Каталоны алдарт Барселона клуб нь зөвхөн спортын байгууллага бус, гишүүнчлэлийн ардчилсан зарчмаар үйл ажиллагаагаа явуулдаг дэлхийн хэмжээний нөлөө бүхий томоохон клуб юм.
“Мес ке ун клуб” буюу “Клубээс илүү” гэх уриатай тус баг нь техникийн ур чадвар, багийн тоглолт, довтолгооны хэв маягаараа ямагт ялгардаг. Йохан Кройфын үндэслэсэн энэхүү философи нь Испанийн шигшээ багийн тоглолтын арга барилд ч гүнзгий нөлөө үзүүлж, Пеп Гвардиолагийн удирдлага дор оргилдоо хүрсэн түүхтэй. “Ла Масиа” академиас төрөн гарсан Лионель Месси, Ламине Ямал зэрэг тоглогчид клубийн тоглолтын хэв маягийг тодорхойлсоор байна.
Саяхан болж өнгөрсөн Дэлхийн аваргын тэмцээний шигшээ тоглолтын нэмэлт цагт Барселонагийн тоглогч Ферран Торрес хожлын гоолыг оруулсан нь тус клубийн нөлөөг дахин нотоллоо. Барселонаг тойрсон хэвлэл мэдээллийн хэт их анхаарал болон санхүүгийн асуудлууд нь клубийг байнга сорилт дунд байлгадаг ч энэ нь тэднийг илүү сонирхолтой, тасралтгүй үргэлжлэх “бодит шоу” болгодог юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
If the World Cup has made you fall in love with football, you should consider following Barcelona now it’s over.
I’ll tell you why.
First things first. Let me introduce you to this team.
Barcelona, more commonly known as Barca, are from north-eastern Spain, in the region of Catalonia. They are famous for their motto: “Mes que un club” (Which is ‘More than a club’ in Catalan). It is a democratic organisation that belongs to its membership of about 150,000 people rather than being owned by a rich individual or faceless corporation, and a president is elected to lead it every five years.
That motto is also linked to a sense of regional Catalan identity and pride. Yet Barca’s influence and power are truly global — a recent study ranked them as the second-most-followed football club in the world on social media, behind only Real Madrid. More on them later.
The scrutiny and media attention at Barcelona are intense. Two daily newspapers cover them and almost nothing else. Radio talk shows debate important issues until the early hours. It makes for one of the most demanding atmospheres anywhere in sport. There’s even a word for it — the Barcelona ‘entorno’ (which literally translates as environment or surroundings) — coined by their legendary former player and later manager Johan Cruyff.
There’s something else important here. It’s not just good enough to win. To silence the critics, to overcome domestic rivals Madrid, another of the most successful clubs in the world, in head-to-head games called El Clasico that draw eyeballs all over the planet, you have to also win playing football the Barcelona way.
Cruyff had a lot to do with that, too.
The late Johan Cruyff played for Barca from 1973-78 and was their manager from 1988-96 (Gary M Prior/Allsport)
Easy, isn’t it?
It is probably for this reason that no manager lasts many years in the role, because it is as demanding as it is exhausting.
Presidents come and go, as do managers and players, but the club’s philosophy remains unchanged. There are no compromises on that point.
Barca are defined by technical skill, teamwork, clever positioning and attacking flair. When you watch this team play, there’s always something happening.
They are the only club to have imposed their style of play on that country’s national team. Spain’s transformation on the international stage has so much to do with the ideas generated at Barcelona and brought to fruition under manager Pep Guardiola when he took over in 2008.
Over the almost two decades since, current and former Barca players have formed the backbone of the Spanish national team — and given it its style. That is why, when Barca are doing well and have a strong generation of players, it also coincides with Spain winning trophies. Few clubs have been so influential on the broader game.
But perhaps its most distinctive feature of all is its youth programme, where hopefuls are taught how to play Barcelona’s football. In Sunday’s World Cup final, there were several players who had come through La Masia — the name given to Barcelona’s academy, called that because it was originally based in an 18th-century farmhouse (which Masia is the Catalan word for).
Barcelona’s youth academy was based here until June 2011, when a new modern complex was inaugurated (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
That number included the two biggest stars, Lionel Messi — for many, the greatest footballer of all time — and Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old now following in his footsteps.
And it was a Barcelona player, Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in extra time of that final in New Jersey.
As if that wasn’t enough, how about a healthy dose of drama thrown in?
Why Spain’s tactics don’t work without Lamine Yamal
JJ Bull
Barca’s past few years have brought plenty of success on the pitch. Off it, there have been all sorts of news stories: financial crises, last-minute player signings and damaging legal scandals that are still before the courts.
The shorthand is: Barcelona never take a day off.
That’s why it’s a reality TV series you have to watch every day. You won’t get bored. I promise.
