such as cleaning up the water and surf, improving
security and first aid treatments, as well as easy access for everyone.
This blue flag means that you should be reassured when trying out the fabulous
sands, or swimming in the water. Before, the Spanish beaches were notorious
for their dirty sands, but this flag should mean that you can visit them
securely.
While the Catalonian capital
boasts great beaches, they are often overcrowded and not very exciting
(as well as a mecca for petty thieves). If you want something a bit different,
then try catching the Spanish Metro for an out-of-town beach that suits
you best. Temperature is the main consideration here (though the south
is better for children, having shallow waters). 15 mins ride from Barcelona
town, the beach of Casteldefells has great bars and eateries, as well as
a super beach. It is still very accessible from Barcelona, so if you were
hoping to miss the crowd, you will need to go a little bit further out.
However, Casteldefells is an amiable and friendly beach if you are not
feeling adventurous. Sitges, which a couple of
years ago was unknown, is a very nice beach, though more and more tourists
are turning up to eat ice-cream in its parlours, rent sun loungers, or
just shop. The town is a popular gay resort, so no surprises that here
are nudist beaches and great bars. All in all, Sitges is a great place
to hang out and compare ices.
To the North is the great
beach of Ocata; with a massive stretch of unspoiled beach. The best news
about this beach is that the general tourist population don’t know about
it; there’ll always be places to soak up the sun, and the local area has
organized fun activities for kids.
Wherever you go in the Barcelona
beach area, there are also plenty of things to do within the city itself.
There are a number of festivals throughout the year, and the late summer
has two big festivals, the Festes de la Merce, at the end of September,
features music, performance artists and celebrations, the majority of it
completely free. The second big festival, the Festes de Gracia, which is
slightly earlier in the season, takes over most of the Gracia quarter,
and is again a festival of music, street performance and partying long
into the night. Visiting Barcelona at the end of April means catching the
fantastic Sant Jordi festival, which is like Barcelona’s individual valentine’s
day. With people wandering the streets handing out roses, it is a popular
and widely celebrated festival. |
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