Bartomeu reviews the club's 120-year history
Josep Maria Bartomeu reviews, in an interview with Barça TV, the evolution of Barça over its 120 years, a club which has been projected globally without renouncing its founding values. "It's been 120 years of permanent overcoming, 120 years of obstacles and 120 years of successes and defeats that have made us stronger. In these 120 years we have done what we wanted: to have a stronger club around the world, a club that has enormous support and, surely, nowadays, nobody has any doubt that it is a club of reference in the world of sport," Bartomeu explained.
"The club has always remained faithful to its ideological roots, we have been faithful to the values that prompted him from the beginning and today we can say that we follow that 120-year tradition that Joan Gamper began," said the president in this institutional interview.
Many of Barça's successes have been built around the best players of each generation, in which Messi plays a key role: "Throughout history we have had great players, who have been world stars, such as Paulino Alcántara, Samitier, Kubala, Luisito Suárez, Cruyff, Maradona, Rivaldo, Romario, Ronaldinho... we were lucky enough to enjoy great players at the Camp Nou, as well as having players who came from Barça's youth teams: Rexach, Carrasco , Amor, Guardiola, Puyol, Xavi, Víctor Valdés, Piqué, Jordi Alba... At Barça we always try to have the best players, whether they come from outside or La Masia. Leo Messi has been a regular in all the teams for 15 seasons, always leading and always winning, and there is no other club in the world that has had the successes that the team of Leo Messi has had."
Sporting achievements wise, this December represents 10 years since the sextuple was completed; La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup: "It was a magical moment, which again creates another very important moment in the history of the club. Everyone in the world realises that there is a way to compete and win. Guardiola, as a disciple of Johan Cruyff, evolved the model in a sublime way and gave Barça a season of many successes. We celebrate this sextuple, because it is essential to celebrate major events and this is an important moment in the history of the club."
Away from the pitch, the Espai Barça project will mark the club's future: "It is a club project, it is essential to continue growing, to remain proud of our Camp Nou and our Palau. It is a great investment for the future, for the next 50 or 60 years, and gives us all a dream that we share. It's a project for many generations, it's been a long time since this was thought about, we are doing it at this time and it will be a work in progress for the next four or five years in which all the members will have to collaborate and help in this expansion. The most important thing is that the Espai Barça gives us new enthusiasm and ensures a great future for the club."
Finally, the president also referred to the indispensable link between Barça and Catalonia: "Barça and Catalonia have always been in the hands of the club itself. Barça is a Catalan club, a club that has always respected all the values that Catalonia represents and it is true that at this moment we are experiencing moments of complexity that are transcendental in the history of Catalonia. Barça defend freedom of expression, defend democracy, defend the right to decide, and everything that with the people of Catalonia throughout history has gone hand in hand. This means that always and in the future, whoever joins with us must know that Barça will always defend what most of the people of Catalonia want."