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FC Barcelona supports Bobby Robson Foundation's charity auction

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Subhasta Robson
The aim is to raise money for the fight against cancer and children's hospitals in the UK FC Barcelona is offering the chance for two people to attend a first team training session and watch a match at the Camp Nou

Once again, FC Barcelona is among the many sports clubs from around the world that are supporting the charity auction run by the Booby Robson Foundation, which has joined forces with East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). Robson was manager of FCB in the 1996-97 season, and died of cancer on July 31, 2009. Barça previously supported the cause in the 2011 and 2013 editions.

Barça implicated

The online auction is already under way and ends on October 19, and what Barça is offering is the chance for two people to not only watch a game live in the Camp Nou, but also to attend a training session. Anyone can make a bid by visiting the website at http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/east-anglias-childrens-hospices-each/catalogue-id-2915171

Tickets for Balon d’Or ceremony

Several other clubs have also made donations, as has FIFA itself by offering two seats at the Balon d’Or ceremony in Zurich – including red carpet treatment and the chance to attend the gala supper along with the coaches, players and VIP guests.

Also available are tickets for the Champions League Final, a UCL shirt signed by Leo Messi and Xavi Hernández, a VIP visit to Old Trafford, the chance to watch Tottenham Hotspur train and then meet the manager and players, or the chance to watch Robson’s hometown club Newcastle United from the press boxes and also to meet the players and attend the post-game press conference.


#TeamFCB: Twitter, Barcelona's number one social network 14/15

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#TeamFCB Twitter players
No fewer than 16 Barça players have Twitter accounts, followed by a total of 57 million followers Neymar Jr (14.6 million) has the biggest following, and we now even have our first tweeting manager in @ LuisEnrique21 The Club has 16 official accounts of its own, with 26 million followers around the world

Twitter is Barça’s number one social network of the 2014/15 season, at least in terms of the number of first team players that have official accounts. There are 16 of them, while Luis Enrique is the first FC Barcelona manager to be present in the 2.0 universe.

Neymar tops the list with 14.6 million followers on Twitter, and next on the list are Iniesta (9.6), Piqué (9.5), Alves (5.6) and Mascherano (3.9). But they are not alone, and recent additions to the Twitter world include Luis Suárez, Thomas Vermaelen, Rafinha, Claudio Bravo and Douglas.

Leading the way

FC Barcelona is still the top sports club on Twitter with 16 official accounts and more than 26 million followers. The main account -@fcbarcelona- has almost 13 million, and gained two million of those just this last year. There are seven other languages supported (Catalan, Spanish, Indonesian, Arabic, French, Portuguese and Japanese) and there are also section for the basketball, roller hockey, handball and futsal teams, plus the academy, supporters clubs, FCB Escola and Barça TV.

[+] INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHIC OF THE BARÇA PLAYERS' PRESENCE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

#TeamFCB: Instagram and social networks in China, more ways to follow Barça 2.0

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#TeamFCB
Instagram is now the third favourite social network among current Barça players Neymar Jr is the number one most followed athlete in the world on Instagram Besides Facebook and Twitter, 29 million fans are following Barça's stars on Instagram and on the top social networks in China

Beyond Facebook and Twitter, the world's biggest social networks, others have also become showcases for fans following their favourite FC Barcelona players. Around the world millions of people can get an up close and personal view of Barça stars on Instagram. Every day, more than 30 million followers check out photographs that some of the fifteen players on this year's squad post to their personal profiles, allowing them to catch a unique glimpse of their idols.

Neymar Jr is the world's most followed athlete on Instagram. Leo Messi, Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta, and Gerard Pique join Neymar in having more than one million followers. Other players with a big following on Instagram include Marc Bartra, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Sergi Roberto, Pedro, Adriano, Rafinha, Vermaelen, Douglas, and Claudio Bravo.

Besides Instagram, many Barça players have also become icons in places far from Camp Nou. Five players (Messi, Neymar Jr, Iniesta, Alves, and Pique) have a total of 29 million fans among them on Sina Weibo and Tencent, two of the most popular social networks in China. Even more impressive are the staggering 160 million followers combined between Barça's stars and the Club across all social networks, making Barça second to none in the 2.0 world.

[+] INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC OF BARÇA PLAYERS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

Luis Suárez - lifelong FC Barcelona fan

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Suarez appears on the cover of issue 71 of the Barça Magazine
The Uruguayan is less than two weeks away from his Barça debut. And when he says it's a childhood dream come true, he really means it

This month’s edition of the Barça Magazine, available in Catalan or Spanish, features some fascinating photographs of Luis Suárez at FC Barcelona long before he actually signed for the club. They are clear proof that when the Uruguayan spoke of how joining the club was a childhood dream come true, he wasn’t merely feeding clichéd sound-bites to the Catalan media. He truly has always been a dedicated Barça supporter, and has been a frequent visitor to games at the Camp Nou for several years.

The photos show the striker visiting the stadium like any other tourist in the company of his girlfriend at the time, Sofía, now his wife and mother of his children. He’s seen buying souvenirs in the club shop and posing for photos with image of the team’s biggest stars of the era, including Ronaldinho. Looking back those pictures, he now says that “I could never have imagined back then that one day I would be playing in such a magnificent stadium.”

Suárez explains how he started out in football in his native country and left Montevideo when he was just 19 years old to join Groningen in Holland, details that will be revealed in full when his autobiography is released in early November.

Having also played for Ajax and Liverpool, the 27-year-old joined Barça this summer shortly after setting a Premiership record of 31 goals in one season, enough to win him the European Golden Shoe award, which he is due to receive from Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish on Wednesday in Barcelona. His suspension is due to end on October 25, meaning he’ll be available for selection in the clásico at Real Madrid the day after. His appearances in two international friendlies for Uruguay against Saudi Arabia and Oman this week have provided the ideal opportunity to get some match practice before the big day.

Visit to La Masia

The Suárez article also pictorially describes how he was taken on a visit to La Masia, the FC Barcelona academy and residence, where he was shown around by pedagogic coordinator Rubén Bonastre, visiting such locations as the study rooms, the dining room and the common leisure areas, as well as playing foosball in the garden. “I am amazed and surprised by the facilities” he said. “And the spaces where the children are looked after in every way, with their studies, their diet, their timetables. It’s all been a surprise for me, especially how well behaved the children are. If wish I had the chance to be raised like this.”

Finally pulling on the Barça shirt to face Real Madrid later this month really will be a dream true for the club’s star summer signing.

Jordi Cardoner calls for participation at Assembly

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Jordi Cardoner was speaking about Saturday's Ordinary General Assembly / PHOTO: GERMÁN PARGA - FCB
The social vice president has examined the reforms to the Statutes, which include ways to encourage better attendances

"Adhesion to the agreement ratifies the words of Rosell and Bartomeu"

Jordi Cardoner also used the conference to explain FC Barcelona’s support for the National Pact on the Right to Decide (with respect to the future of Catalonia), saying this was ratification of what Sandro Rosell said at the 2013 Assembly and what Josep Maria Bartomeu said to the media earlier this year. “We have announced our support for the Pact” he said. “This was to ratify and reaffirm what presidents Rosell and Bartomeu have said. We have addressed President Rigol to declare our adhesion to the Pact.”

The vice-president for the FC Barcelona Social Department, Jordi Cardoner, appeared at a press conference today to outline various factors in relation to the Ordinary General Assembly on Saturday at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya. He is keen to see a big response from the members because “that is what really shows the quality of this outstanding and different mandate at our Club.”

FC Barcelona has worked hard to improve the information that delegates receive. On Wednesday at 6.30 PM CET there will be a special session to discuss finances in the Auditori 1899, chaired by vice-president Javier Faus. Cardoner explained that 200 delegate members have said they’ll be attending. New for this year, they will be receiving the FC Barcelona annual report several days before the Assembly, “the aim being that when the delegates view financial information at the Assembly, they will already have a large amount of background knowledge about it.”[[CITA_1]]He also went over the agenda for a session that will begin at 12.00 AM CET, followed by lunch, after which a second session should go on until about 6.00 PM CET. The idea is for the question and answer session to be as open as possible and unlimited by time restrictions. “We shall debate any matters that the members feel concerned about” insisted Cardoner.

The members will be asked to approve the 2014/15 budget and the shirt sponsorship deals with Beko and Intel Inside.

Cardoner also spoke about the changes to the Statutes that were approved at last year’s Assembly. These include the new figure of reserves should delegates announce one month in advance that they are unable to attend the Assembly. Of the 4,300 delegates picked in the draw, 407 renounced the honour and have been substituted. It all means that while 610 members attended last year, this year there should be around a thousand.

This year, for the first time, the presidents of the regional supporters club federations get places at the Assembly, although only 27 of 30 will be able to take up the offer because the other three do not satisfy a secondary requirement for delegate status – to have been a club member for a minimum of five years.

Debatrem totes aquelles temàtiques que preocupin al soci

Applications for Amsterdam tickets from October 21

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ajax barçca
Members will be able to apply for tickets from 10.00 AM CET until Wednesday 22 at 7.00 PM CET FC Barcelona has been allocated 1,768 seats and if demand outstrips supply, there will be a draw before a notary on the 23rd

From Tuesday October 21 at 10.00 AM CET until Wednesday 22 at 7.00 PM CET, members will be able to use the website (www.fcbarcelona.com) to apply for tickets for game four in the Champions League group stage away to Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday November 5.

Please note that applications can only be made by club members using a form available in the ‘Members’ section of the website. Any one member may only apply for one ticket, but up to four members can apply on the same form in order to travel together.

Allocation of 2,600 seats

FC Barcelona has been allocated 2,600 seats in the Amsterdam Arena to be shared among its members and fans at a single price of €57.50 euros. As usual 85% of these tickets will go to members (1,768) and supporters clubs (442). The other 15% (390) will be used for sporting, sponsorship and institutional purposes.

Possible draw

All applications will be processed once the period has closed and if there are more applications than tickets available, there will be a draw held before a notary on October 23. Between then and October 24, the club will inform the winning members, who can come to collect their tickets from the offices by Access 15 to the Camp Nou on October 29 or 30 between 9.00 AM and 5.00 PM.

LIVE - Ordinary General Assembly at the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona

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Assemblea General Ordinària de l'any passat / FOTO: ARXIU FCB
2014 Ordinary General Assembly at the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona

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Bartomeu describes the Barça of the future

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Josep Maria Bartomeu speaking to delegates at the Ordinary General Assembly 2014 / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
The president confirmed he will stand in the 2016 elections and outlined seven challenges to consolidate “the transformation of the Club” Objectives include improving sporting competitiveness, promoting the Espai Barça project, consolidating economic strategy and strengthening the Barça brand worldwide

issues for the 2015 Assembly

Bartomeu also announced this morning that shirt sponsorship and the Espai Barça projects for the Camp Nou and the Palau Blaugrana will be put to the next assembly for approval.  In 2015 an external commission of experts will be created in order to invite proposals for the Espai Barça.

Josep Maria Bartomeu has made his first Assembly speech as Club president with the emphasis very much on the future.  Mr Bartomeu confirmed he will be standing in the 2016 elections and looked ahead to “a time to transform Barça and make it into a more efficient club, better managed and more competitive”.

He described last season as “one of the toughest in recent years” and highlighted seven issues that had affected the Club.  These included the change of president, the Neymar case, the FIFA sanction, the loss of Tito Vilanova, the positioning of the Club with regard to the right to decide and the Nou Espai Barça.

However, Bartomeu is looking to the future and assured delegates that he has “a well defined route map”.  He summarised this in seven “exciting and ambitious” challenges, the main one being to improve sporting competitiveness.  He pointed out that the football squad had undergone a “profound renewal” in the summer under the guidance of Zubizarreta and Luis Enrique, with 24 movements in and out.

In addition, the president discussed the Espai Barça project, the consolidation of Club finances, the strengthening of the executive structure and the Barça brand, development of the work done by the Foundation and developing the social side of the Club’s activities.


Overwhelming approval for Club accounts

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Members approved the Club accounts for 2014/15 / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB
Delegates today gave their approval by a large majority to the Club’s accounts for last season as well as the current one Net profits this season are expected to hit €18m Sponsorship deals with Intel and Beko also given the go-ahead

Speaking at Saturday’s ordinary General assembly, Club economic vice-president Javier Faus announced a record-breaking revenue figure for last season of €529.9m, the highest in the history of FC Barcelona.  Profits also rose to €41m.

 Expenditure for last season was €472m.  Mr Faus highlighted an increase in payments to players and indicated that the Club would be keeping a close eye on this potential problem.  However, he insisted there are no plans to cut back on the other sports sections

Net debt was reduced by 44 m€ last year and currently stands at €287m, down from 431m  four years ago.  Since the current Board took office the debt has shrunk by €143 m.

 In the last four years, FC Barcelona has risen from 24th to 2nd in the Forbes ranking, and generated 113 m€ in profit.  He told delegates, “Barça has the most brand potential of any club”.  However, he warned that the Club was “reaching a ceiling” in this area.  At the same time, the continuing global economic problems were affecting income from sources such as royalties and merchandising.

For the current season, net profit is expected to reach €18m, with income rising to 539.2 and expenditure also rising to €509.6m.  The Club’s Director General, Antoni Rossich described the plan as “realistic, rigorous and prudent”.

Shirt sponsorship approved

The assembly also approved sponsorship deals with Intel and Beko to include their logos on the players’ shirts.

 

 

Ajax v Barça: Tickets assigned for Amsterdam Arena

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Ajax-Barça 2013/14. FOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.
The 514 members that applied for tickets for the game in Holland on November 5 will all be able to see the game

Today Wednesday at 7.00 PM CET the period expired for applications for tickets for the Ajax v FC Barcelona game in the Champions League on Wednesday November 5. A total of 514 members, forming part of 219 applications, applied and they will all get tickets.

As availability did not outstrip demand, as there were 1,768 tickets allocated, there will be no need to hold a draw before a notary on Thursday.

Second consecutive trip

Barça are going to the Amsterdam Arena for the second year, after 1,356 members made the trip for the 2-1 defeat last season.

At the moment, PSG lead the group with 7 points, followed by Barça on 6, Ajax on 2 and APOEL with just one.

Weloba: a new look at Barça

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www.weloba.com
These are busy days for the website which covers all the day to day activity at FC Barcelona in English, Spanish and Catalan

There is no shortage of work at the moment for the staff at Weloba.com, a recently founded website that covers the day to day goings on at FC Barcelona in English, Spanish and Catalan. Created in the first few months of 2014, this new site consists of a team of young, ambitious journalists whose aim is to provide an in-depth look at daily events within the blaugrana first team and to create a global community of Barça fans around the world.

The website includes a brief daily video news programme and also hosts the contents of famous Catalan journalist Joaquim Maria Puyal’s match day programme and commentary for the radio station Catalunya Ràdio.

With the Clasico just around the corner, we accompanied some of the young journalists from Weloba (the name comes from ‘We Love Barça’) as they explain just whats goes on at this new 100% web based media outlet.

Javier Faus’ visit to various Asian countries

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The CEO of Invest Hong Kong, Simon Galpin, and the vicepresident of the Club Javier Faus / FCB
The FC Barcelona Vice President met on Saturday with financial representatives at FCB’s Hong Kong Office where he was also interviewed by several of the city’s most important newspapers

The FC Barcelona Vice President Javier Faus is in Tokyo where he has met with some of the country’s most important media outlets.

The visit includes stops in various cities in Asia which included Hong Kong, Tokyo, Jakarta and Singapore. On Saturday Javier Faus was in Hong Kong where he gave interviews to three of the city’s leading newspapers: the South China Morning Post, Singtao and MingPao. Also, the blaugrana Vice President met with the Director General of Invest Hong Kong, Simon Galpin.

The three interviews took place at FC Barcelona’s commercial office in the city and were all published in Sunday’s editions. Without doubt the interviews served to raise awareness to the Club in an area that is considered to be of strategic importance. During his meetings with the press, Javier Faus once again stated that the first team’s next pre-season tour would probably take place in several Asian countries. The Economic Vice President is this Monday in Tokyo where he has take the opportunity to be interviewed by some of Japan’s most important media outlets such as the financial newspaper Nikkei I del Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the most newspapers with the biggest circulation in the country.

After Tokyo the next stop is Jakarta where Javier Faus is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning. Finally the Vice President will make his way to Singapore where his Asian visit will conclude. During his stay in both cities Javier Faus will take the opportunity to establish contacts in the area of commerce and finance. Both countries form part of important strategic zone in which the Club has an important number of fans. The FC Barcelona office in Hong Kong will play a key role in commercial development in this part of the world that boasts so much potential and also in bringing the Club closer to its fans.

The office’s responsibilities include bringing in new sponsors, on-line business and the organisation of future pre-season Asian tours. As such FC Barcelona brings itself into line with those Premier League clubs that enjoy great popularity in Asia.

Roland Garros seeks inspiration from FC Barcelona Museum

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The French guests were clearly impressed with the Museum. PHOTO: GERMÁN PARGA-FCB.
Representatives of the French Tennis Federation and Roland Garros visited the club museum in search of ideas for their own facility in Paris

The FC Barcelona Museum, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has received a visit today from representatives of the French Tennis Federation and Roland Garros, who were here to get an idea what it is that makes this one of the most visited sports museums in the world, and a trendsetter for such facilities. The Ronald Garros museum, which opened in 2003, will close in 2015 for major changes before reopening again in 2019, in the hope of also becoming one of the planet’s most spectacular sports exhibitions.

Jordi Penas, the director of FCB’s museum, told his French guests how the facility was totally transformed in 2010, developing new ways of presenting Barça’s history and heritage, and including new technologies to make the visit more entertaining for younger visitors. The Camp Nou Experience, which combines the Museum and the Camp Nou Tour, is now a must-see on any tourist itinerary of Barcelona.

The head of contents for the Roland Garros museum, Michaël Guittard, its curator, Claire Venambre, and the marketing manager for the French Tennis Federation, Thomas Ravon, were enthralled by the conceptual ideas behind the Barça museum and were fascinated to learn about everything that has been done to ensure an attractive, and interactive, experience for everyone that comes to discover more about the football club.

Statement by Michaël Guittard, Roland Garros Museum head of contents:

“We came here to see how history and everyday events and emotions have been mixed at this Museum. And we will not be going away disappointed. Everything here is so perfectly combined. We loved the trophies, the multimedia screens and the huge tactile wall. And then we went down to the pitch and it was wonderful to admire this stadium with a hundred thousand seats. We have really enjoyed our trip to Barcelona”.

Ludovic Giuly has written his Barça history to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Museum. What's yours?

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Ludovic Giuly has picked his favourite moments from Barça history
The former striker has picked his 16 moments from Barça history as part of the activity to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Museum The Frenchman's highlights include the 5-0 win at the Bernabéu, the first European Cup at Wembley and Pep Guardiola's period as manager

Where to find it

The activity is available on the club website in Catalan, Spanish or English at a specially created microsite. Everyone who enters each month will also be entered for a prize draw to win a Barça shirt.

Once the period for the activity has concluded, the images selected by most fans will be used to create the official ‘Barça history written by the fans’.

[[DES_1]]During his recent visit to his former club, Ludovic Giuly participated in the events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the FCB Museum. The former striker was keen to take part in the digital action whereby fans can pick what they believe to be the 16 most significant events in club history. His personal choices included the famous Liga title of 1974, the 5-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu, the first European Cup victory at Wembley against Sampdoria (1992), the four consecutive titles won by the Dream Team, the Champions League win in Paris 2006, which Giuly himself starred in, and the glorious period when Pep Guardiola was manager.

Do it yourself

Any Barça fans can enjoy the same activity as the charismatic Frenchman. The 115 year history of the club has been divided into four chronological sections (1899-1974, 1974-1992, 1992-2003 and 2003-2014) and the idea is to pick four images from each block. Once chosen an infographic timeline is generated that can be personalised with the user’s name and photograph, ready for sharing on social networks (Twitter, Facebook or Google +) using the hashtag #Museu30anys.

FCB MUSEUM

All these magnificent moments and many more can be enjoyed by coming to the FCB MUSEUM

 

 



October in pictures


Board announces agreements on Civil Liability proceedings

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Josep Maria Bartomeu was describing the agreements made at today's Board meeting / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
Bartomeu has announced that FC Barcelona will appeal against the sentence

Following the Extraordinary Board Meeting held on Friday, president Josep Maria Bartomeu has appeared before the press to explain the agreements that FC Barcelona has reached following the verdict on the Civil Liability proceedings, and which he has summarised in the form of three main points.

Bartomeu has said that the club will be presenting an appeal against the verdict announced by Judge Martínez Borrego. “FC Barcelona has that right and we wish to recover some of the losses” he argued. He went on to detail the eleven matters analysed in the sentence, commenting that “the Judge says we are right about eight of them”.

The second decision involves renunciation of the guarantees that are being executed at the behest of member Vicenç Pla.

The beneficiary is FC Barcelona” he explained. “And we have decided that we don’t want to be beneficiaries and have asked the judge to withdraw them. We want to release the directors and their families from all of the concerns and suffering that have accumulated over all these years. We think it’s a fair decision.”

The three sections that were rejected by the judge were those regarding the Mediapro case, the Viladecans case and the Sogecable case, on which Bartomeu commented that “the judge did not find the documentation adequate, even though the club lost 30 million euros”.

He also announced that once the response to the appeal has been announced “its execution shall be submitted to a delegate assembly.”

The president then reiterated that “we have always said that the sentence would be good for the club, but there are three parts that have not been admitted and we would like to clear them up more … But the judge has said that the reformulation of the 2010 accounts is correct.”

Finally, Josep Maria Bartomeu wished to make it clear that in this and other cases “we shall continue our own way, we are not going against anyone. We do what we do because that’s the way we think. Right now we’re not worrying about the elections in 2016, we worrying about governance and management”.

Samper, Corredera and Puyol win Catalan Federation awards

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Sergi Samper was considered the most promising young Catalan talent / PHOTO: VÍCTOR SALGADO - FCB
The reserve team player was named ‘Best Catalan Prospect’ while Corredora was named 'Best Female Player' And the current assistant director of sport was honoured for having the ‘Greatest Career’

Other nominees

Several other Barça players were in the running for awards, but ultimately missed out. Jordi Alba was up for Best Catalan Player; Vicky Losada and Alexia Putellas for Best Female Catalan Player; Xavi Llorens for Best Catalan Coach; Jordi Torras for Best Catalan Futsal Player and Marc Carmona for Best Catalan Futsal Coach.

There were three Barça winners at today’s 3rd Star Gala of Catalan Football.

Marta Corredera was named best female player, in a category where all three nominees were Barça players, Alexia Putellas and Vicky Losada being the ones who narrowly missed out.

Sergi Samper was named the most promising youngster in Catalan football, mainly on the basis of his forty appearances for the B team, although he has also played some games for the first team. He won the vote ahead of team-mate Gerard Deulofeu (now on loan at Sevilla) and Espanyol’s Joan Jordan.

Finally, there was recognition for Carles Puyol, who received a special award in honour of his long and distinguished playing career.

Best videos from FC Barcelona for the month of October

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Els vídeos del mes d'octubre 2014
The latest videos at FC Barcelona from the club's official Youtube channel

Visit our special videowall of the month

TOP VIDEOS October

Derby weekend in basketball and futsal

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Rafa Usín was on target for the futsal team against Marfil Santa Coloma / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
The futsal team has won the local derby against Santa Coloma 6-2 Later this weekend, there's another derby in basketball as Joventut visit the Palau. The roller hockey side has a European fixture in France, while club handball takes a break for Euro 2016 qualifiers

Basketball

FC Barcelona v Fiatc Joventut

Endesa League (Round 5) Sunday Nov 2 at 12:30 PM CET

Following last weekend’s extraordinarily low-scoring  43-57 win at Guipúscoa Basket and a Euroleague trip to Poland on Thursday, it’s city local time this weekend, with league leaders Barça (4-0) at home to Joventut of Badalona (2-2).


Handball

Barça currently lead the Asobal League with eight wins out of eight, but club handball is taking a break this weekend for Euro 2016 qualifying matches.


Roller hockey

HC Quevert v FC Barcelona

European League (Round 2) Saturday Nov 1 at 9:00 PM CET

After drawing 1-1 at home to Benfica in the first game in the four-team group, Barça travel to France to face Quevert, who were beaten 6-5 by Italian outfit Bassano in their opening fixture.


Futsal

FC Barcelona 6 -2 Marfil Santa Coloma

Divisió d'Honor (Round 8) Saturday Nov 1

(Dyego (5’); 2-0, Aicardo (7’); 3-0, Usín (8’); 4-0, Lozano (16’); 5-0, Lozano (30’); 6-0, Dyego (32’); 6-1, Adolfo(38’); 6-2, Martel (39’).

2,747 spectators were in the Palau to watch Barça cruise to a thoroughly deserved victory in the Catalan derby and maintain their unbeaten home record in the LHFS. The goals were scored by Dyego (2), Aicardo, Usín and Lozano (2).

It took Barça just eight minutes to go 3-0 up, and from then on, there only looked like being one winner. It was 4-0 by the break, and although Santa Coloma were somewhat livelier in the second half, a series of tremendous saves by Paco Sedano kept them at bay, while Barça added a further two goals at the other end. A couple of late goals from Adolfo and Martel regained some lost pride for the visitors, but it was too little too late.

They now embark on what’s being described as the futsal ‘Tourmalet’ in which they’ll face seven games in just 19 days, three in the league, three in the UEFA Elite Round and one in the Spanish Cup.

Gustau Biosca, Barça star of the 50s, dies

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Gustau Biosca was photographed at the Camp Nou in 2007 / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
The defender, who was at the club from 1950 to 1958, passed away at the age of 86 There will be a one minute silence in his memory before the game with Celta

Statement by president Josep Maria Bartomeu

“Barça has lost one of the most charismatic players the club has ever had, an unforgettable member of the team of the Five Cups and whose memory lives on among our supporters. On Monday he attended the tribute that the club and the Agrupació Barça Jugadors arranged for one of the first golden eras in our history – a more than deserved tribute. Gustau Biosca was a great player but most of all a great person who left his mark, a man who was loved and admired. I wish to express my most heartfelt condolences to his family, with whom we share these moments of grief along with our members and fans”.

Gustau Biosca i Pagès, one of the biggest stars in FC Barcelona history, has passed away at the age of 86. There shall be a minute’s silence in his memory at the Camp Nou this evening before the game with Celta.

He was at Barça from 1950/51 to 1957/58 and was the lynchpin of the defence and a regular starter from the day he arrived. Biosca identified strongly with the club, and would always be a major ambassador for it and Catalonia all around the world.

Although he was a spectacularly corpulent, physical defender, Biosca also had an exquisite touch with the ball at his feet, an uncommon trait among defenders at the time. A veritable all-rounder, his positional sense was outstanding and he read the game to perfection, with an astonishing ability to deliver long yet accurate passes up the field. But it was for his capacity to break down attacks that he will always be remembered most.

From academy to first team

Biosca was born on February 29, 1928 in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) and grew up through the youth ranks at Futbol Club Barcelona. In 1950/51 he made his first team debut and went on to be a key member of the famous team of the ‘Five Cups’, a legendary line-up consisting of Ramallets, Martín, Biosca, Seguer, Gonzalvo III, Bosch, Basora, César, Kubala, Vila and Manchón. Biosca stood out for his open nature and was always a media favourite. Very much the joker in the pack, masseur Àngel Mur Navarro once recalled how he used to put a bandage over his eyebrow so people could see he was injured.

He, Ladislau Kubala and César Rodríguez made an inseparable trio of buddies that got up to all kinds of antics both on and off the field. The friendship was so strong that Biosca even named one of his sons César, who was baptised in September 1963 in the Camp Nou chapel, with Rodríguez as godfather.

Sadly, one of Barça’s finest centre backs of all time suffered a serious injury playing away to Real Sociedad in 1957 and he was never quite the same player again. He started playing for the reserve team, Comtal, in an attempt to get match fit, but was unable to achieve that goal and announced his retirement in 1958 after making 187 appearances for the club and winning two Ligas, four Spanish Cups, one Eva Duarte Cup, one Latin Cup and one Fairs Cup, as well as winning eleven international caps for Spain. On February 7, 1962 the club held a testimonial match in honour of him and Gonzalvo III between Barça and Peñarol of Montevideo.

Coach and director

He went into coaching and would be Ladislau Kubala’s assistant with the Spanish national team, and manager of the U21 side. Years later, from 1993 to 2000, he was a member of Josep Lluís Núñez’s board at FC Barcelona, being responsible for player relations. Also, for several years he was the ‘alma mater’ of the Barça Players Group.

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