Last year, the football team FC Barcelona became one of the best seasons in sports history by winning the Spanish League title, Champions League and four other awards, becoming the first team to win six times.
But the club (as he is popularly known) is more than just a football team. In the humanitarian battles off the field, is a rare example of a successful franchise that manages to keep sport in proper perspective.
For over 100 years, Barça has behaved like a "fighter for freedom and democratic rights," as team president, Joan Laporta, said, "another in a time of governments without tolerance." The stage is decorated with team immense paintings of Joan Miro and Salvador Dali, and the club is owned by its fans, more than 150,000 of them.
Today, when Barça is at least as financially successful as he is athletic, the team continues to manage its assets in accordance with democratic values. For years, Barça jersey easy to discern: It was not the one wearing a company logo on the chest. "If you consider how they could have made the sale to a developer conventional", commented Paolo Bandini of the Guardian, "the decision is overwhelming."
In 2006, the team finally made an appointment to fill the space on their jerseys: There was a consensus to carry the logo of UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), announcing that he would donation of € 1.5 million (2 million) for the organization each year for five years. And this spring, the player Barca best and most marketable, Lionel Messi, has assumed the new role of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
On April 11, Barca will face his toughest rival, Real Madrid. The competition will include not only the two teams are tied at the top of the league, but teams that symbolize different Spanish political currents strong historical significance.
Even now, the events of Depression-Era Spanish Civil War has lost some of their power to provoke passion. Barca-Real competition is a perfect embodiment of these passions. Literally and figuratively, Real Madrid is the winner of the war history. "Madrid is a club that is admired among the football fans around the world," said Real captain Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Its crest includes the royal crown, and in 1930, was the favorite Spanish team dictator Francisco Franco. Real Madrid has won several Spanish league and Champions League European titles than any other team.
However, the club had widespread support from Catalan leftist politicians and intellectuals during the Civil War. As a result, Franco harassed and persecuted not thank the club. His troops shelled the building in which the team trophies is preserved and closes his time of six months, and ordered the execution of its president. "When you lose against Madrid," said Barca captain Carles Puyol, "lost more than three points. It is love that most moral damages."
Last summer, Real Madrid has spent more than 160 million euros (218.7 million dollars) for the purchase of two football players of world renown, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Barca won the first game of the season, 2-0 November. When they meet again this month, the Barcelona players will wear the UNICEF logo on the chest, and Real Madrid will carry the logo of its corporate sponsor today. The action will be broadcast worldwide.
Many viewers will enjoy watching the spectacle of a world-class athletes compete. But other viewers, boat represents a beacon of hope that has remained true to its traditional values of citizenship and democracy.
But the club (as he is popularly known) is more than just a football team. In the humanitarian battles off the field, is a rare example of a successful franchise that manages to keep sport in proper perspective.
For over 100 years, Barça has behaved like a "fighter for freedom and democratic rights," as team president, Joan Laporta, said, "another in a time of governments without tolerance." The stage is decorated with team immense paintings of Joan Miro and Salvador Dali, and the club is owned by its fans, more than 150,000 of them.
Today, when Barça is at least as financially successful as he is athletic, the team continues to manage its assets in accordance with democratic values. For years, Barça jersey easy to discern: It was not the one wearing a company logo on the chest. "If you consider how they could have made the sale to a developer conventional", commented Paolo Bandini of the Guardian, "the decision is overwhelming."
In 2006, the team finally made an appointment to fill the space on their jerseys: There was a consensus to carry the logo of UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), announcing that he would donation of € 1.5 million (2 million) for the organization each year for five years. And this spring, the player Barca best and most marketable, Lionel Messi, has assumed the new role of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
On April 11, Barca will face his toughest rival, Real Madrid. The competition will include not only the two teams are tied at the top of the league, but teams that symbolize different Spanish political currents strong historical significance.
Even now, the events of Depression-Era Spanish Civil War has lost some of their power to provoke passion. Barca-Real competition is a perfect embodiment of these passions. Literally and figuratively, Real Madrid is the winner of the war history. "Madrid is a club that is admired among the football fans around the world," said Real captain Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Its crest includes the royal crown, and in 1930, was the favorite Spanish team dictator Francisco Franco. Real Madrid has won several Spanish league and Champions League European titles than any other team.
However, the club had widespread support from Catalan leftist politicians and intellectuals during the Civil War. As a result, Franco harassed and persecuted not thank the club. His troops shelled the building in which the team trophies is preserved and closes his time of six months, and ordered the execution of its president. "When you lose against Madrid," said Barca captain Carles Puyol, "lost more than three points. It is love that most moral damages."
Last summer, Real Madrid has spent more than 160 million euros (218.7 million dollars) for the purchase of two football players of world renown, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Barca won the first game of the season, 2-0 November. When they meet again this month, the Barcelona players will wear the UNICEF logo on the chest, and Real Madrid will carry the logo of its corporate sponsor today. The action will be broadcast worldwide.
Many viewers will enjoy watching the spectacle of a world-class athletes compete. But other viewers, boat represents a beacon of hope that has remained true to its traditional values of citizenship and democracy.
