From Wembley to the future Camp Nou (1992-2007)

The Dream Team was going to be an extremely hard act to follow, and defeat in the 1994 European Cup Final in Athens marked the end of an era.

Johan Cruyff left under controversial circumstances in 1996 and new era began, which bore its first fruits in 1997 with another Cup Winners Cup and the Copa del Rey. The following season, Barça won the League, Cup and European Super Cup.

Despite the results on the pitch, the departure of Cruyff created something of a divide between the membership, which would have a profound effect on the way club was run. And this all happened against a background of further major developments in the way football was financed, including huge sponsorship deals, television and image rights, pay per view coverage, and rescission clauses in players contracts. The management of big football clubs in this unstoppable climate of change was becoming an increasingly more complex process. In the meantime, the club celebrated its Centenary year with yet another major expression of the Barcelona spirit. But the fans were still divided, eventually leading to the end of the Josep LluГ­s NГєГ±ez presidency, who was briefly succeeded by Joan Gaspart before, in 2003, Joan Laporta was voted into office.

Unconvincing successes

With Bobby Robson and then Louis Van Gaal on the bench, the club achieved some good results, especially in 1996-97, when the Cup Winners Cup was won, to be closely followed by two consecutive League titles. But there was still a feeling that this was the end of an era, and the rift between the membership grew wider. The poor results of the 1999-2000 season were enough to convince President NГєГ±ez that it was time to resign.

Centenary Celebrations

Not many organisations get to enjoy their centenary, something which can only be achieved through consistency and continuity. The celebrations of Barça’s centenary went on from November 1998 to November 1999 and involved an intense year packed with all kinds of different events and activities. Painter Antoni Tàpies designed the official poster and singer Joan Manuel Serrat performed 'Cant del Barça' from the centre of the Camp Nou pitch. The Centenary sought to be the bridge between a glorious past and a future full of new hopes and expectations. In that historic centenary year, Barça won league titles in football, basketball, handball and roller hockey.

Interregnum

Following Núñez’s resignation, elections were held in the year 2000, won by Joan Gaspart, who had been the club’s vice president for 22 years. The defeated candidate was Lluís Bassat. But the Gaspart presidency failed to produce any major sporting successes, and the club fell deeper and deeper into crisis. Gaspart resigned in February 2003, and the club was left in a state of uncertainty until new elections were held in July. But despite the troubled mood, the club was able to enjoy one of its greatest ever sporting triumphs when the basketball section finally conquered its first Euroleague in May 2003.

Joan Laporta, president

On June 15, 2003 new presidential elections were held, won by young lawyer Joan Laporta ahead of publisher Lluís Bassat. This was the beginning of a bright new era, with renewed optimism at the promise of a new direction, and the signings of such world superstars as Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o. That team did not take long to start winning titles, starting with the League in 2004-2005, which was retained the year after. But the finest hour of all was the club’s second European Cup, which coincided with a new move to modernise and promote the social implications of Barça, expanding the values of being ‘more than a club’. The membership was growing to record levels thanks to the ‘Great Challenge’ project, eventually surpassing 150,000 in 2006.

2006, a dream year

2006 will go down as one of the most memorable years in Barça history. The club won its second European Cup crown, beating Arsenal 2-1 in the Paris final. This was the same year that the Joan Gamper Sports Complex was opened in Sant Joan Despí, and that Barça signed its historic agreement with Unicef, in September at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The agreement portrays the most caring side of the Barça spirit and definitively globalises the meaning of being ‘more than a club'.

2007 opens the doors to the future

FC Barcelona is in a constant phase of expansion. The new historical record number of 156,366 members attained in June 2007, paved the way to the major event represented, in the month of September, of adjudicating the work to restructure the stadium to British architect Norman Foster. The new Camp Nou will become the symbol of a Barça that sets standards in every way.