‘Matchday’ now on Barça TV+

Matchday is on Barça TV+ from today. Barça fans can now use the club’s online streaming service to watch the series produced by Barça Studios that follows the team throughout the 2018-19 season. For the first time ever, cameras were allowed to film the everyday goings-on between players like Leo Messi, Gerard Piqué, Marc-André ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto and Clément Lenglet, giving us a close-up and intimate view of how they not only deal with competitive games, but also with their personal lives.

Matchday consists of eight 45-minute episodes that will be premiering every Thursday on the platform, each based around one of eight different games in the 2018/19 season. 

The first two episodes will be shown this Thursday. ‘A Football Classic’ and ‘Enemy Territory’ cover Barça on 28 October 2018, when they won the Clásico 5-1 at Camp Nou, and when they met Real Madrid again in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. The first episode can be viewed by registering, while the remaining ones are available on a subscription basis. Barça TV+ will be showing the series in Europa, Africa and the Middle East, while Netflix holds the rights in Canada and Latin America, and Discovery Plus in India.

Matchday is not just about the team when it wins. It also has episodes dealing with games that ended in disappointment and combines these images with others of the players in their home environments, such as Piqué enjoying some leisure time with his family, Ter Stegen designing his new home, Sergi Roberto sharing early memories with his friends and Lenglet chatting with his siblings.

Key moments 

Episode 1 ‘A football classic’

On October 28th, 2018, the Camp Nou hosted a comprehensive 5-1 victory for FC Barcelona, featuring a hat trick for Luis Suárez. The game is recapped in the opening episode, which also shows the Uruguayan striker’s family life and how Gerard Piqué sees the rivalry between the clubs that he has experienced since he was a child.

Episode 2 ‘Enemy territory’

Just a few weeks after Barça’s El Clásico victory, the Copa del Rey draw brought them face-to-face with Real Madrid once again -this time over two legs. The draw in the first leg of the semifinal, with a cameo from striker Malcom, left the tie open for the trip to the Santiago Bernabéu. There, Marc-André ter Stegen was the hero. The German goalkeeper also reveals his passion for Barcelona in this episode.

Episode 3 ‘The curse’

In recent seasons FC Barcelona have fallen at the quarter final stage of the Champions Leeague. Now they have to overcome another historic club, when they meet Manchester United with a place in the semifinals at stake. In this episode, Gerard Piqué returns to the house where he lived as a youth, and new teammate Clément Lénglet -signed months before and already a regular starter- is visited by his brothers. The duo are vital to achieving success at Old Trafford, and subsequently clinching their spot in the semis at the Camp Nou.

Episode 4 ‘The Neighbors’

A derby against Espanyol is always a special game, and Ernesto Valverde knows that well. He discovered a passion for photography when he played for Barça’s neighbours, Espanyol. Another player with history in blue and white is Philippe Coutinho, who is the focus of Episode 4.

Episode 5 ‘Match point’

Coming into April, FC Barcelona’s 2018/19 league form has been practically impeccable, and they hold an advantage at the top of the table. The last challenge to leave the title all-butwon for an eighth time in eleven seasons was a home game against Atletico Madrid. Two neighbours, friends and teammates, Leo Messi and Luis Suárez, take it upon themselves to impose Barça’s dominance. 

Episode 6 ‘European night’

A big game is approaching in the Champions League. The semifinal between FC Barcelona and Liverpool means another huge European night at the Camp Nou. Ernesto Valverde and his men prepare for the game at the Ciutat Esportiva, and the stadium provides all the atmosphere of a momentous occasion. The game is packed with drama, and the result satisfactory for Barça after a great goal by Leo Messi.

Episode 7 ‘The eighteen-day storm’

With the LaLiga title in the bag, FC Barcelona face the final stage of what has the potential to be an historic season… but their dreams turn into disappointment in the space of just 18 days. The Blaugrana lose in the Champions League semifinal second leg against Liverpool at Anfield, and suffer defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final in Seville. Both games leave the team and the fans unhappy.

Episode 8 ‘A new beginning’

After celebrating the LaLiga title at the Camp Nou, the disappointment of Anfield and the Copa del Rey put FC Barcelona to the test. But that’s sport, and the team and the fans -whose motto is ‘More than a club’- look ahead to the next season with renewed hope, new blood from the youth team such as Carles Aleñà, and exciting signings like Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann.

Produced by Barça Studios

Matchday is a production by Barça Studios, the company that centralises all of the creation, production and marketing of audiovisual products at FC Barcelona. It was produced in association with Kosmos Studios and Producciones del Barrio.