Official name	Barcelona
image shield	Escut de Barcelona.svg
nickname	Ciudad Condal, Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts), Barna, BCN
pushpin map	Spain
pushpin map caption	Location of Barcelona within Spain
pushpin map1	Spain Catalonia
pushpin map caption1	Location of Barcelona within Catalonia
coordinates type	type:city(1,582,738)_region:ES
coordinates display	inline, title
coordinates region	ES
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name	Spain
subdivision type1	Autonomous Community
subdivision name1	Catalonia
subdivision type2	Province
subdivision name2	Barcelona
subdivision type3	Comarca
subdivision name3	Barcelonès
parts type	Districts
parts style	para
p1	Ciutat Vella
p2	Eixample
p3	Gràcia
p4	Horta-Guinardó
p5	Les Corts
p6	Nou Barris
p7	Sant Andreu
p8	Sants–Montjuïc
p9	Sarrià-Sant Gervasi
p10	Sant Martí
government type	Mayor-council
governing body	Ajuntament de Barcelona
leader party	CiU
leader title	Mayor
leader name	Xavier Trias i Vidal de Llobatera
area total km2	101.9
Area urban km2	803
elevation footnotes	(AMSL)
elevation m	12
population total	16215373,218,071 (''Greater Barcelona'')
population urban	4210000
population blank1 title	Urban zone
population blank1	4,440,629
population blank2 title	Metropolitan
population blank2	5,083,000
population as of	2009
population density km2	15991
population demonym	Barcelonan''barceloní'', ''barcelonina''''barcelonés'', ''barcelonesa''
timezone1	CET
utc offset1	+1
timezone1 dst	CEST
utc offset1 dst	+2
postal code type	Postal code
postal code	08001–08080
area code type	Area code
area code	+34 (Spain) 93 (City)
website	www.bcn.cat
footnotes	}}

Barcelona (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 on an area of , being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean coast. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge ().

Barcelona is today one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair/exhibitions and cultural-sports centres, and its influences in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Indeed, it is a major economic centre and a growing financial centre (Diagonal Mar area and Gran Via); one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports, can be found here as well as Barcelona international airport, which handles about 30 million passengers per year. It also boasts an extensive motorway network and is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly that which will link France with Spain. Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in Europe after Paris, London, and Rome, with several million tourists every year. Barcelona is the 16th most "livable city" in the world according to lifestyle magazine Monocle. Similarly, according to Innovation Analysts 2thinknow, Barcelona occupies 13th place in the world on ''Innovation Cities™ Global Index''. It is the 4th richest city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with an output amounting to €177 billion, a figure nonetheless smaller than alternative estimates. Consequently, its GDP per capita output stands at €35,975 – some 44% higher than the European Union average. Similarly, the city of Barcelona stands in 29th place in a list of net personal earnings headed by Zurich. The city is Europe's 3rd and one of the world's most successful as a city brand, both in terms of reputation and assets. Barcelona is 7th most important fashion capital in the world. Also, the city is Europe's 4th best business city and fastest improving European city, with growing improved by 17% per year.

Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the Counts of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, it became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage. Particularly renowned are architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The city is well known in recent times for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona.

As the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan government, known as the Generalitat de Catalunya; of particular note are the executive branch, the parliament, and the Supreme Court of Catalonia. The city is also the capital of the Province of Barcelona and the Barcelonès comarca (shire).

Names

The name ''Barcelona'' comes from the ancient Iberian Phoenician ''Barkeno'', attested in an ancient coin inscription in Iberian script as 34px|Barkeno in Levantine Iberian script, in Ancient Greek sources as , ''Barkinṓn''; and in Latin as ''Barcino'', ''Barcilonum'' and ''Barceno''.

During the Middle Ages, the city was variously known as ''Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelona'', and ''Barchenona''.

Some sources say that the city could have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC.

History

The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city ''Barcino'' after his family in the 3rd century BC.

About 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a ''castrum'' (Roman military camp) centred on the "''Mons Taber''", a little hill near the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of ''Faventia'', or, in full, ''Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino'' or ''Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino''. Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour ''Tarraco'' (modern Tarragona), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive. Some important Roman ruins are exposed under the Plaça del Rei, entrance by the city museum (Museu d'Història de la Ciutat), and the typically Roman grid-planning is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, the ''Barri Gòtic'' ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, also known as basilica ''La Seu'', is said to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of the whole Hispania. After being conquered by the Arabs in the early 8th century, it was reconquered in 801 by Charlemagne's son Louis, who made Barcelona the seat of Carolingian "Spanish Marches" (''Marca Hispanica''), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona.

The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia. In 1137, Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged by dynastic union by the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon, and their titles were finally borne by only one person when their son Alfonso II of Aragon ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as the Crown of Aragon, which conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories in Naples and Sicily and as far as Athens in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline.

The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 united the two royal lines. The centre of political power became Madrid and the colonisation of the Americas reduced the financial importance (at least in relative terms) of Mediterranean trade. Barcelona was always the stronghold of Catalan separatism and was the center of the Catalan Revolt (1640–52) against Philip IV of Spain. The great plague of 1650–1654 halved the city's population. The Napoleonic wars left the province ravaged, but the postwar period saw the start of industrialization.

In the eighteenth century a fortress was built at Montjuïc that overlooked the harbour. In 1794, this fortress was used by the French astronomer Pierre François André Méchain for observations relating to a survey stretching to Dunkirk that provided the basis of the metre. The definitive metre bar, manufactured from platinum, was presented to the French legislative assembly on 22 June 1799.

The resistance of Barcelona to Franco's coup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions of Catalonia were abolished, and the use of the Catalan language in public life was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialised and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularly Andalucia, Murcia and Galicia), which in turn led to rapid urbanisation. Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992, which helped revitalize the city.

Geography

Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau approximately wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river to the southwest and the Besòs river to the north. This plateau has , of which 101 km² (38.9 sq mi) are occupied by the city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalonian border with France.

Tibidabo, high, offers striking views over the city and is topped by the Torre de Collserola, a telecommunications tower that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized and that gave their name to the neighbourhoods built upon them, such as Carmel (267 m), Putxet (181 m) and Rovira (261 m). The escarpment of Montjuïc (173 m), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by Montjuïc castle, a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today, the fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens.

The city borders are the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs to the north; the Mediterranean Sea to the east; El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat to the south; and Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Just Desvern, Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and Montcada i Reixac to the west.

Climate

Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: ''Csa''), with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers.

Its average annual temperature is during the day and at night. Average annual temperature of sea is about . In the coldest month – January, typically the temperature ranges from during the day, at night and the average sea temperature is . In the warmest month – August, the typically temperature ranges from during the day, about at night and the average sea temperature is . Generally – "summer's" / "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional, sometimes temperature exceeds , with average temperature of during the day and at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around during the day and at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in summer months. Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine at day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine at day) in July.

Main sights

The ''Barri Gòtic'' ("Gothic Quarter" in Catalan) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Catalan ''modernisme'' architecture (often known as Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe), developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. A great number of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, which can be seen throughout the city. His best known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.

Barcelona was also home to Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion. Designed in 1929 for the International Exposition for Germany, it is an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe's aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details." The Barcelona pavilion was intended as a temporary structure, and was torn down in 1930 less than a year after it was constructed. A modern re-creation by Spanish architects now stands in Barcelona, however, constructed in 1986.

Barcelona won the 1999 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for its architecture, the first (and as of 2009, only) time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.

Historic buildings and monuments

Sagrada Família, the international symbol of Barcelona

Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, included in the UNESCO Heritage List list in 1997.

Works by Antoni Gaudí, including Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Milà (La Pedrera), Casa Vicens, Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.

The Cathedral of St. Eulalia

Church of Santa Maria del Mar (Gothic)

Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pi

Church of Sant Pau del Camp

Palau Reial Major, medieval residence of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon

The Columbus Monument

Forum Building, an example of contemporary architecture

The Arc de Triomf, a triumphal arch built in 1888

Medieval church of Sant Pau del Camp

Museums

Barcelona has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.

Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

Parks

Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, divided into 12 historic parks, 5 thematic (botanical) parks, 45 urban parks and 6 forest parks. They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city (). The total park surface grows about per year, with a proportion of of park area per inhabitant.

Of Barcelona's parks, Montjuïc is the largest, with 203 ha located on the mountain of the same name. It is followed by Parc de la Ciutadella (situated in the place of the old military citadel and which houses the Parliament building, the Barcelona Zoo and several museums; including the zoo), the Guinardó Park (), Park Güell (designed by Antoni Gaudí; ), Oreneta Castle Park (also ), Diagonal Mar Park (, inaugurated in 2002), Nou Barris Central Park (), Can Dragó Sports Park and Poblenou Park (both ) and the Labyrinth Park (), named after the garden maze it contains. A part of the Collserolla Park is also within the city limits.

Beaches

Beach in Barcelona gained status as the best urban beach in the World according to ''National Geographic'' and ''Discovery Channel'', with total third best beach in the World. Barcelona contains seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of coastline. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, both in length, are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona. The Olympic Port separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m/1,300 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is replenished from quarries given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city's coastline.

Other

The area around the Plaça Catalunya makes up the city's historical centre and, alongside the upper half of Avinguda Diagonal, is the main commercial area of the city. Barcelona has several commercial complexes, like L'Illa in the higher part of the Diagonal avenue and Diagonal Mar in the lowest, La Maquinista, Glòries in the place of the same name and the Maremagnum by the port.

Barcelona has several skyscrapers, the tallest being the Hotel Arts and its twin the Torre Mapfre, both high, followed by the, Torre Agbar and the newest W Barcelona Hotel. Barcelona is situated 125 km from the ski resorts of the Pyrenées. The skyline of the city is decorated in winter by the summit ( high) of the Montseny massif, normally covered by snow.

Demographics

According to Barcelona's City Council, Barcelona's population as of 1 June 2006 was 1,673,075 people, while the population of the urban area was 4,210,000. It is the central nucleus of the Barcelona metropolitan area, which relies on a population of 5,083,000.

The population density of Barcelona was , with Eixample being the most populated district. 62% of the inhabitants were born in Catalonia, with a 23.5% coming from the rest of Spain. Of the 13.9% from other countries, a proportion which has more than tripled since 2001 when it was 3.9%, the majority come from (in order) Ecuador, Peru, Morocco, Colombia, Argentina, Pakistan and China.

As the national language, Spanish is understood almost universally in Barcelona. 95% of the population understand Catalonia's native Catalan language, while 74.6% can speak it, 75% can read it, and 47.1% can write it, thanks to the linguistic immersion educational system. While most of the population state they are Roman Catholic (208 churches), there are also a number of other groups, including Evangelical (71 locations, mostly professed by Roma), Jehovah's Witnesses (21 Kingdom Halls) and Buddhists (13 locations), and a number of Muslims due to immigration. In 1900, Barcelona had a population of 533,000 people, which grew steadily but slowly until 1950, when it started absorbing a high number of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 with 1,906,998 people, and fell throughout the 1980s and 1990s as more people sought a higher quality of life in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 people, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices.

Population density

Note: ''This text is entirely based on the municipal statistical database provided by the city council.''

Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. For the year 2008 the city council calculated the population to 1,628,090 living in the 102.2 km² sized municipality, giving the city an average population density of 15,926 inhabitants per square kilometre.

In the case of Barcelona though, the land distribution is extremely uneven. Half of the municipality or 50.2 km², all of it located on the municipal edge is made up of the ten least densely populated neighbourhoods containing less than 10% of the city's population, the uninhabited Zona Franca industrial area and Montjuïc forest park. Leaving the remaining 90% or slightly below 1.5 million inhabitants living on the remaining 52 square kilometres at an average density close to 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Of the 73 neighbourhoods in the city, 45 had a population density above 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre with a combined population of 1,313,424 inhabitants living on 38.6 km² at an average density of 33,987 inhabitants per square km. The 30 most densely populated neighbourhoods accounted for 57.5% of the city population occupying only 22,7% of the municipality, or in other words, 936,406 people living at an average density of 40,322 inhabitants per square kilometre. The city's highest density is found at and around the neighbourhood of la Sagrada Família where four of the city's most densely populated neighbourhoods are located side by side, all with a population density above 50,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Economy

The Barcelona metropolitan area comprises over 66% of the people in one of the richest regions in Southern Europe – Catalonia, with a GDP PPP per capita amounting to €30,700 European Union's GDP PPP per capita). Furthermore, the Barcelona metropolitan area has a GDP amounting €177 billion what is equivalent to €35,975 in per capita terms.

Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that the region was one of the earliest to begin industrialization in continental Europe, beginning with textile related works from the mid 1780s but really gathering momentum in the mid 19th century, when it became a major centre for the production of textiles and machinery. Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history. The traditional importance in textiles is reflected in Barcelona's repeated attempts to become a major fashion centre. In summer 2000, the city became a host for the prestigious Bread & Butter urban fashion fair until 2009 when it was announced that it would be held again on Berlin. This was a hard blow for the city as the fair brought €100 m to the city in just three days. There have been many attempts to launch Barcelona as a fashion capital, notably ''Gaudi Home''. ''The Brandery'', an urban fashion show, is held in Barcelona twice a year.

As in other modern cities, the manufacturing sector has long since been overtaken by the services sector, though it remains very important. The region's leading industries today are textiles, chemical, pharmaceutical, motor, electronic, printing, logistics, publishing, telecommunications and information technology services.

Drawing upon its tradition of creative art and craftsmanship, Barcelona is nowadays also known for its award-winning industrial design. It also has several congress halls, notably Fira de Barcelona (Trade Fair) - second largest trade fair and exhibition centres in Europe, that host a quickly growing number of national and international events each year, which had also meant the opening of new hotels each year. However, the economic crisis and deep cuts in business travel are affecting the Council's positioning of the city as a convention centre.

An important business centre in Barcelona, the World Trade Center Barcelona, is located in Barcelona's harbour Port Vell.

Government and administrative divisions

Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councilors, elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage. As one of the two biggest cities in Spain, Barcelona is subject to a special law articulated through the ''Carta Municipal'' (Municipal Law). A first version of this law was passed in 1960 and amended later, but the current version was approved in March 2006. According to this law, Barcelona's city council is organized in two levels: a political one, with elected city councilors, and one executive, which administrates the programs and executes the decisions taken on the political level. This law also gives the local government a special relationship with the central government and it also gives the mayor wider prerogatives by the means of municipal executive commissions. It expands the powers of the city council in areas like telecommunications, city traffic, road safety and public safety. It also gives a special economic regime to the city's treasury and it gives the council a veto in matters that will be decided by the central government, but that will need a favourable report from the council. The plenary, formed by the 41 city councilors, has advisory, planning, regulatory, and fiscal executive functions. The six ''Commissions del Consell Municipal'' (City council commissions) have executive and controlling functions in the field of their jurisdiction. They are composed by a number of councilors proportional to thethumb|left|Gotic Gallery into the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. number of councilors each political party has in the plenary. The city council has jurisdiction in the fields of city planning, transportation, municipal taxes, public highways security through the ''Guàrdia Urbana'' (the municipal police), city maintenance, gardens, parks and environment, facilities (like schools, nurseries, sports centres, libraries, and so on.), culture, sports, youth and social welfare. Some of these competencies are not exclusive, but shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya or the central Spanish government.

The executive branch is led by a Chief Municipal Executive Officer which answers to the Mayor. It is made up of departments which are legally part of the city council and by separate legal entities of two tipes: autonomous public departments and public enterprises.

The seat of the city council is on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, opposite the seat of Generalitat de Catalunya. Since the coming of the Spanish democracy, Barcelona had been governed by the PSC, first with an absolute majority and later in coalition with ERC and ICV. After the May 2007 election, the ERC did not renew the coalition agreement and the PSC governed in a minority coalition with ICV as the junior partner.

After 32 years, on 22 May 2011, CiU gained a plurality of seats at the municipal election, gaining 15 seats to the PSC's 11. The PP hold 8 seats, ICV 5 and ERC 2.

Districts

Since 1987, the city has been divided into 10 administrative districts (''districtes'' in Catalan, ''distritos'' in Spanish), each one with its own council led by a city councillor. The composition of each district council depends on the number of votes each political party had in that district, so a district can be led by a councillor from a different party than the executive council.

The districts are based mostly on historical divisions. Several of the city's districts are former towns annexed by the city of Barcelona in the 18th and 19th centuries that still maintain their own distinct character. The official names of these districts are in the Catalan language.

Education

Barcelona has a well-developed higher education system of public universities. Most prominent among these is the University of Barcelona, a world-renowned research and teaching institution with campuses around the city. Barcelona is also home to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and the newer Pompeu Fabra University,and, in the private sector the IESE Business School, as well as the largest private educational institution, the Ramon Llull University, which encompasses internationally-prestigious schools and institutes such as the ESADE Business School. The Autonomous University of Barcelona, another public university, is located in Bellaterra, a town in the Metropolitan Area. The Open University of Catalonia, a private Internet-centered open university, is also based in Barcelona.

The city has a network of public schools, from nurseries to high schools, under the responsibility of a consortium led by city council (though the curriculum is the responsibility of the Generalitat de Catalunya). There are also many private schools, some of them Roman Catholic. Most such schools receive a public subsidy on a per-student basis, are subject to inspection by the public authorities, and are required to follow the same curricular guidelines as public schools, though they charge tuition. Known as ''escoles concertades'', they are distinct from schools whose funding is entirely private (''escoles privades'').

The language of instruction at public schools and ''escoles concertades'' is Catalan, as stipulated by the 2009 Catalan Education Act. Spanish may be used as a language of instruction by teachers of Spanish literature or language, and foreign languages by teachers of those languages. An experimental partial immersion programme adopted by some schools allows for the teaching of a foreign language (English, generally) across the curriculum, though this is limited to a maximum of 30% of the school day. No public school or ''escola concertada'' in Barcelona may offer 50% or full immersion programmes in a foreign language, nor does any public school or ''escola concertada'' offer International Baccalaureate programmes.

Culture

Barcelona's cultural roots go back 2000 years. To a greater extent than the rest of Catalonia, where Catalonia's native Catalan is more dominant, Barcelona is a bilingual city: Catalan and Spanish are both official languages and widely spoken. The Catalan spoken in Barcelona, Central Catalan, is the one closest to standard Catalan. Since the arrival of democracy, the Catalan culture (very much repressed during the dictatorship of Franco) has been promoted, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works. Barcelona is designated as a world-class city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.

Entertainment and performing arts

Barcelona has many venues for live music and theatre, including the world-renowned Gran Teatre del Liceu opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Teatre Lliure and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall. Barcelona also is home to the Barcelona and Catalonia National Symphonic Orchestra (Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, usually known as OBC), the largest symphonic orchestra in Catalonia. In 1999, the OBC inaugurated its new venue in the brand-new Auditorium (''l'Auditori''). It performs around 75 concerts per season and its current director is Eiji Oue. Yearly two major pop music festivals take place in the city, the Sónar Festival and the Primavera Sound Festival. The city also has a thriving alternative music scene, with groups such as The Pinker Tones receiving international attention.

Media

''El Periódico de Catalunya'' and ''La Vanguardia'' are Barcelona's two major daily newspapers (both with Catalan and Spanish editions) while ''Sport'' and ''El Mundo Deportivo'' (both in Spanish) are the city's two major sports daily newspapers, published by the same companies. The city is also served by a number of smaller publications such as ''Ara'', ''Avui'' and ''El Punt'' (in Catalan), by nation-wide newspapers with special Barcelona editions like ''El Pais'' and ''El Mundo'' (both in Spanish), and by several free newspapers like ''20 minutos'', ''ADN'' and ''Què'' (all bilingual).

Several major FM stations include Catalunya Ràdio, RAC 1, RAC 105 and Cadena SER. Barcelona also has several local TV stations, among them BTV (owned by city council) and 8TV (owned by the Godó group, that also owns ''La Vanguardia''). The headquarters of Televisió de Catalunya, Catalonia's public network, are located in Sant Joan Despí, in Barcelona's metropolitan area.

Sports

Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the highly successful 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches during the 1982 FIFA World Cup (on the two stadiums). It has also hosted, among others, the final of European Champions League (1989, 1999), Eurobasket (1973, 1997), Euroleague (1969, 1998, 2003, 2011), 2003 EuroHockey Nations Championship and the 1951, 1954, 1957, 1979 European Roller Hockey Championship, 1958 European Judo Championships, 1970 European Water Polo Championship, 1970 European Aquatics Championships, 1976 European Taekwondo Championships, 1980 European Karate Championships, 1987 European Wushu Championships, 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2002 Euro Beach Soccer Cup, 2003 World Aquatics Championships, 2007 European Baseball Championship, 2010 European Athletics Championships and some other. Also, the city aspires to organize the 2022 Winter Olympics. The opening, closing, medal ceremonies and indoor sports would be held in Barcelona, while outdoor sports would be held in ski resorts in the Pyrenees, maintly La Molina. FC Barcelona is a sports club best known worldwide for its football team, one of the largest in Europe, four-time winner (last one in 2011) of the UEFA Champions League and the only men's club in the world to accomplish a sextuple. FC Barcelona also has teams in the Spanish basketball ACB league (Regal FC Barcelona), the handball ASOBAL league (FC Barcelona Handbol), and the roller hockey league (FC Barcelona Hoquei), all of them winners of the highest European competitions. The club's museum is the second most visited in Catalonia. Twice a season, FC Barcelona and cross-town rivals RCD Espanyol contest in the local derby in La Liga, while its basketball section has its own local derby in Liga ACB with nearby Joventut Badalona. Barcelona also has other clubs in lower categories, like CE Europa and UE Sant Andreu.

Barcelona has two UEFA elite stadiums (12px12px12px12px12px): FC Barcelona's Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 100,000 and the publicly owned Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, with a capacity of 55,000; used for the 1992 Olympics. Also, the city has several smaller stadiums such as Mini Estadi, Estadio Narcís Sala with a capacity of 15,000 and Nou Sardenya with a capacity of 7,000. In the suburbs of Barcelona there is a third UEFA elite stadium (12px12px12px12px) - Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, with a capacity of 40,000.

Several major road running competitions are organized year-round in Barcelona: the Barcelona Marathon every March with a participants of over 10,000 in 2010, the Cursa de Bombers in April, the Cursa de El Corte Inglés in May (with about 60,000 participants each year), the Cursa de la Mercè, the Cursa Jean Bouin, the Milla Sagrada Família and the San Silvestre.

The Open Seat Godó, a 50-year-old ATP World Tour 500 Series tennis tournament, is held annually in the facilities of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona (Barcelona Royal Tennis Club). Also, each Christmas, a swimming race across the port is organized. Near Barcelona, in Montmeló, the 131,000 capacity Circuit de Catalunya / Circuit de Barcelona racetrack hosts the Formula One World Championship, Formula One Spanish Grand Prix, Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Spanish GT Championship and GP2 Series. In Barcelona very popular is skateboarding and bicycling. In the city and the metropolitan area is tens of kilometers of bicycle paths.

Top sport clubs in Barcelona:

Club	Primary league	Sport	Venue	Established	Capacity
FC Barcelona	La Liga		Camp Nou	1899	100,000
RCD Espanyol	La Liga		Estadi Cornellà-El Prat	1900	40,500
FC Barcelona Bàsquet		Basketball	Palau Blaugrana	1926	7,585
FC Barcelona Handbol		Handball	Palau Blaugrana	1942	7,585
FC Barcelona Ice Hockey		Ice hockey	Palau de Gel	1972	1,256
FC Barcelona Hoquei	OK Liga	Roller hockey	Palau Blaugrana	1942	7,585
FC Barcelona Futsal	Primera División de Futsal	Futsal	Palau Blaugrana	1986	7,585
FC Barcelona Rugby	División de Honor de Rugby	Rugby union	! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"	1924	no data
Barcelona Dragons		American football	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys	1991 (withheld)	56,000
Barcelona Búfals	LNFA	American football	Estadio Narcís Sala	1987	15,000

Transport

Airports

Barcelona is served by Barcelona El Prat Airport, about from the centre of Barcelona. It is the second-largest airport in Spain, and the largest on the Mediterranean coast. It is a main hub for Vueling Airlines, and also a focus for Iberia, Spanair and Air Europa. The airport mainly serves domestic and European destinations, but some airlines offer destinations in Latin America, Asia and the United States. The airport is connected to the city by highway, commuter train (Barcelona Airport railway station) and scheduled bus service. A new terminal (T1) has been built, and entered service on 17 June 2009.

Sabadell Airport is a smaller airport in the nearby town of Sabadell, devoted to pilot training, aerotaxi and private flights. Some low-cost airlines, such as Transavia.com and Ryanair, prefer to use Girona-Costa Brava Airport, situated about to the north of Barcelona and the Reus Airport, situated to the south, though they offer some flights from Barcelona El Prat Airport

Seaport

The Port of Barcelona has a 2000-year old history and a great contemporary commercial importance. It is Europe's ninth largest container port, with a trade volume of 2.57 million TEU's in 2008. The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial port and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size thanks to diverting the mouth of the Llobregat river 2 km (1¼ mi) to the south.

The Port Vell area also houses the Maremagnum (a commercial mall), a multiplex cinema, the IMAX Port Vell and Europe's largest aquarium - Aquarium Barcelona, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks contained in 22 basins filled with 6 million litres of sea water. The Maremagnum, due to being situated a designated tourist zone, is the only commercial mall in the city that can open on Sundays and public holidays.

Public transport

Barcelona is served by a comprehensive local public transport network that includes a metro, a bus network, two separate modern tram networks, a separate historic tram line, and several funiculars and aerial cable cars. The Barcelona Metro network comprises eleven lines, identified by an "L" followed by the line number as well as by individual colours. Most of the network (nine lines) is operated by the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), but three lines are FGC commuter lines that run through the city. When finished, the L9 will be the second longest underground metro line in Europe with 42.6 km; only shorter than London's 76 km Central Line.

The Estació del Nord (Northern Station), a former railway station that was renovated for the 1992 Olympic Games, now serves as the terminus for long-distance and regional bus services. Another company, TRAMMET, operates the city's two modern tram networks, known as Trambaix and Trambesòs. The historic tram line, the Tramvia Blau, connects the metro to the Funicular del Tibidabo (both operated by TMB). The Funicular de Tibidabo climbs the Tibidabo hill, as does the Funicular de Vallvidrera (FGC). The Funicular de Montjuïc (TMB) climbs the Montjuïc hill. The city has two aerial cable cars: one to the Montjuïc castle and Port Vell Aerial Tramway that runs via Torre Jaume I and Torre Sant Sebastià over the port.

Barcelona has a metered taxi fleet governed by the Institut Metropolità del Taxi (Metropolitan Taxi Institute), composed of more than 10,000 cars. Most of the licences are in the hands of self-employed drivers. With their black and yellow livery, Barcelona's taxis are easily spotted.

On 22 March 2007, Barcelona's City Council started the Bicing service, a bicycle service understood as a public transport. Once the user has their user card, they can take a bicycle from any of the 100 stations spread around the city and use it anywhere the urban area of the city, and then leave it at another station. The service has been a success, with 50,000 subscribed users in three months.

Railway

Barcelona is a major hub for RENFE, the Spanish state railway network, and its main intercity train station is Barcelona-Sants station. The AVE high-speed rail system – designed for speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph) – was extended from Madrid to Barcelona (Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line) in 2008. Generally, Barcelona has high-speed rail links with major cities of Spain. A high-speed rail connecting Barcelona and France – LGV Perpignan–Figueres will be launched in 2012. Rodalies and the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) run Barcelona's widespread commuter train service.

Roads and highways

City cuts three international routes, including European route E15 (north-south), European route E90 (west-east) and European route E09. Also, Barcelona has a comprehensive network of motorways and highways throughout the city and metropolitan area, including A-2, A-7/AP-7, C-16, C-17, C-31, C-32, C-33, C-60. City is circled by three half ring roads or bypasses, Ronda de Dalt (on the mountain side), Ronda del Litoral (along the coast) and Ronda del Mig (separated into two parts: Travessera de Dalt in the north and the Gran Via de Carles III), two partially covered fast highways with several exits that bypass the city.

The city's main arteries include Diagonal Avenue, which crosses the city diagonally, Meridiana Avenue which leads to Glòries and connects with Diagonal Avenue and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, which crosses the city from east to west, passing through the centre of the city.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Barcelona is twinned with the following cities:^{(in chronological order)}

* Montpellier, France, 1963

* Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1972

* Monterrey, Mexico, 1977

* Boston, United States, 1983

* Busan, South Korea, 1983

* Cologne, Germany, 1984

* São Paulo, Brazil, 1985

* Montevideo, Uruguay, 1985

* Seville, Spain

* San Francisco, United States, 2010

Gdańsk, Poland, 1990

* Havana, Cuba, 1993

* Guayaquil, Ecuador

* Kobe, Japan, 1993

* Antwerp, Belgium, 1997

* Istanbul, Turkey, 1997

* Tel Aviv, Israel, 1998

* Gaza, Palestinian National Authority, 1998

* Dublin, Ireland, 1998

* Athens, Greece, 1999

* Isfahan, Iran, 2000

* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2000

* Valparaíso, Chile, 2001

* Shanghai, People's Republic of China, 2001

* Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2006

* Cebu City, Philippines, 2009

* Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2009-05-29.

Other forms of cooperation and city friendship similar to the twin city programmes exist to many cities worldwide.

Other sights

See also

Catalan people

Catalan cuisine

List of markets in Barcelona

List of tallest buildings and structures in Barcelona

1929 Barcelona International Exposition

Exposición Universal de Barcelona

Mossos d'Esquadra

Urban Region of Barcelona

References

Bibliography

Busquets, Joan. ''Barcelona: The Urban Evolution of a Compact City'' (Harvard UP, 2006) 468 pp.

McDonogh, Gary W. "Review Essay: Barcelona: Forms, Images, and Conflicts," ''Journal of Urban History'' (Jan. 2011) v37#1 pp 117–123 doi: 10.1177/0096144210384250

Marshall, Tim, ed. ''Transforming Barcelona'' (Routledge, 2004), 267 pp.

Ramon Resina, Joan. ''Barcelona's Vocation of Modernity: Rise and Decline of an Urban Image'' (Stanford UP, 2008). 272 pp.

Notes

External links

Official Website of Barcelona

Official Website Of Barcelona's Metropolitan Transports

Guide with Photos, Videos and Maps of Barcelona on BCN.travel

Category:10s BC establishments Category:Ancient mints Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Municipalities in Barcelona Category:Phoenician colonies in Spain Category:Roman sites in Spain Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain Category:Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Category:Populated places in Barcelona

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playername	Josep Guardiola
fullname	Josep Guardiola i Sala
dateofbirth	January 18, 1971
cityofbirth	Santpedor
countryofbirth	Spain
height
position	Defensive midfielder
currentclub	Barcelona (Manager)
youthclubs1	Gimnàstic Manresa
youthclubs2	Barcelona
youthyears2	1983–1990
medaltemplates	| years1 1990–1992
years2	1990–2001
years3	2001–2002
years4	2002–2003
years5	2003
years6	2003–2005
years7	2005–2006
clubs1	Barcelona B
clubs2	Barcelona
clubs3	Brescia
clubs4	Roma
clubs5	Brescia
clubs6	Al-Ahli
clubs7	Dorados
caps1	59
caps2	263
caps3	11
caps4	4
caps5	13
caps6	36
caps7	10
goals1	5
goals2	6
goals3	2
goals4	0
goals5	1
goals6	7
goals7	1
totalcaps	378
Totalgoals	17
nationalyears1	1991–1992
nationalyears2	1992–2001
nationalyears3	1995–2005
nationalteam1	Spain U21
nationalteam2	Spain
nationalteam3	Catalonia
nationalcaps1	2
nationalcaps2	47
nationalcaps3	7
nationalgoals1	0
nationalgoals2	5
nationalgoals3	0
medaltemplates	}}

| manageryears1 = 2007–2008 | manageryears2 = 2008– | managerclubs1 = Barcelona B | managerclubs2 = Barcelona | pcupdate = | ntupdate = }} Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala (; born 18 January 1971 in Santpedor, Barcelona, Catalonia), is a Spanish football manager and former player. Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona, whom he currently manages. He was part of Johan Cruyff's ''dream team'' that won Barcelona's first European Cup. Guardiola also played for Brescia Calcio and A.S. Roma in Italy; Al-Ahli in Qatar; and for Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico while attending managing school. While playing in Italy, he served a four-month ban for a positive drug test although he was cleared of wrongdoing on appeal by Michel Platini as President of UEFA. As an international, he played for Spain and Catalonia.

After retiring as a player, Guardiola became coach of FC Barcelona B. On 8 May 2008, Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced that Guardiola would succeed Frank Rijkaard as the first team manager. He signed his contract on 5 June 2008. In his first season as manager, Barcelona won the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola became the youngest UEFA Champions League winning manager ever. The following season, Guardiola and Barcelona won the Supercopa de España against Athletic Club Bilbao, the UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk, and the FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing the first ever sextuple.

Club career

Guardiola joined La Masia at the age of 13 and rose through the ranks at the youth academy of Barcelona for six years, making his début in 1990 against Cádiz. As Phil Ball writes in ''Morbo'', Johan Cruyff utilised the young defensive midfielder in the absence of the suspended Guillermo Amor. He became a first team regular in the 1991–92 season and at only 20 years old was a key component of a side that won La Liga, the European Cup and the Spain national side that triumphed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The prestigious Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' heralded Guardiola as the finest player in the world under the age of 21.

Cruyff's Dream Team went on to retain the La Liga title in the 92–93 and 93–94 seasons. The side was strengthened by the recent signing of Romário, again reached the UEFA Champions League Final, but were humbled by Capello's Milan in Athens, and lost the match 0–4.

Cruyff left in 1996, with Barcelona finishing 4th in the 1994–95 season and 3rd in the 1995–96 season, but Guardiola retained his position at the center of Barcelona's midfield. In the 1996–97 season, Barcelona, this time led by Bobby Robson, won three cups – the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. Much of the Dream Team had by this time left, with new signings such as Luís Figo and Ronaldo taking over from Hristo Stoichkov and Michael Laudrup. At the end of the 1997–98 season, Barcelona rejected offers from Roma and Parma (of around 300 million pesetas) for Guardiola. After prolonged and complicated contract talks, Guardiola signed a new contract with the Catalan club which extended his stay until 2001. His buyout clause was fixed at 15.000 million pesetas, the second highest in the Spanish league.

A calf muscle injury ruled Guardiola out of most of the 1997–98 season, in which Barcelona won a league and cup double under new manager Louis van Gaal. He returned to action the following season and Barcelona once again won the league thanks largely to the performances of Rivaldo and Figo. On 8 June 1998, Guardiola underwent surgery to try to solve once and for all the problems that he was experiencing with his calf which had led to him missing the 1998 FIFA World Cup for Spain. A largely disappointing 1999–00 season ended once again in surgery as Guardiola missed the last three months of the season due to a serious ankle injury.

Barcelona didn't win any silverware during the 2001 season and finished fourth place in the league, but qualifying for the Champions League. On 11 April 2001, Barcelona's captain announced his intention to leave the club after 17 years of service. He stated that it was a personal decision and, in part, a response to what he perceived as football heading in a new, more physical, direction. On 24 June 2001, Guardiola played his last match with Barça in the last game of the season against Celtic.

Guardiola played 479 games for the club, in 12 seasons in the Barcelona first team, winning 16 trophies. At the press conference after the Celtic game, he said: "It's been a long journey. I'm happy, proud, happy with the way people treated me and I have made many friends. I cannot ask for more. I have had many years in the elite. I did not come to make history but to make my own history." Guardiola was slow, but intelligently gifted with skill and foresight, rarely scored goals but set up from difficult positions on the field, he won six league titles, a European Cup and Olympic gold, amongst other numerous trophies. Born in the Catalan town of Santpedor, schooled barely 100 metres from Camp Nou and resident at La Masia, the traditional farmhouse that stands incongruously in its shadow, he was a part of a gifted side Barcelona produced, ordering, constructing, constantly moving the ball. He has been called the hero of a number of Spain's current midfielders, as Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Cesc Fàbregas have all stated that Guardiola was their role model and hero.

Serie A

After leaving Barcelona in 2001 at the age of 30, he was linked with several clubs such as Newcastle United, Manchester United, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, plus both Milanese clubs of Milan and Internazionale. But Guardiola joined Italian side Brescia Calcio and then Roma in the Italian Serie A. However, his time in Italy was unhappy and included a four month ban after testing positive for Nandrolone. Six years later, on 23 October 2007, Guardiola was cleared on appeal of all charges that had led to the ban. However, CONI reopened the case against the player, because it considered the argumentation of the absolution unacceptable, but he was cleared once again on 29 September 2009. His time in Italy was not nearly as successful as his career at Barcelona. He played a number of Coppa Italia games and UEFA Champions League games, finishing with 71 games in Italy.

Al-Ahli

After his career with Brescia and Roma, at 34 years of age he chose to play in Qatar with Al-Ahli from Doha in the Qatar Stars League, where many fellow greats were playing, such as Gabriel Batistuta. He had rejected another offer from Manchester United, as he wanted to play elsewhere. He became a regular in the Qatar Stars League, often cited as one of the best players in the League. In 2005–06, he turned down offers from a number European sides, such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, as he felt his playing career was coming to a close.

Dorados de Sinaloa

In 2006 when Juan Manuel Lillo was appointed manager of Mexican club Dorados de Sinaloa, he recruited Guardiola to play for the club, while he was in managing school in Axocopan, Atlixco, Puebla. He subsequently played for six months, before retiring definitively.

International career

Spain

Guardiola made his senior debut on 14 October 1992 in 0–0 draw with Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in a World Cup qualifier. In the same year, Guardiola captained Spain when they won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games. It was in this year when he won the Bravo Award, voted to be the world's best player under the age of 21. Between 1992 and 2001, Guardiola was a regular midfield maestro, playing over 47 times and scoring five goals for the senior Spain team, becoming a Spanish midfield player. He was a member of the Spain team during the 1994 World Cup, where he followed Spain to the quarter-finals, losing to Italy 2–1. He fell out of favour with Javier Clemente, the Spain manager, due to difference and disagreement between the two, and missed out on Euro 1996. He suffered a career-threatening injury in 1998, which kept him out of the 1998 World Cup, but he later played at Euro 2000, where he led Spain to yet another quarter-final appearance, this time losing to France by the same margin, 2–1. He led the Spain midfield until his final appearance for Spain, in 1–0 win in a friendly against Mexico on 14 November 2001, and scoring his last international goal against Sweden in a 1–1 draw, in his 45th appearance.

Catalonia

Guardiola has also played for and been a strong advocate of the Catalonia national football team, as well as of the independence of Catalonia itself. Between 1995 and 2005, he played seven friendly games for the national team of Catalonia.

Coaching career

Barcelona B

Guardiola was appointed coach of FC Barcelona B on 21 June 2007 with Francesc Vilanova his assistant. Under his guidance, the team subsequently won their ''Tercera División'' group and qualified for the 2008 Segunda División B playoffs, which the team won, thereby achieving promotion. FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced before the end of the 2007–08 season that Guardiola would be appointed manager of FC Barcelona to replace Frank Rijkaard at the end of the season.

Barcelona

2008–2009 Season

Upon being appointed Guardiola revealed that Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o and others were not part of his plans for the coming season. By the time of the announcement, Guardiola had already offloaded full back Gianluca Zambrotta to Milan, attacking midfielder Giovani dos Santos to Tottenham Hotspur, and midfielder Edmílson to Villarreal. Deco went to Chelsea, while the iconic Ronaldinho joined Gianluca Zambrotta in Milan. Lilian Thuram was initially going to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer but the discovery of a heart condition put a stop to the move, and the veteran retired to tend to his health. Oleguer Presas signed with Ajax, Santiago Ezquerro was released by Barça and Marc Crosas was sold to Celtic. The fate of Samuel Eto'o took much of the summer to unravel, with the Cameroonian linked with several clubs, but Guardiola finally declared that he would stay after his dedication in training and participation in the pre-season.

In association with Barça's director of sport, Txiki Begiristain, several new signings were made by Guardiola: Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita arrived from Sevilla, Martín Cáceres from Villarreal by way of Recreativo, Gerard Piqué returned from Manchester United, and Alexander Hleb was signed from Arsenal. Henrique was also signed from Palmeiras, but was immediately loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen. In interviews with the press, Guardiola stressed a harder work ethic than before, but also a more personal approach during training and a closer relationship with his players. Along with the new signings, Guardiola promoted ''canteranos'' Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez and Jeffrén Suárez, to the first team squad. His influences as a coach include mostly Johan Cruyff, but also Louis van Gaal and Juan Manuel Lillo.

Guardiola's first competitive game as coach was in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, in which Barça comfortably beat Polish club Wisła Kraków 4–0 at home. They then lost 1–0 in Kraków, but progressed with a 4–1 aggregate victory. Promoted Numancia also defeated Barcelona in the opening match-day of the La Liga, but the team then went on an undefeated streak for over 20 matches to move to the top of the league. Barça maintained their spot atop La Liga's table, securing their first league title since 2006 when rivals Real Madrid lost at Villareal on 16 May 2009. The most important match however was on 2 May when they defeated Real Madrid 2–6 at the Santiago Bernabéu. thumb|right|Guardiola celebrating Barcelona's 2009 UEFA Champions League Final with Manuel EstiarteThe league title was the second piece of silverware in Guardiola's first season at the Camp Nou. On 13 May 2009, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, defeating Athletic Bilbao 4–1.

Guardiola finished the season by leading Barça to the final of the Champions League, where they beat Manchester United 2–0. In doing so, they became the first Spanish club to win the domestic cup, league, and European club titles (the treble) in the same season. Furthermore, Guardiola became the youngest coach ever to coach a Champions League winning team.

2009–2010 Season

During his second season as manager Barcelona traded Samuel Eto'o and €49M for Zlatan Ibrahimović. The club also signed Maxwell from Internazionale and Dmytro Chygrynskiy from Shakhtar Donetsk. Many players left the club on the same transfer window; Eiður Guðjohnsen was sold to Monaco, Sylvinho and Albert Jorquera's contracts ended and other players were loaned out, including Alexander Hleb to Stuttgart, Martín Cáceres to Juventus, Alberto Botía to Sporting de Gijón and Víctor Sánchez to Xerez.

Barcelona started the season defeating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup and Shakhtar Donetsk in the European Super Cup. On 25 September 2009, Barcelona gave Guardiola his 50th professional victory, away against Málaga and on 19 December they were crowned Club World Cup champions for the first time in their history. Guardiola finished the calendar year 2009 with a record 6 trophies – the Spanish League, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, and Club World Cup – becoming the first manager in history to do so.

After winning every trophy they competed for in 2009, Barcelona suffered their first elimination under Guardiola in January 2010 against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey. January 2010 also saw Guardiola become Barcelona's longest serving Spanish coach, overtaking the record previously held by Josep Samitier. That same month, on the twentieth, he agreed to a one-year contract extension to keep him with Barcelona until the end of the 2010–11 season. February of the same year saw Guardiola coach his one hundredth match for Barcelona's first team. His record stood at 71 wins, 19 draws and 10 losses with 242 goals for and 76 against. On 10 April 2010, he became the first manager in Barcelona's history to beat Real Madrid four times in a row in El Clásico.

Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the 2009–10 Champions League, but lost 3–2 on aggregate to Internazionale. Despite this they managed to win their 20th La Liga title with a European record of 99 points by beating Real Valladolid 4–0 at home. The La Liga title was Guardiola's 7th trophy as manager of the club, tying Ferdinand Daučík for second behind Johan Cruyff and his 11 trophies.

On 8 June 2010, the Royal Spanish Football Federation fined Guardiola €15,000, following a formal inquiry opened by the Competition Committee regarding his actions and comments during and after a match against Almeria on 6 March 2010. Guardiola approached the fourth official with, according to the official report, malicious intent, berating the official and speaking into his microphone with phrases such as, "You are calling everything wrong." Following the match, Guardiola accused Carlos Clos Gomez and his assistant Jose Luis Gallego Galdino of "lying" in their match report. Barcelona were given 10 days to appeal the sanction. TV replays supported Guardiola's assertions. The game ended 2–2.

2010–2011 Season

His third season in charge saw the departure of two players who had arrived last season, Dmytro Chygrynskiy returned to Shakhtar Donetsk and Zlatan Ibrahimović moved to Milan. Rafael Márquez and Thierry Henry were released from their contracts and moved to New York Red Bulls, Yaya Touré also left the team and moved to Manchester City. The club signed Adriano from Sevilla, David Villa from Valencia CF and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool.

On 14 July 2010, Guardiola signed a new contract to stay with Barcelona until June 2011. On 21 August, Barcelona beat Sevilla 5–3 on aggregate to win the 2010 Spanish Supercup, his second in a row. On 29 November 2010, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5–0, giving Guardiola five straight wins in as many matches in El Clásico. On 8 February 2011, Guardiola accepted the club's offer for a one-year deal extension, signing a contract until June 2012. On 16 February, in the first leg of the Champions League First Knockout Round, Barcelona were defeated by Arsenal 1–2 at the Emirates Stadium. The defeat prolonged Guardiola's record of never having won the away leg of a Champions League knockout tie. On 8 March, in the second leg of the Champions League First Knockout Round, Barcelona defeated Arsenal 3–1 thus defeating Arsenal 4–3 on aggregate, moving them into the quarter-finals.

Early April saw Barcelona move eight points clear of second placed Real Madrid in their domestic league, after a key away win against Villareal CF, making the most of Real Madrid's home loss against Sporting Gijón earlier on the same day. Barcelona managed to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth year (three last under Guardiola) in a row after thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk 6–1 on aggregate.

Following after the Champions League campaign, Barcelona continued their La Liga crusades for the second El Clásico in Santiago Bernabéu which ended 1–1. Messi scored for his team from penalty spot after Raúl Albiol was sent off. It was later replied by Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo from a penalty kick in the 80th minute of the match.

Guardiola suffered his first final defeat during Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal for in the 103rd minute of the match during extra time, giving the club the first title since 2008, as well as José Mourinho's first title in his new club.

In the Champions League, however, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the semi-final first leg, and after a 1–1 draw at Camp Nou they proceeded to Guardiola's second Champions League final in three years as coach for Barcelona. On 11 May 2011, Barcelona won the title and third in a row after a 1–1 draw with Levante UD. On 28 May, Barcelona beat Manchester United 3–1 to win the Champions League.

2011–2012 Season

His fourth season in charge started with the departure of three players who had been part of the team for a long time, Gabriel Milito moved back to Independiente, Jeffrén Suárez was sold to Sporting CP and Bojan Krkić was sold to Roma. Two big signings where made: Alexis Sánchez came from Udinese for €26m plus bonuses and Cesc Fàbregas a former La Masia graduate returned from Arsenal for €29m plus bonuses. To complete the squad two players where promoted from the youth system: Thiago Alcântara and Andreu Fontàs.

The season started with a 5-4 aggregate win over Real Madrid for the Spanish Super Cup. Barcelona won their second trophy of the season on 26 August beating Porto in the UEFA Super Cup final 2-0. With the trophy won against Porto he became all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at FC Barcelona. He has won now 12 trophy's in only 3 years.

Tactics

Under Rijkaard, Barcelona were known for a 4–3–3 with plenty of flair with Ronaldinho being the centre point of Rijkaard's time there. Under Guardiola they have become more disciplined with a greater focus on possession and a far more disciplined and aggressive pressing style. He often plays a high defensive line with the full backs (particularly Daniel Alves) pushing high up down their respective sides while relying on the metronomic passing of Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta to retain possession whilst employing an extraordinarily aggressive pressing style without the ball.

During Samuel Eto'o's time Lionel Messi was deployed on the right hand side, however, since his departure Messi has largely played in the centre forward role fulfilling a false nine capacity.

Coaching stats

''As of 29 August 2011. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center |- !rowspan=2! width=70|Team !rowspan=2! width=60|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=3|Cup !colspan=3|Europe !colspan=3|Other !colspan=8|Total |- !width=30|W !width=30|D !width=30|L !width=30|W !width=30|D !width=30|L !width=30|W !width=30|D !width=30|L !width=30|W !width=30|D !width=30|L !width=30|GP !width=30|W !width=30|D !width=30|L !width=50|Win % !width=40|GF !width=40|GA !width=40|GD |- |rowspan=4 align=center valign=center|Barcelona |2008–09 |27||6||5||7||2||0||7||5||1||1||0||1||62||42||13||7||67.74%||158||55||+103 |- |2009–10 |31||6||1||3||0||1||6||4||2||5||0||0||59||45||10||4||76.27%||138||39||+99 |- |2010–11 |30||6||2||5||2||2||9||3||1||1||0||1||62||45||11||6||72.58%||152||39||+113 |- |2011–12 |1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||2||1||0||4||3||1||0||75.00%||12||4||+8 |- !colspan=2|Career totals !89!!18!!8!!15!!4!!3!!22!!12!!4!!9!!1!!2!!187!!135!!35!!17!!72.19%||460||137||+323 |}

Private life

Pep Guardiola was born in Santpedor, to Dolors and Valentí. He has two older sisters, Francesca and Olga, and younger brother, Pere. Guardiola has a partner, Cristina Serra, whom he met the first time in a clothing store when he was 18. The couple have three children: Maria (born 28 December 2003), Màrius (born 2001) and Valentina (born 5 May 2008).

He is a close friend of water polo great Manuel Estiarte, whom he has known since 1992. His close friends also include Luís Figo, Luis Enrique, Tito Vilanova, Juan Manuel Lillo, and Johan Cruyff.

Honours

Player

;Barcelona

La Liga: 6

:: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99

Copa del Rey: 2

:: 1996–97, 1997–98

Supercopa de España: 4

:: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996

UEFA Champions League: 1

:: 1991–92

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1

:: 1996–97

UEFA Super Cup: 2

:: 1992, 1997

;Spain

Olympic Gold Medal: 1

:: 1992

Individual

Bravo Award: 1

:: 1992

UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2

:: 1992, 2000

Olympics - Spain Best Player: 1

:: 1992

Manager

;Barcelona B

Tercera División: 1

:: 2007–08

;Barcelona

La Liga: 3

:: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008–09

Supercopa de España: 3

:: 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League: 2

:: 2008–09, 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup: 2

:: 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup: 1

:: 2009

Individual

IFFHS World's Best Club Coach of the Year (1): 2009

Don Balon Award for Best Coach of the Year (2): 2009, 2010

Onze d'Or for Best European Coach (1): 2009

Miguel Muñoz Trophy for Best Coach of the Year (2): 2009, 2010

World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (1): 2009

UEFA Team of the Year Best Coach (1): 2009

LFP Coach of the Year (2): 2009, 2010

Catalan of the Year Award (1): 2009

Career statistics

|- |1990–91||rowspan=11|Barcelona||rowspan=11|La Liga||4||0||1||0||0||0||5||0 |- |1991–92||26||0||3||0||11||0||40||0 |- |1992–93||28||0||5||1||6||0||39||1 |- |1993–94||34||0||5||0||9||0||48||0 |- |1994–95||24||2||4||0||6||0||24||2 |- |1995–96||32||1||7||0||7||1||46||2 |- |1996–97||38||0||8||0||7||1||53||1 |- |1997–98||6||0||3||0||5||0||14||0 |- |1998–99||22||1||3||0||1||0||26||1 |- |1999–00||25||0||0||0||0||0||25||0 |- |2000–01||28||2||4||3||8||0||40||4 |- |2001–02||Brescia||rowspan=3|Serie A||11||2||2||0||-||-||13||2 |- |rowspan=2|2002–03||Roma||4||0||3||1||1||0||8||1 |- |Brescia||13||1||3||1||-||-||16||2 |- |2003–05||Al-Ahli|||Qatar Stars League ||18||2||9||3||9||2||36||7 |- |2005–06||Sinaloa|||Primera División ||10||1||6||1||4||0||20||2 263||6||43||4||71||2||384||11 28||3||8||2||1||0||37||5 18||2||9||3||9||2||36||7 10||1||6||1||4||0||20||2 319||12||66||10||85||4||470||26

|- |1992||2||1 |- |1993||5||0 |- |1994||7||1 |- |1995||0||0 |- |1996||5||1 |- |1997||4||1 |- |1998||0||0 |- |1999||9||0 |- |2000||8||1 |- |2001||7||0 |- !Total||47||5 |}

Bibliography

Josep Guardiola, ''La meva gent, el meu futbol'', with Miguel Rico and Luís Martín, Edecasa (Grupo Z), Colección Sport, 2001 Jaume Collell, ''Pep Guardiola: de Santpedor al banquillo del Barça'', Península, 2009 Josep Riera Font, ''Escoltant Guardiola: el pensament futbolistic i vital de l'entrenador del Barça en 150 frases'', Cossetania, 2009 Several authors, ''Paraula de Pep'', Ara Llibres, 2009 Several authors, ''Barça de las 6 Copas'', Edecasa (Grupo Z), Colección Sport, 2009

See also

List of sportspeople cleared of doping charges

List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers

Notes

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol player profile

BDFutbol coach profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

FC Barcelona Legends

Alex Ferguson Manchester United}} Barcelona|years=2008–2009, 2010–2011}} - Barcelona|years=2008–2009}} José Mourinho Internazionale}} |- Dick Advocaat Zenit Saint Petersburg}} Barcelona|years=2009, 2011}} Gheorghe Popescu| title=FC Barcelona captain| years=1997–2001| after= Sergi Barjuán}}

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bages Category:Spanish footballers Category:Catalan footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Serie A footballers Category:Brescia Calcio players Category:A.S. Roma players Category:Al-Ahly Doha players Category:Primera División de México players Category:Dorados de Sinaloa players Category:Spanish football managers Category:La Liga managers Category:FC Barcelona B managers Category:FC Barcelona managers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2000 players Category:Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic footballers of Spain Category:Olympic gold medalists for Spain Category:Olympic medalists in football Category:Spanish sportspeople in doping cases Category:Doping cases in association football Category:Spanish expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Qatar Category:Expatriate footballers in Mexico

ar:جوسيب غوارديولا az:Xosep Qvardiola bg:Хосеп Гуардиола ca:Josep Guardiola i Sala cs:Josep Guardiola da:Josep Guardiola de:Josep Guardiola el:Ζοζέπ Γκουαρντιόλα es:Josep Guardiola eu:Josep Guardiola fa:جوزپ گواردیولا fr:Josep Guardiola gl:Josep Guardiola ko:주제프 과르디올라 id:Josep Guardiola it:Josep Guardiola he:ז'וזפ גוארדיולה jv:Josép Guardiola lv:Hoseps Gvardiola lt:Josep Guardiola hu:Josep Guardiola mk:Жузеп Гвардиола nl:Josep Guardiola ja:ジョゼップ・グアルディオラ no:Josep Guardiola pl:Josep Guardiola pt:Josep Guardiola ro:Josep Guardiola ru:Гвардиола, Хосеп sq:Josep Guardiola simple:Josep Guardiola sk:Josep Guardiola sl:Josep Guardiola ckb:جۆسێپ گواردیۆلا fi:Josep Guardiola sv:Josep Guardiola th:ชูเซบ กวาร์ดีโอลา tr:Josep Guardiola uk:Жузеп Гвардіола vi:Josep Guardiola zh:何塞普·瓜迪奥拉

{{infobox football biography | playername

Tito Vilanova | image | caption | fullname Francesc Vilanova i Bayó | dateofbirth September 17, 1969 | cityofbirth Bellcaire d'Empordà | countryofbirth Spain | dateofdeath | cityofdeath | countryofdeath | height | position Midfielder | currentclub Barcelona (assistant) | youthyears1 1984–1988 | youthclubs1 Barcelona | years1 1988–1990 | clubs1 Barcelona B | caps1 52 | goals1 6 | years2 1990–1992 | clubs2 Figueres | caps2 72 | goals2 6 | years3 1992–1995 | clubs3 Celta | caps3 26 | goals3 1 | years4 1995–1996 | clubs4 Badajoz | caps4 33 | goals4 2 | years5 1996–1997 | clubs5 Mallorca | caps5 10 | goals5 0 | years6 1997–1998 | clubs6 Lleida | caps6 21 | goals6 3 | years7 1998–2000 | clubs7 Elche | caps7 29 | goals7 1 | years8 2000–2002 | clubs8 Gramenet | caps8 | goals8 | totalcaps | totalgoals | nationalyears1 | nationalteam1 | nationalcaps1

nationalgoals1

| manageryears1 2007–2008 | managerclubs1 Barcelona B (assistant) | manageryears2 2008– | managerclubs2 Barcelona (assistant) | pcupdate | ntupdate }}

Francesc "Tito" Vilanova i Bayó (born 17 September 1969 in Bellcaire d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a central midfielder.

After an unassuming professional career - only played 26 La Liga games in three years combined - he went on to work with FC Barcelona (his first club) as an assistant coach under Josep Guardiola, being part of the squads which won 12 major titles.

Playing career

After emerging in the youth ranks of local FC Barcelona, Vilanova left the first division giants in 1990, unable to break into the first team. His next club was also in Catalonia, UE Figueres, with the player helping the team to its best ever second level classification, in the 1991–92 season (third place); the club would eventually face Cádiz CF in the promotion playoffs, losing 1–3 on aggregate.

Subsequently, Vilanova moved to the top division with Celta de Vigo, but appeared rarely over the course of three full seasons, returned to level two in 1995, and representing CD Badajoz, RCD Mallorca - contributing with ten games as the Balearic Islands side promoted to the first division - UE Lleida and Elche CF, retiring at nearly 34 with lowly UDA Gramenet, in his native region.

Managerial career

After working as technical director at Terrassa FC, Vilanova was appointed assistant manager at FC Barcelona B, under manager Josep Guardiola, with the club in the fourth division. In 2008, after leading the reserve side to promotion to level three, the pair was assigned to the first team, replacing Dutch Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskens.

Vilanova's first season at the Camp Nou was the most successful in Barcelona's history, with the club winning six major trophies, becoming the first team in Spain to win the domestic cup, league and European club titles (the treble) in the same season.

References

External links

BDFutbol profile

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Baix Empordà Category:Catalan footballers Category:Spanish footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:UE Figueres footballers Category:Celta de Vigo footballers Category:CD Badajoz players Category:RCD Mallorca footballers Category:UE Lleida footballers Category:Elche CF players Category:UDA Gramenet footballers Category:Spanish football managers

ca:Francesc Vilanova i Bayo da:Francesc Vilanova de:Tito Vilanova es:Tito Vilanova fa:فرانسسک ویلانوا it:Tito Vilanova nl:Francesc Vilanova pl:Tito Vilanova ru:Виланова, Тито fi:Tito Vilanova

playername	Cesc Fàbregas
fullname	Francesc Fàbregas i Soler
dateofbirth	May 04, 1987
cityofbirth	Vilassar de Mar
countryofbirth	Spain
height
position	Midfielder
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	4
youthyears1	1995–1997
youthyears2	1997–2003
youthyears3	2003
youthclubs1	Mataró
youthclubs2	Barcelona
youthclubs3	Arsenal
years1	2003–2011
years2	2011-present
clubs1	Arsenal
clubs2	Barcelona
caps1	212
goals1	35
years2	2011–
clubs2	Barcelona
caps2	1
goals2	1
nationalyears1	2002–2003
nationalyears2	2003–2004
nationalyears3	2005
nationalyears4	2004–2005
nationalyears5	2006–
nationalyears6	2004
nationalteam1	Spain U16
nationalteam2	Spain U17
nationalteam3	Spain U20
nationalteam4	Spain U21
nationalteam5	Spain
nationalteam6	Catalonia
nationalcaps1	8
nationalgoals1	0
nationalcaps2	14
nationalgoals2	7
nationalcaps3	5
nationalgoals3	0
nationalcaps4	11
nationalgoals4	2
nationalcaps5	58
nationalgoals5	6
nationalcaps6	1
nationalgoals6	1
pcupdate	21:50, 29 August, 2011 (UTC)
ntupdate	03:13, 14 August 2011 (UTC) }}

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he went on to establish himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder, playmaker, and captain. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position. In 2011, he returned to Barcelona for an initial fee of £29m (€34m) with a further £4m (€5m) in variables.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup, helping Spain to become eventual winners in the two most recent tournaments.

Early years

Fàbregas was born in Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia to Francesc Fàbregas, Sr., who runs a property company, and Núria Soler, the owner of a pastry company. Fàbregas has supported FC Barcelona since childhood and went to his first match when he was nine months old with his grandfather. He began his club football career with CE Mataró, before being signed for Barcelona's La Masia youth academy aged 10 in 1997. His first coach, Señor Blai, reportedly did not select Fabregas for matches against Barcelona in an attempt to hide him from their scouts. This tactic, however, was unable to withstand Barcelona for long, and Mataró gave in and allowed Fàbregas to train with Barcelona one day per week. Eventually Fàbregas joined Barcelona's academy full time. His initial training was as a defensive midfielder playing alongside notable names such as Gerard Piqué and Lionel Messi. Although he was a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring even more than 30 goals in a season for the club's youth teams, he did not manage to play a first team game at the Camp Nou. During his time at Barcelona's youth academy, Fàbregas idolised Barcelona's then-captain and number four Josep Guardiola, who would later give Fàbregas his shirt as consolation when Fàbregas' parents divorced.

Club career

Arsenal

Adapting to England

Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona, he joined Arsenal in their Academy, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003. Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a friendship with Spanish-speaking team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down. As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not contemplate breaking into the first team immediately but looked up to senior players like Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while concentrating on training and learning the English language. He nevertheless made his debut for Arsenal not long after, on 23 October 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever first team player, aged 16 years and 177 days. He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring in a 5–1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season, Fàbregas was not awarded a winner's medal because he did not play a single league game.

It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started making first team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match of the season was against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. Following an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier League starts. He was praised for his performances in those games, even claiming a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer in a league game. With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, he received more playing time in all competitions. He signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in September 2004, which committed his long-term future to the club. In the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg in a 5–1 win. He concluded his season by winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.

Making the starting eleven

After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas was given the Frenchman's number 4 shirt and featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. He made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the Final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 2–1, completing a trophyless 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas' increase in exposure drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new five-year deal (with an option to extend by a further three years) to the midfielder, which he signed on 19 October 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was a learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and were defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup Final. However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest total in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper ''TuttoSport'', based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.

The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife, followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona. There was also speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists, and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard. His start to the season also earned him the O₂ Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August, September and October, as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for September. With Arsenal leading the league table until March, Fàbregas was equally instrumental in the club's 2007–08 Champions League campaign; in the return leg against Milan, the midfielder scored late in the game to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals. Though Arsenal ended the season trophyless, Fàbregas amassed several personal awards. On 11 April 2008, Fàbregas was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards for the second year running; he was later crowned the winner of the latter, and named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the 2007–08 Arsenal.com Player of the Season.

Captaincy

On 24 November 2008, 14 league games into the 2008–09 season, Fàbregas was named as the successor to William Gallas as club captain. However, just as Arsenal were getting back into the title race after a poor start to the season, the Spaniard was ruled out for four months after sustaining a knee injury against Liverpool. The Gunners eventually finished the season without any silverware, coming in fourth in the league and being knocked out at the semi-finals of the 2008–09 Champions League campaign. In tandem with Arsenal's policy to groom its young players, the team that Fàbregas led into the new season consisted mostly of the same young nucleus as before, with the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Gaël Clichy, Abou Diaby, Denílson, Samir Nasri, Alexandre Song, and Theo Walcott in tow.

In the opening league game of 2009–10 season, Fàbregas scored a brace and managed two assists in Arsenal's 6–1 away win against Everton. Arsenal went on to secure qualification for the 2009–10 Champions League campaign by beating Celtic over two legs, but their early momentum to the season was disrupted by consecutive league game losses to Manchester United and Manchester City. The team bounced back strongly after this setback, and with Fàbregas being prolific in scoring and setting up his teammates, it went unbeaten in the next 13 games. Despite suffering four league losses even before mid-season approached, Arsenal managed to lead the league standings after 22 games. On 31 March 2010, in the Champions League first leg of the quarter-final against Barcelona, Fàbregas suffered a leg fracture before scoring the equalising goal in the game which ended 2–2. Arsenal, who were four points behind league leaders Manchester United, were deprived of their captain for the remaining six league games of the season; they were subsequently eliminated by Barcelona in the Champions League, and fell out of the league title race. Fàbregas was later named to the PFA Team of the Year.

Before the start of the 2010–11 season, there was once again intense media speculation about the Spaniard's future, and in June 2010, a €35 million bid from Barcelona was rejected. The 2010–11 season turned out to be an extremely competitive one in the Premier League; even though Arsenal had lost five games before mid-season, they were jostling for pole position with Manchester United and Manchester City. Going into late February, Arsenal were still in contention for the quadruple, but within a span of two weeks they lost in the League Cup final, were eliminated by Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and defeated in the FA Cup quarter-final. Although Fàbregas did not play in the League Cup Final, it was his misplaced backheel pass during the second leg of the Champions League game against Barcelona that allowed them to level the aggregate score. Arsenal remained in contention for the league title until a series of draws in the final third of the season caused them to fall too far behind league leaders Manchester United; they ended the season fourth. The following season was once again marked by uncertainty. Barcelona made several bids for Fàbregas, while Nasri, Arsenal's star performer the previous campaign, was courted by Manchester City.

Barcelona

On 15 August 2011, Barcelona signed Fàbregas for for an initial fee of £29 million (€34 million) with a further £4 million (€5 million) in variables, ending one of the most protracted transfer sagas in recent times. Fàbregas made his debut in the second leg of the Supercopa de España, coming on as a substitute against Real Madrid. Barcelona won the tie 3–2 and 5–4 on aggregate. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 win against Porto as Barcelona won the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, and his first league goal on his league debut against Villarreal.

International career

Youth team

Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team, Fàbregas' international career began at youth level. At the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament. Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil. Fàbregas was next involved in the 2004 UEFA U-17 European Championship, where Spain also finished runners-up. He was named the Golden Player of the tournament.

Senior team

After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad. Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign, Spain coach Luis Aragonés named the teenager in the team for a friendly against Ivory Coast. In that game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years, beating Sergio Ramos' record. He received favourable reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.

2006 World Cup

On 15 May 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist to striker Fernando Torres in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia. He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia. He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France, in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1. Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after 77 minutes in the 4–0 victory against Ukraine on 13 June 2006; he was then 19 years and 41 days old. He was later nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup, but Germany's Lukas Podolski won the award.

UEFA Euro 2008

In UEFA Euro 2008, Fàbregas was issued with squad number 10, rather than 18 which he had previously held. Despite featuring mostly as a substitute, the midfielder made a considerable impact in Spain's campaign. He scored his first international goal in that competition in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia and also had an assist in that game. Spain won all three of their group games and met Italy in the quarter-finals. In that match, Fàbregas scored the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out after the teams remained deadlocked 0–0 after extra time. In the semi-finals, Spain defeated Russia 3–0 with Fàbregas providing two assists. The midfielder made the starting eleven in the Final against Germany where Spain prevailed 1–0; this was Spain's first major title since 1964. For his efforts, Fàbregas was named in the Team of the Tournament, a 23-man squad selected by the UEFA Technical Team.

Confederations Cup 2009

After missing out for several months due to his injury, Fàbregas regained his place as a regular in Vicente del Bosque's squad. In June, he was named in the team for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored his second international goal in a 5–0 win against New Zealand in the competition's group stage. In the semi-finals against the United States (which Fàbregas started), Spain suffered a shock 2–0 loss, and its 15-game winning streak came to an end.

2010 World Cup

Fàbregas was selected as a part of del Bosque's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. With del Bosque preferring a starting midfield of Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, Fàbregas did not start in any of Spain's games in the competition. He featured as a substitute in four of their seven matches, in which Spain lost their opening game before winning the next six en route to the final. In the Final itself, Fàbregas set up the extra-time winner for Iniesta to win Spain the World Cup for the first time in their history.

International goals

:''Scores and results list. Spain's goal tally first.'' Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria 14 June 2009 9 September 2009 10 October 2009 18 November 2009 8 June 2010

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	10 June 2008	|		4–1	4–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Group D>UEFA Euro 2008
2.	|	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa		4–0	5–0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	|	Estadio Romano, Mérida, Spain>Mérida, Spain		1–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	|	Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia		1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria		1–1	5–1	Friendly
6.	|	Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		4–0	6–0	Friendly

Style of play

Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu during the 2004–05 season. While Vieira served as his role model and mentor, he styled his game after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola. Because he was of a different mould from his Arsenal predecessors who played in the same position, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive style of play, with former teammate Ashley Cole criticising the Spaniard as "an unproven featherweight" in his autobiography.

However, it did not take long for Fàbregas to become one of the most coveted and celebrated young talents in the game. Functioning mostly as a playmaker and renowned for his passing range, he was described as the kernel of Arsenal's first team, bringing vision, creativity, and an innate understanding of timing and space to Arsenal's intricate passing game, displaying maturity that belied his age. He was the main creative force when he was at Arsenal, as exemplified by his 16 assists in all competitions in the 2006–07 season. Between 2006–07 and 2010–11, Fàbregas created the most chances in the top-division leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

At Arsenal, Fàbregas also often assumed responsibility for set pieces, taking corners, free kicks and penalties. By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. This changed initially in the 2007–08 season when he scored 11 goals in his first 16 games, and Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score was down to a mental state, and even compared the Spaniard to Michel Platini, a French midfielder renowned for scoring. There were also concerns raised over the large number of games Fàbregas was playing for club and country at such a young age, but while he initially avoided long spells on the sidelines, he played significantly less games due to injury in his last three seasons with Arsenal.

Statistics

''Statistics accurate as of 29 August 2011''

0 2 3 2 7 3 15 3 1

Club	Season	League	Cup	!colspan="3"	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="8" valign="center"	Arsenal		0	|	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	0
2004–05 Arsenal F.C. season	2004–05	33	|	4	8	0	0	5	1	0	46	3	4
2005–06 Arsenal F.C. season	2005–06	35	|	5	2	1	0	13	1	2	50	5	7
2006–07 Arsenal F.C. season	2006–07	38	|	13	6	0	2	10	2	1	54	4	16
2007–08 Arsenal F.C. season	2007–08	32	|	19	3	0	1	10	6	2	45	13	22
2008–09 Arsenal F.C. season	2008–09	22	|	10	1	0	0	10	0	5	33	3	15
2009–10 Arsenal F.C. season	2009–10	27	|	15	1	0	1	8	4	3	36	19	19
2010–11 Arsenal F.C. season	2010–11	25	|	14	6	3	1	5	3	2	35	9	17
Total	!212!!35!!80!!30!!5!!5!!61!!17!!15!!303!!57!!100
rowspan="1" valign="center"	Barcelona		1	|	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	3	2	0
Total	!1!!1!!0!!1!!0!!0!!1!!1!!0!!3!!2!!0
Career total		! 213 !! 36 !! 80 !! 31 !! 5 !! 5 !! 62 !! 18 !! 15 !! 306 !! 59 !! 100

|- |2006||14||0 |- |2007||8||0 |- |2008||15||1 |- |2009||10||4 |- |2010||11||1 |- !Total||58||6 |}

Career highlights

Arsenal

Winner

FA Cup: 2004–05

FA Community Shield: 2004

Runner-up

UEFA Champions League: 2005–06

Football League Cup: 2006–07, 2010–11

FA Community Shield: 2005

Barcelona

Winner

Supercopa de España: 2011

UEFA Super Cup: 2011

International

Winner

FIFA World Cup: 2010

UEFA European Championship: 2008

Runner-up

FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2003

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship: 2004

Individual

FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Shoe: 2003

FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Ball: 2003

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Golden Player: 2004

Bravo Award: 2006

UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008

Premier League Player of the Month: January 2007, September 2007

ESM Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2009–10

PFA Young Player of the Year: 2007–08

PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2009–10

UEFA Team of the Tournament: 2008

Golden Boy: 2006

Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010

Other projects

Fàbregas starred in his own one-time only television programme, called ''"The Cesc Fàbregas Show: Nike Live"'', that aired on 19 May 2008. The programme was sponsored by Nike and was shown on Sky Sports. The show featured Fàbregas in several sketches with Arsenal teammates like Philippe Senderos and Nicklas Bendtner, as well as coach Arsène Wenger, Fàbregas' parents and ''Little Britain'' star Matt Lucas.

Fàbregas is also an Honorary Patron of the campaign against Racism in football and society; Show Racism the Red Card.

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:People from Barcelona Category:Spanish footballers Category:Catalan footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Premier League players Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:Spanish expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in England

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playername	Thiago Alcântara
fullname	Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento
dateofbirth	April 11, 1991
cityofbirth	San Pietro Vernotico
countryofbirth	Italy
height
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	11
position	Midfielder
youthyears1	1995–1996
youthyears2	1996–2001
youthyears3	2001–2005
youthyears4	2005–2007
youthclubs1	Flamengo
youthclubs2	Ureca
youthclubs3	Flamengo
youthclubs4	Barcelona
years1	2007–2011
clubs1	Barcelona B
caps1	59
goals1	3
years2	2009–
clubs2	Barcelona
caps2	15
goals2	4
years3	2011–
nationalyears1	2007
nationalteam1	Spain U16
nationalcaps1	1
nationalgoals1	0
nationalyears2	2007–2008
nationalteam2	Spain U17
nationalcaps2	8
nationalgoals2	5
nationalyears3	2009
nationalteam3	Spain U18
nationalcaps3	1
nationalgoals3	1
nationalyears4	2009–2010
nationalteam4	Spain U19
nationalcaps4	11
nationalgoals4	4
nationalyears5	2010–
nationalteam5	Spain U21
nationalcaps5	12
nationalgoals5	1
nationalyears6	2011–
nationalteam6	Spain
nationalcaps6	1
nationalgoals6	0
pcupdate	29 August 2011
ntupdate	10 August 2011 }}

Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento (born 11 April 1991) is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.

Club career

Early years

Thiago Alcântara was born in San Pietro Vernotico, Italy and grew up in Spain. His father is former Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho. He started at the lower levels of Flamengo and at the age of five, he moved to Spain with his father and his cousin Patrick Gude, and started playing with Galician team Ureca in Nigrán. He returned to Flamengo aged 10 and, in 2005, once again moved back to Spain, signing with FC Barcelona, where his cousin Patrick was also playing for Barça.

FC Barcelona

On 17 May 2009, aged 18 years old, Thiago made his debut with the first team when he came on as a substitute for Eiður Guðjohnsen in the 63rd minute against RCD Mallorca. On 20 February 2010, after coming on as a subtitute for Yaya Touré in the 76th minute, Thiago scored his first goal for Barcelona's first team in a 4–0 win against Racing de Santander at the Camp Nou. His second goal came in a game against UD Almería on 9 April 2011, to make the score 2–1. He scored his third goal against Real Sociedad in a start. He ended the 2010–11 season with 17 games, three goals, and three assists under his belt. On 29 June, he signed a contract renewal keeping him at Barcelona through 30 June 2015, with a buyout clause of €90 million. In the first game of the season against Villarreal he scored 1 goal and gave two assists.

International career

He participated in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship with Spain, helping his country to eventual victory in the tournament. He was also called up for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in France by Spain and played a major role in Spain reaching the final. Thiago was ever-present during Spain's victorious 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, scoring the second goal of a 2–0 victory with a 40-yard free kick in the final against Switzerland. He was awarded the man of the match of the final as well as player of the tournament due to his dazzling performances throughout the competition. He made his first appearance for Spain's senior squad in a friendly against Italy on 10 August 2011.

Football career statistics

As of 29 August 2011

0 0 3 0 0 1 2 1

Club	Season	League	Cup	!colspan="2"	Other	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals
rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"	Barcelona B	!colspan="2"	5	|	–						5	0
!colspan="2"	2008–09	25	|	–						25	0
!colspan="2"	2009–10	18	|	–						18	3
!colspan="2"	2010–11	11	|	–						11	0
!colspan="2"	Total	–!!59!!3
rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"	!colspan="2"	1	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
!colspan="2"	2009–10	1	|	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
!colspan="2"	2010–11	12	|	3	1	1	0	1	0	17	3
!colspan="2"	2011–12	1	|	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1
	!15!!4!!4!!1!!1!!0!!2!!0!!22!!5
Career totals		!74!!7!!4!!1!!1!!0!!2!!0!!81!!8

Personal

He is the son of the former Brazilian footballer and 1994 World Cup winner Mazinho. His mother, Valéria Alcântara, was a former volleyball player. His younger brother, Rafinha, is currently a member of the FC Barcelona B.

Honours

Barcelona

La Liga: 3

:: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Spanish Supercup: 2

:: 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League: 1

:: 2010–11

Spain

Under-17 European Championship: 1

:: 2008

Under-21 European Championship: 1

:: 2011

References

External links

Thiago Alcântara Official Website

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Brindisi Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Spanish people of Black African descent Category:Spanish people of African descent Category:Spanish people of Brazilian descent Category:Spanish footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers

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