Welcome to the beginning of your walk around Camp Nou. Right here, at the end of Travessera de les Corts, you can already feel the scale of this place. That enormous concrete structure rising above the rooftops holds nearly 100,000 people on match day, making it the largest stadium in Spain.
FC Barcelona was founded on November 29, 1899, when a Swiss businessman named Joan Gamper placed a simple newspaper advertisement looking for people to play football. Eleven men responded, from Switzerland, England, Germany, and Catalonia, and together they built something that would grow far beyond a sports club.
The motto Més que un club, meaning More than a Club, is not just a slogan. During the Spanish Civil War, club president Josep Sunyol was executed by Francoist soldiers simply because of his beliefs. The club's offices were bombed in 1938. Football became a way for Catalans to hold onto their identity when everything else was being taken from them.
What also sets Barça apart is that no corporation owns it. Over 144,000 members do, each with a vote, each with a stake in the club's future.
27 league titles, 31 cup victories, 5 Champions League trophies, and it all started because one man posted an ad in a newspaper. Not bad for a Swiss guy looking for a kickabout.
Sources. Story: en.wikipedia.org Photos: Poster from El Gráfico, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
