Rijkaard, who came to Barça with the reputation of being a calm, sensible and honourable man, began his time in charge alongside fellow countryman Henk Ten Cate, ex-coach at Nac Breda, and Eusebio Sacristan, ex-member of the Dream Team, as assistant coaches.

As coach he was very open and communicative with all his colleagues and players. His footballing philosophy came from the Dutch school, characterised by attacking football, the importance of pressure and playing wide. He also focussed on defence, after five years in the Italian league as a player with AC Milan. At any event, he remained loyal to his principles and was a fine example of how to behave both on and off the pitch. Frank Rijkaard’s time at FC Barcelona was very positive in his first three years (2003-06), with two League titles and the club’s second Champions League, although this record wasn’t maintained in his last two seasons (2006-08)

Classification for the Champions League

The Rijkaard era began in 2003-04, with Ronaldinho as the big star on the pitch. The club had had four barren seasons and was playing in the UEFA Cup. After a poor first half to the season, the signing of Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids in the January transfer window was a turning point. The coach consolidated his tactical system and the team climbed up the table to finish second in the League, something which had seemed impossible in the darkest moments. Knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Celtic and the King’s Cup by Saragossa, Barça finished the season with just one title in the shape of the Catalan Cup, but at the end of the day had showed there was hope for the future.

The first League

In the 2004-05 season the team made a qualitative leap with the arrival of stars such as Eto’o, Deco, Larsson, Giuly, Edmílson, Belletti and Sylvinho. Despite four serious injuries in the first part of the championship (Motta, Gabri, Edmílson and Larsson), Barça overcame the difficulties and with attacking football won the League with authority. The title was won away at Llevant with three games still to go. The side also won the Catalan Cup that season, having been knocked out of the Champions League and the King’s Cup by Chelsea and Gramenet respectively.

2005/06: historic double

The pinnacle of Rijkaard’s achievement came in the 2005/06 season. His side dazzled Europe with memorable performances at Stamford Bridge (1-2) and San Siro (0-1), before winning the club’s second Champions League title in Paris against Arsenal (2-1). Barça also retained their League title with some spectacular football which included a winning streak of 14 games (including a 0-3 win at Bernabéu which led to them being applauded by the Madrid fans). They also won the European Super Cup by beating Betis, with the only negative point being elimination from the King’s Cup at the hands of Saragossa. At an individual level, in that virtually unsurpassable 2006 Rijkaard was chosen World’s Best Manager by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), ahead of José Mourinho and Juande Ramos.

Two barren seasons

The 2006-07 season was a disappointment. Knocked out on the away goals rule by Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League, goal difference deprived Barça of its third League title in a row. Also painful was elimination from the King’s Cup in the semi-finals by Getafe. Moreover Seville and Internacional de Porto Alegre defeated Barça in the European Super Cup and the World Club Championship respectively. The Spanish Super Cup and the Catalan Cup were the only titles to be won that season, with Espanyol as the runners-up in both cases.

The summer of 2007 saw the arrival of Henry, Touré, Abidal and Milito which in principle meant Barça had one of the best squads in its history. The team was one goal away from both the Champions League final and the King’s Cup final, with Manchester United and Valencia putting out the Catalans who perhaps deserved better on both occasions. In the League the team was unable to achieve the consistency required due to physical wear and tear and injuries, and ended up in third place.

Trophies and figures

On 8 May 2008 the club announced a change of coach: Frank Rijkaard was to be replaced by Josep Guardiola. In spite of two adverse years, the Dutch coach left with an excellent record: two League titles (2004-05 and 2005-06), a Champions League (2005-06), two Spanish Super Cups (2005-06 and 2006-07) and three Catalan Cups (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2006-07). In addition to these titles, with Frank Rijkaard FC Barcelona recovered an identity and style of playing which enabled it to rejoin football’s top flight both in Spain and in Europe.

Rijkaard managed Barça in 283 official games, with 167 victories, 64 draws and 52 defeats, scoring 544 goals and letting in 254. His win percentage was 59%, with an average of 1.92 goals scored and 0.89 conceded per game. His 112 victories in the League put him in second spot as a Barça coach in this competition behind Johan Cruyff on 183.

Experience before Barça

Rijkaard began his coaching career at the 1998 World Cup as assistant to Guus Hiddink with Holland. Between 1998 and 2000 he was the Dutch coach, and in 2001-02 managed Sparta Rotterdam.

An exemplary player as well

Rijkaard had an exceptional career as a player. He graduated from the Ajax youth academy and played for the Amsterdam outfit between the 1980-81 and 1987-88 seasons. In this latter season he also played for a few months at Real Saragossa, totalling 11 matches. Most of his greatest successes came with AC Milan between 1988 and 1993.

The trophies he won as a player include the European championship with Holland (1988), three European Cups (88-89, 89-90 and 94-95), the Cup Winners’ Cup (86-87), three European Super Cups (1989, 1990 and 1995), two Intercontinental Cups (1989 and 1990), five Dutch leagues (81-82, 82-83, 84-85, 93-94 and 94-95), two Italian leagues (91-92 and 92-93), two Italian Super Cups (1989 and 1994) and three Dutch Cups (82-83, 85-86 and 86-87).

Caretaker manager, Jesus Antonio de la Cruz, took temporary charge of team affairs until Antic took the reins with the team in 15th position in the Spanish League and well placed in the second phase of the Champions League. Like many other coaches, Radomir Antic was a player before he took up management. He started his playing career with Sloboda Tyzla of Yugoslavia (1967-1968) and then moved to the club where he would play most seasons, Partizan Belgrade (1968-1976). As coincidence would have it, Barça basketball coach Svetislav Pesic was playing in the Partizan basketball team at the same time.

In the 1976 season he signed for Turkish club Fenerbahce (1976-1977) before moving to the Spanish League where he played for Zaragoza (1977-1979). He later moved on to Luton Town in England where he played for 5 seasons (1979-1984).

He started his management career with Partizan Belgrade (1985-88) and continued with Spanish clubs Real Zaragoza (1988-1991), Real Madrid (1991-1992) and Real Oviedo. His most successful period to date was with Atletico de Madrid (1995-98). He won the League and Cup double in a 1995-96 season full of good football. He later returned to both Atletico de Madrid (1999 and 2000) and to Real Oviedo (2000-2001).

Although he was a great player, Rexach spent his best years on the Barcelona bench, first accompanying Luis Aragonés (1987-1988) and later Johan Cruyff (1988-1996). With the first, who he substituted for certain games, he won the Spanish Cup against Real Sociedad of San Sebastian (1-0), and with Johan he won a seemingly endless list of titles, the most important being four consecutive leagues and the precious European Cup. He also took full control of the team when the Dutchman was so unfortunately forced into absence for a heart operation. Of the many fine memories that Rexach gave Barcelona's fans when he managed the team, the greatest of all was the 0-6 win in Bilbao, a game in which the Blaugrana totally humiliated Javier Clemente's men. Later on, on 1996, under completely different circumstances, Rexach substituted Cruyff after he had been sacked.

Towards the end of the 2000-2001 season, Charly once again took charge of the first team when the directors decided to substitute the manager who had started the season, Llorenç Serra Ferrer. That year, he led the team into the following season's Champions League, when the club defeated Valencia in the final league game of the season thanks to a spectacular last minute goal from Rivaldo. The next season, 2001-2002, Carles Rexach once again led the team to one of the top four places in the league and was on the verge of qualifying the side for the Champions League Final, but they were knocked out at the semi final stage by Real Madrid.

At the beginning of Louis Van Gaal's second period in charge at the club (2002-03), Carles Rexach was demoted from his position at the helm of the first team and became the club's technical secretary.

Llorenç Serra Ferrer, was born in Sa Pobla (Majorca) on 5th March 1953. He became manager of FC Barcelona in the summer of 2000 after Dutchman Louis van Gaal left the club.

After being elected as the new manager of the club as the successor to Núñez, Joan Gaspart confirmed his officially as the new manager. Serra Ferrer was already working with the club where he had been in charge of the youth teams since July 1997. The Majorcan began his coaching career as manager of Poblec where he remained for five seasons. Later he was manager of the Majorca youth team and in season 85-86 he became manager of the first team and won promotion to the first division.

In season 1993-94 he joined Real Betis and that season he took the Andalusia club to the first division. In the following season Betis finished third in the championship and won a place in the UEFA Cup and in season 96-97 they played in the final of the Kings Cup against Barca. This fantastic form in charge of Betis opened the door to our club where, after three years as the man in charge of the youth squads, he became first team manager.

During his managerial guidance the team were knocked out of the first league stage of the Champions League and went on to play in the UEFA Cup where Liverpool blocked the path to the final. On the 23rd of April 2001, after losing a league match against Osasuna, he was replaced on the bench by Carles Rexach and returned to the technical staff of the club. A year later Serrer Ferrer left the club.

In his youth Van Gaal combined his studies in Physical Education with his great passion: football. As a player he played in various teams in the First and Second divisions of the Dutch league such as De Meer, Ajax, Antwerp, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ. After playing with Ajax, Louis van Gaal played in second division teams until season 86-87 when he decided to hang up his boots when he was playing for AZ and became part of the coaching staff of this club. It was here that van Gaal took his first steps as a football manager. In 1988 after a year as manager of AZ, he was given the opportunity to join the coaching staff of Ajax and joined then as overall manager of the youth teams and then later as assistant manager. In season 1991-92 van Gaal became manager of Ajax and put together one of the greatest squads in the history of the team. This was a group which would go on to win many trophies at home and abroad.

In his first year in charge of the team, Ajax won the UEFA Cup and the following season Dutch Cup and Supercup. In season 93-94 he went a step further and won the Dutch league and the Dutch Supercup.

In season 94-95 Ajax again won the League Championship and the Supercup and as the icing on the cake for one of the best seasons in the history of the club, they won the European Cup against Milan. The last great victories of Ajax in the van Gaal era came in season 95-96 when the team won the Dutch League and Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup.

After a painful final year when Ajax finished fourth in the league, van Gaal who was being proclaimed as the successor to Cruyff, arrived at Futbol Club Barcelona as the replacement of Bobby Robson. His first days in charge of Barça were not easy and he had to fight so that the players understood his own personal football vision.

vangaal004.jpgSeason 1997-98 was his first year as manager of Barça and van Gaal managed to win three trophies with the club: the League, the Kings Cup and the European Super Cup. For the first time in 39 years Barca had won the double (League and Cup). His second season also saw him win the League which meant that after two seasons as manager van Gaal had managed to take the team to the forefront of Spanish football, something that had not been achieved since Enrique Fernández and Helenio Herrera. His third year in charge was to prove the most difficult as the team finished second in the League and was beaten in the semi-final of the Champions League and the Kings Cup. That season the club finished without any trophies.

After the president Josep Lluís Núñez had called elections for the presidency of the club in May 2000 and decided not to put himself forward as a candidate, Louis van Gaal also announced his resignation as manager and relinquished the year of his contract that he still had to run.

In season 2002-2003, after three season without winning a trophy, the president, Joan Gaspart, convinced van Gaal to return to the club as manager two years after he had left. Here now begins the Dutchman's second spell as manager of Barça.

vangaal002.jpgThis second period at the club finished in January 2003, after a poor run in the league, which had seen only 6 wins, with 5 games drawn and 8 lost, as a result of which, the board reached an amicable agreement with Van Gaal to terminate his contract.

Van Gaal managed the team for 201 games during his two periods at the club.

There is no doubt that the extra pressure that that supposed, added to heavy criticism of his tactical ideas, made it difficult for Bobby Robson to enjoy an easy season. Nevertheless, the English manager responded by winning titles against all the odds. ¨

Robson004.jpgThe team came second in the league, won the Cup Winners Cup against PSG (1-0) and also claimed the Spanish Cup, beating Betis (3-2) on an unforgettable night at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The semi final of that competition was also a memorable occasion, including an epic comeback at the Camp Nou.Despite success on the field, Bobby Robson's destiny was already decided before the season had started: Louis Van Gaal was always going to take over at Barça for the next few seasons. When the Dutchman arrived, Bobby Robson, who had enjoyed such a successful season on Barcelona's bench, was handed a position as part of the club's technical team.

Robson moved on from Barcelona in the summer of 1998, after succumbing to a tempting offer from one of his former clubs, PSV Eindhoven. In his two years at the club, the Englishman, who managed to get the best out of the young and effective Ronaldo, won himself a place in the hearts of Barcelona's supporters.

However, before returning to the Catalan capital, Cruyff had already built up plenty of experience as a trainer. He debuted on the Ajax bench, the other of the two clubs he had starred at as a player. He led the team to a Dutch Cup title in 1986, followed by Cup Winners Cup success a year later. In Holland, he was strongly praised for the attacking flair he imposed on his sides and also for his commendable work as talent spotter, discovering, for example Marco Van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp.

Cruyff008.jpgWith Barça, Cruyff started work with a completely remodelled side after the previous season's scandal, known as the 'Hespereria Mutiny'. His second in command was Charly Rexach, who had already been at the Club for a year. Cruyff immediately had his Barça charges playing his attractive brand of football and the results did not take long in coming. But, this didn't just happen with the first team, the youth teams also displayed that same attacking style, something that made it easier for reserve players to make the switch to first team football. Without a doubt, such in-depth strengthening of the squad was one of the areas that best explains why Cruyff was such a huge success.

Cruyff010.jpgBut the eight years that he was in charge of the club - he is the trainer who has spent the most consecutive seasons on the Blaugrana bench - did not come without their difficulties for Johan. It shouldn't be forgotten that on January 27, 1991, he was subjected to open heart surgery, which was directly related to his many years of tobacco consumption. The operation marked a moment of inflection. From then on, the team got better year after year, to the point that Barça finally claimed the much desired European Cup at the majestic Wembley Stadium. The team that one four consecutive leagues came to be known as the 'Dream Team', and its lively, spectacular style won admirers all around the world. That team, apart from enjoying the presence of the best trio of foreigners in the world (Stoichkov, Laudrup and Koeman and, later, Romario), also had a strong core of Spaniards, essentially formed by Basques and Catalans (Bakero, Berguiristain, Salinas, Guardiola, Ferrer, Sergi...) who made up a solid block alongside other great players such as Amor, Nadal and Eusebio.

However, the Dutchman's two last seasons at the Club were far less successful, and during that time, Barça failed to capture a single title. As a result of his very public disagreements with the president, Josep Lluís Núñez, Cruyff left the club via the back door. It was only after a series of legal disputes that the Club and the Dutchman came to the agreement to stage two emotional testimonials at the Camp Nou and Amsterdam Arena.

Never in the history of the Club has any one manager won as many titles as Johan Cruyff: 1 European Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 4 Leagues, 1 Spanish Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 3 Spanish Super Cups.

Born in Hortaleza (Madrid) on 28th June 1938, Aragonés has coached the largest number of First Division matches. Luis Aragonés made his debut as a coach in the 74-75 season. He started out with the team he had starred in, Atlético de Madrid.

He entered Barcelona Football Club as a substitute for Terry Venables and succeeded in winning the Cup. His arrival coincided with one of the most delicate moments the Club has ever been through. Most of the players had joined ranks and had demanded that the president Josep Lluís Núñez resign, in the famous 'Motín de Hesperia' (Hesperia Mutiny) and Luis Aragonés gave them his unconditional support. Apart from this important event, Luis Aragonés, whose second coach was Charly Rexach, was unable to finish the season with the team owing to a depression.

Afterwards, he continued his career as a coach in other clubs such as Betis, Valencia, Espanyol, Mallorca and Atlético de Madrid.

The post-Maradona era was about to start. Venables was recommended by Bobby Robson, a good friend of the President and who himself, years later, would take over the team in the season that Ronaldo was here (1996-97). Terry used a very English system, a classic 4-4-2, which took advantage of outstanding defenders like Gerado, Migueli and Julio Alberto and a very hard-working midfield led by the superb German, Bernd Schuster.

Venables003.jpgVenables won the League Championship in his first season and the following year took the team to that cursed final in Seville, the European Cup final of 1986. As well as this, he won the League Cup in the 1985-86 season.

In his last season, 1986-87, things did not go so well for him and he was replaced by Luis Aragonés, who managed the team until the end of the season.

The Blue-and-Reds manager arrived with the intention of introducing his famous 'closing down of spaces' system, which consisted of putting the opposing team under heavy pressure by pushing the defence up. That season, however, Barça did not win the League Championship, although they beat Real Madrid to win both the Copa del Rey, with a splendid last minute header from Marcos, and the Copa de la Liga.

Menotti009.jpgThe following season should have been the one in which Schuster and Maradona, the great duo in the League, triumphed. However, it was not to be. The little Argentinian star suffered a serious injury after a fierce tackle from Athletic de Bilbao's central defender, Andoni Goikoetxea who had, curiously enough, already injured Bernd Schuster in the 1981-82 season. The team only managed to win the Spanish Super Cup and Menotti decided to leave the Club.

He was only in charge of the team on one occasion, against Salamanca in the Helmántico stadium (1-1). Later he managed other First Division teams such as Logroñés, Betis and Cadiz.

In his first season something that no manager wants to happen, happened. After being at the top for the greater part of the championship and dominating the League with authority, with only 6 games to go he let the opportunity of winning the League slip through his hands and the trophy was lost to Real Sociedad, who had players of the calibre of Zamora, Sastrústegui and Arkonada. Udo Lattek salvaged the season by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982, beating Standard Liège at Camp Nou (2-1).

Lattek004.jpgOn 4th June 1982, after extensive negotiations, he pulled off the signing of the best player in the world at that time - Diego Armando Maradona. The Argentinian star, however, did not change a great deal, bringing more headaches to the club than anything else. Lattek began to find himself more and more isolated from the squad and the Board. He was sacked on 3rd March 1983, when Barça lost at home to League tail-enders, Racing Santander.

The Board got to work immediately and decided to replace Lucien Müller with the Rifé-Torres duo. The first and only real objective that these two managers had was to ensure Barça got to the final of the Cup Winners' Cup, which was to be held in Basle. They not only managed to do this, but they also won the final, thus giving Barcelona Football Club its first important European trophy. 40,000 Barça supporters made their way to Switzerland to watch their team win the first of the four Cup Winners' Cups that Barça now has in its trophy cabinet .

The following season the team was knocked out of the Cup Winners' Cup by Valencia and Josep Lluis Núñez decided to put an end to Quimet Rifé's period on the bench, replacing him with Helenio Herrera, who came back for his second spell at Barcelona Football Club.

It was the 1978-79 season and Josep Lluís Nuñez had great faith in him, seeing him as the ideal replacement for the Dutchman, Marinus Michels, who had left a great impression on the Club. Müller had done great things with other First Division sides in the Spanish Championship, but Barça was just too big for him. The French manager did not last out the season, and was substituted by Joaquim Rifé, a home-grown man.

Ruiz, a Club man who had been in charge of the junior team for four years, had some good results during his short stay.

In the end he gave way to Marinus Michels, who began his second period as manager of Barcelona Football Club.

With the German team he won the UEFA Cup in the 1974-75 season, however, in Barcelona things did not work out for him as well as they had done in his own country. He had an added problem while at Barça: Johan Cruyff. The Dutch player never accepted this manager's working methods, an attitude which caused a rift amongst the supporters. The majority, obviously, supported the 'Flying Dutchman' and, as a consequence, Weissweiler ended up leaving the Club through the back door.

The following season more or less the same thing happened, and the team did not win anything.

The Blue-and-Reds supporters had to wait until the arrival of Johan Cruyff, to see the League Championship title won. With him in the side, Michels's game plan had no holes in it and worked to perfection. Barça was once again proclaimed Champions, fourteen years after their last League trophy.The 1974-75 season saw a return to a stream of bad results and an absence of trophies.

It was then that Marinus Michels decided to put an end to his first period at Barça. He was soon to return, however, and was back on the bench at Camp Nou for the 1976-77 season. His stay at Barça ended in the 1977-78 season, when he won his third trophy with the club, the Copa del Rey.

Buckingham lost the reins of the team just as any possibility of winning the title was about to be ruled out. They were tenth in the League, eight points behind the leader. Finally, the situation improved considerably and the team ended up in fourth place.

1969 was a historic year, not only because of an epic victory, but because of the scandal caused by the referee Guruceta in the Camp Nou. In the Cup semi-finals, Barça were playing Real Madrid. Rifé tackled Velázquez and the referee awarded a penalty for a foul that had clearly taken place outside the area. The scandal was monumental.

The following season, Buckingham won the Cup after an exciting final against Valencia. However, in spite of his success, he was dismissed and substituted by the prestigious Marianus Michels, who had been coaching Ajax Amsterdam.

Vic Buckingham died in the mid-nineties. His death was deeply mourned by the team's followers.

The curious thing about this manager is that he always had it very clear in his mind that his role was simply to be a caretaker-manager.

When Augustí Montal took over as President, Seguer was replaced by Vic Buckingham.

Previously, he had played for the blue-and-reds, even though he had spent the greater part of his career as a footballer with Real Sociedad. Soon after, he continued his career with Girondin of Bordeaux. After that, he signed up with Barcelona Football Club and in his first season took the team to runners-up in the League and won the Cup.

In his second season, they finished in the same spot in the League as well as playing in the European Cup Winners Cup final against Slovan of Bratislava, which the blue-and-reds ended up losing 2-3. In his third season with the Club, he resigned only five games into the League competition.

The season in which he took over the team was, in theory, a transitional period. Various players had to fit into the team; players who had been on loan, youngsters from the Barça youth squad - like Rexach, and other signings like Gallego (a great central defender), Muller or Reina.

His strong character and bad temper made him an unpopular manager with the players. After a defeat at the hands of Elche, he even went as far as dropping Vicente and Rey from the team because of their poor performances. Finally, in his first season as manager, the team ended up third in the League. Barça also won the Fairs Cup, beating Saragossa after a goal from Rexach - a player who, according to the very same Olsen, was not up to playing football. The following season, 1966-67, proved to be a complete disaster and the Board decided to do something about it by signing a new manager: Salvador Artigas.

However, after a good start everything went badly wrong. Being knocked out of the Fairs Cup by Strasbourg was the last straw. After three draws, the winner was decided on the toss of a coin and Barça went out of the competition.

Sasot left the team the following season.

There, he was enormously successful, even playing in a Cup final against Barça. This, added to the promising career he had shown up to then, did not pass unnoticed by the Board of Barcelona Football Club, and he was signed as manager in the 1963-64 season. However, with Barça, the luck which he had had with other teams deserted him and, after a season and a half on the manager's bench, he resigned.

When he came to work as a coach, it was to substitute his colleague Ladislao Kubala. It was in the second half of the 62-63 season and the team was going through trying times. Even though Barça ended up winning the Cup Final, Gonzalvo left his position at the end of the year.

Josep Gonzalvo died in 1978 after undergoing an operation which led to further complications.

Enric Llaudet, the president of the Club between 1961 and 1962, asked him not to cut his links with the Club and suggested that he direct the Football Players' School. Kubala was thus linked to Barça in case things with the professional squad did not work out well and that is just how it turned out. Laszi lost the reins of the team and was dismissed in 1963, after the team was eliminated from the Fair's Cup in a match against Red Star Belgrade.Nevertheless, Kubala decided to make a dramatic change in the 1963-1964 season and accepted an offer from Espanyol to become player-coach alongside his great friend Alfredo Di Stefano.

After searching for new incentives, Kubala went on to coach other teams such as Murcia, Elche and Málaga, amongst others. He even coached a Swiss and two Canadian teams. Later on, he was in charge of the Spanish team for two seasons.

He returned to Barcelona Football Club in 1980 only to leave the club again five months later.Kubala died on the 17th May 2002 as a result of a long-term illness which had confined him to bed in a Barcelona hospital since the month of February that year.

Miró managed FC Barcelona in the 1961-62 season, and was also in charge of Valladolid, Valencia, Sevilla, Olympique Marseille, Roma, Malaga and the Spanish national team (as a trainer but not manager). Before going into management, Lluís Miró was a goalkeeper for Barça, and it was he in fact who played in goal in the infamous fallacy of a match against Real Madrid in 1943, which Barça lost 11-1.

With Oriozola on the bench, the team reached the final of the European Cup, which was played that year in Bern, Switzerland. After the so-called 'Final of the Cursed Posts', which Barça lost to Benfica, 3-2, the re-building of the team began. On 7th June, Laudet was re-elected President after a hard fought campaign against Fuset. Unpopular decisions were taken, such as letting Kubala go and new players like Pesudo, Pereda, Seminario, etc were signed. Lluís Miró was to become the new manager.

The season looked promising because Barça won absolutely all of the friendly matches it played against other European teams. Even when the League began, Barcelona Football Club won the first four matches but little by little, it fell into a deep crisis and the results made the team the disgrace in the First Division.

On 12th January 1961, after drawing 2-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the Camp Nou, Brocic was dismissed and the second trainer, Oriazola took over coaching the first team.

Enric Rabassa was Helenio Herrera's assistant when the latter was sacked. Consequently, he took over the running of the team during the final stages of the season and, despite spending very little time at the Club, he managed to win the Fairs Cup.

Besides his famous quotations such as 'ten players play a better game than eleven' or 'we'll win the match without even getting off the coach', he is remembered for the attractive one-touch game which astonished Europe in his first two seasons with the Club.His first period began on 22nd April 1958, when he arrived from Seville. Over these two years he won two Leagues, one Cup and two Fair's Cups. But not everything ran smoothly for the coach.

He had a confrontation with Kubala, who was gradually losing popularity. In his second year, despite winning the League championship again, the team's aim to win the European Cup was frustrated after losing against Barça's eternal rival, Real Madrid. Helenio Herrera was dismissed immediately. His most brilliant period as a coach came later, with Luisito Suarez' Inter, a period in which he won the European Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, and so on.He returned to Barça in the 79-80 season to substitute Quimet Rifé and then again in 1981, to substitute Kubala as coach.

If there is one feature that should be highlighted about this man, it is that he pioneered the psychological preparation of the players, as well as the use of a sweeper. Helenio Herrera always had a very good relationship with the players because they had come to terms with the fact that the coach would always be in the limelight of their success.

After his career as a player, he entered the coaching team , together with some of his old colleagues, such as Miró and Vidal de Cárcer, after having obtained a coaching title in 1950. Before beginning his career as a coach for Barça (56-57), Balmanya had already coached teams such as Zaragoza and Oviedo. In his first season, Balmanya won the Cup having beaten Espanyol at the Estadi de Monjuïc. He was dismissed at the end of the following season, despite having won the first edition of the Fair's Cup.He ended his career coaching for Sant Andreu.

Possibly the Barça Board started to seriously consider him for this reason. He did not have a great deal of luck while with the team. Barça ended the season as runners-up in the League and they were knocked out of the Cup in the semi-finals.

The beginning of his period with the team was difficult and some of his decisions were rather unfortunate. However, when Kubala began to play, his luck changed radically. Barça turned into a football-making machine.

His enviable list of trophies includes two League Cups, one Latin Cup, three Spanish Cups and two Eva Duarte Cups.His contract with the Club ended in the 53-54 season when, after clashing with some of the team players, he left the Club via the back door.

He played as a goalkeeper and after his retirement continued in Barça as one of the trainers, becoming a true spotter and moulder of talent. He discovered players like Biosca or Manchón, etc. He managed the first team in the period between Fernández and Daucik.

Its first year with the Uruguayan coach was very successful for Barça given that they won the League at the last moment. The following season, they won the title again, on the last day of the season, leaving the Valencia team behind. In the 1949-1950 season, the team won the first edition of the Latin Cup against the champions of Italy, France and Portugal. They came fifth in the League, which caused followers and players to lose faith in him. He was finally dismissed and Daucik took over.

With him on the bench the team won the League Championship, something which they had not been able to do since 1929. As well as the League, Sami also won the Cup de l'Ajuntament de Vilafranca, the Gold Cup of the Argentinian Republic and the Copa Pavelló de l'Esport.

Samitier died in Barcelona in the spring of 1972. The death of this excellent player was heartfelt and he was greatly mourned throughout the city.

In the autumn years of his career in the first team, he was called on to take charge of Barça's professional squad and substitute another ex-player, Gúzman. With the man from Aragon on the manager's bench, the team experienced one of the strangest situations in the history of Barça. On the one hand Barça won the Cup, whilst on the other they were on the point of going down. Luckily, the team managed to beat Murcia in a tense and desperate relegation play-off.

In the season of his departure, Müller was substituted by another all time great, Josep Samitier.

He was dismissed half-way through the season, to be substituted by Josep Nogués. Ramón Guzmán died on 1st April 1954, after collapsing during a veterans match he was playing in Les Corts.

Good results with modest teams like El Ferrol, preceded his arrival at Barça. He was a great innovator, being years ahead of his time both tactically and regarding new training methods. It was the first Barça manager who changed the trainning methods.

The Civil War broke out when O'Connell was in charge of the team. The team, under O'Connel, then went on tour to the American continent.

While he was running the team, Barça won the Campeonat de Catalunya in the 1934-35 season. The following year the club signed Patrick O'Connell to run the first team.Four decades later, Barcelona Football Club again signed Platko.

This time, however, he did not have a good season and he was definitively released from the club. His replacement on this occasion would be Domènec Balmanya.

Furthermore, the club won the Campeonato de Catalunya in the 29-30 and 30-31 seasons. However, to his detriment, it must be said that with him as coach, Barça underwent one of the most deplorable events and its biggest defeat in all of its history, losing 12-1 in the League Championship.

He entered the Club in the 26-27 season, after the team itself had proposed that he be their coach and he had the honour of winning the first League in history. It should be mentioned that besides being a player, he was also part of the Board of Directors before becoming a coach.

In his first period, he was in charge of training young promising stars, among other tasks within the Club. His second period was so catastrophic that he sent a letter signed by himself and the players asking for a substantial reduction in their bonuses.

Despite the fact that he won the team the Catalan and Spanish titles, he never really managed to get on with the team, who could not understand the coach's language or the coaching methods he employed.

Despite his startling success, he decided to return to his beloved native Hungary.

Greenwell moved from Crook Town to play for Barça. He took over as Blaugrana Coach following the departure of John Barrow. He remained on the bench for seven consecutive seasons, a record that has only been bettered by Johan Cruyff. In his first year, a group of club members demanded his resignation but the president, Joan Gamper, defended him and he eventually won two Spanish Cups and 5 Campeonatos de Catalunya.

In his second period as Barça coach, he did not win as much silverware as in the first. In fact, the team only won one Campeonato de Catalunya.

He was signed up by Hans Gamper and was soon dismissed him four months after they had signed his contract, without winnin a title.