who killed peter on the tv show soap

The first season ends with Jessica convicted of the murder of Peter Campbell. The announcer concludes the season by announcing that Jessica is innocent, and that one of five characters—Burt, Chester, Jodie, Benson, or Corinne—killed Peter Campbell. Chester later confesses to Peter's murder and is sent to prison. He is soon released after a successful temporary insanity defense.

Soap (TV series)

Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from September 13, 1977 until April 20, 1981. The show was created as a night-time parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such as alien abduction, demonic possession, murder, and kidnapping. In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME",[2] and in 2010, the Tates and the Campbells ranked at number 17 in TV Guide's list of "TV's Top Families".

The show was created, written, and executively produced by Susan Harris, and also executively produced by Paul Junger Witt (Harris' future husband) and Tony Thomas. Each returning season was preceded by a 90-minute retrospective of the previous season. Two of these retrospectives were made available on VHS in 1994, but were not included on any DVD collections.[3]

The show aired 85 episodes over the course of four seasons. Eight of these (including the final four) aired as one-hour episodes during the original run on ABC. These hour-long episodes were later split in two, yielding 93 half-hour episodes for syndication. Like most sitcoms of the era, Soap was videotaped rather than filmed, but this coincidentally helped further its emulation of the daytime soap opera format, as most such productions were also videotaped.

All episodes are currently available on region 1 DVD in four separate box sets. There is a box set of season 1 on region 2 DVD. The series has rerun in syndication on local channels as well as on cable.

The show starred Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as sisters/matriarchs of their own families. The cast also included three former soap opera actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) had previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a leading man for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) had played the first husband of Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Arthur Peterson, Jr. ("The Major") played Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light.

Soap is set in the fictional town of Dunn's River, Connecticut.

In the opening sequence of the first installment, the announcer says "This is the story of two sistersâ€”Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell". The Tates live in a wealthy neighborhood (the announcer calls it the neighborhood known as "Rich"). Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and her husband, Chester (Robert Mandan), are hardly models of fidelity, as their various love affairs result in several family mishaps, including the murder of her sister Mary's (Cathryn Damon) stepson, Peter Campbell (Robert Urich). Even though everyone tells Jessica about Chester's continual affairs, she does not believe them until she sees his philandering with her own eyes: while out to lunch with Mary, Jessica spots Chester necking with his secretary Claire (Kathryn Reynolds). Heartbroken, she sobs in her sister's arms. On later occasions, it becomes clear Jess has always known on some level about Chester's affairs but never allowed herself to process the information.

The wealthy Tate family employs a sarcastic butler/cook named Benson (Robert Guillaume). Benson clearly despises Chester, but has a soft spot for their son, Billy (Jimmy Baio). He also gets along with the Tates' daughter, Corinne (Diana Canova) as well as their mother, Jessica; but doesn't speak to the other daughter, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), although that later changed. Benson became a popular character and in 1979 left the Tates' employ to work for Jessica's cousin, Governor Gene Gatling, on the spin-off series, Benson, wherein his last name, DuBois, was revealed. The Tates had to hire a new butler/cook named Saunders (Roscoe Lee Browne), whose attitude is similar to that of Benson, but has a more formal personality.

Mary's family, the Campbells, are working-class, and as the series begins, her son Danny Dallas (Ted Wass), a product of her first marriage to Johnny Dallas, is a junior gangster-in-training. Danny is told to kill his stepfather, Burt Campbell (Richard Mulligan), Mary's current husband, who, Danny is told, murdered his father Johnny, who was also a mobster. It is later revealed that Danny's father was killed by Burt in self-defense. Danny refuses to kill Burt and goes on the run from the Mob in a variety of disguises. This eventually ends when Elaine Lefkowitz (played by Dinah Manoff in one of her earliest roles), the spoiled daughter of the Mob Boss (played by Sorrell Booke), falls in love with Danny and stops her father, who then tells Danny he will have to marry Elaine or he will kill him. In the fourth season, it is revealed that Chester is Danny's true father, the product of a secret affair between him and Mary before his marriage to Jessica. Mary's other son, Jodie (Billy Crystal, in an early role), is gay, having a secret affair with a famous professional football quarterback, and contemplating a sex-change operation.

Other plot lines include Jessica's adopted daughter Corinne courting Father Tim Flotsky (Sal Viscuso), who ended up leaving the priesthood, and the two eventually marrying and having a child who is possessed by the Devil; Chester being imprisoned for Peter's murder, escaping with his prison roommate Dutch, and being afflicted with amnesia after a failed operation; Jessica's other daughter, Eunice, sleeps with a married congressman, and then falls in love with Dutch; Mary's stepson Chuck (Jay Johnson), a ventriloquist whose hostilities are expressed through his alter ego, a quick-witted dummy named Bob; Jessica's love affairs with several men, including Donahue, a private investigator hired to find the missing presumed-dead Chester, her psychiatrist, and a Latin American revolutionary known as "El Puerco" ("The Pig"; his friends just call him "El"); Billy Tate's confinement by a cult called the "Sunnies" (a parody of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, called the "Moonies" by its critics), and then his affair with his school teacher who becomes unhinged; Danny and his romantic trials with the daughter of a mobster (Elaine, who is murdered in a botched kidnapping), black woman, a prostitute, and Chester's second wife, Annie; and Burt's confinement to a mental institution, his abduction by aliens while being replaced with an oversexed alien lookalike on Earth, and getting blackmailed by the Mob after becoming sheriff of their small town.

At the beginning of each episode, off-camera announcer Rod Roddy gives a brief description of the convoluted storyline and remarks, "Confused? You won't be, after this week's episode of...Soap." At the end of each episode, he asks a series of life-or-death questions in a deliberately deadpan style—"Will Jessica discover Chester's affair? Will Benson discover Chester's affair? Will Benson care?" and concludes each episode with the trademark line, "These questions—and many others—will be answered in the next episode of...Soap."

In early March 1977, ABC screened the first two episodes of Soap for the executives of its 195 affiliate stations, many of whom were instantly appalled by the show's emphasis on sex and infidelity. Two of the affiliates, neither in a major market, privately told ABC that the show was "raunchy" and its subject matter not fit for television.[5]

In June 1977, a Newsweek preview of the fall season written by Harry F. Waters panned the show while mischaracterizing some of its basic plot elements and offering exaggerated reports of its sexual content. Despite having not seen the pilot, Waters called the show a "sex farce" and claimed (erroneously) that the show included a scene of a Catholic priest being seduced in a confessional.[6] Waters also stated:

Soap promises to be the most controversial network series of the coming season, a show so saturated with sex that it could replace violence as the PTA's Video Enemy No. 1.

Whether Waters' errors and misrepresentations were intentional or accidental is unknown.

Within days of the Newsweek report, a number of local and national religious organizations began to quickly mobilize against Soap, despite the fact that they also had not seen the pilot. Among these were the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Catholic Bishops and the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention,[8] the latter of which went so far as to divest itself of 2,500 shares of ABC stock "because the board does not approve of programming related to the abuse of human sexuality, violence and perversion".[9]

The Roman Catholic Church, led by its Los Angeles Archdiocese, also condemned the show and asked all American families to boycott it saying "ABC should be told that American Catholics and all Americans are not going to sit by and watch the networks have open season on Catholicism and morality. [Soap] is probably one of the most effective arguments for government censorship of TV that has yet come along."[10] In August, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California representing three branches of Judaism, joined the Catholic protest saying that the as-yet unaired show "reached a new low".

Dr. Everett Parker of the United Church of Christ called Soap "a low-life, salacious program" and complained that the show would be airing when children would be able to watch it. (ABC had scheduled it on Tuesdays after Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, two of the most popular family television shows being broadcast at the time.)[11]

These religious groups organized a letter-writing campaign designed to pressure the show's sponsors not to advertise on the network.[12] Although some of the religious groups asked their members to watch the show first, and then inform ABC of their feelings about it,[8] others began working hard to get ABC to cancel the show before it premiered. One ABC vice president was shocked to learn that his 11-year-old child was required by a parochial school teacher to write a letter of protest to ABC to take the show off the air.[13] In the end, 32,000 people wrote letters to ABC,[8] all but nine of them against it.[14]

In addition to the religious protest, Soap also faced substantial pre-broadcast criticism from the International Union of Gay Athletes[15] and the National Gay Task Force,[16] both of which were concerned about the way the gay character Jodie Dallas and how his professional football player lover would be portrayed.

To allay the concern of advertisers, some of whom had begun to cancel sponsorship of the program, ABC reluctantly dropped the price for commercial time from $75,000 per spot to $40,000 per spot. When Soap premiered on September 13, 1977, 18 out of 195 ABC affiliates had refused to air the program with others choosing to broadcast it after 11pm. By its second week on the air, two more affiliates dropped out, bringing the boycott to 20 stations.[13]

Aside from the external protests, Soap was also subject to heavy internal revisions from ABC's Broadcast Standards & Practices department, which monitors the content of programs. Writer/creator Susan Harris had developed a story arc for Soap in the form of a "show bible" which traced all the major characters, stories and events for five seasons. The Standards & Practices executives (commonly referred to as "censors") reviewed this extensive bible as well as the script for the two-part pilot and issued a long memo to Harris voicing their concerns about various story lines and characters. In addition to the sexual material that was widely reported in the press, the censors also took issue with the show's religious, political, and ethnic content.[17]

"The Soap Memo" was leaked to the press before the show premiered and was printed in its entirety in the Los Angeles Times on June 27, 1977. Among their notes were:

"The Soap Memo" also contained notes that were subsequently disregarded by the producers including:

"The Soap Memo" was a rare public look into the behind-the-scenes process at a major network and copies of the document were often found posted on the bulletin boards of television production companies and on studio sets as a rallying point against censorship. In addition, the specific details in the memo further fueled the growing debate regarding the controversial content of Soap.

Soap premiered on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 9:30pm. The show was preceded by a disclaimer that the show "was part of a continuing character comedy" that included adult themes and that "viewer discretion" was advised. The disclaimer was both displayed on the screen and read by Soap announcer Rod Roddy. It would remain throughout the first season before being dropped.

Much of Soap's controversy, among liberals and conservatives alike, ironically actually helped to sell the series to the general public. Fueled by six months of pre-show protests (as well as a solid lead-in from the hit shows Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company), the first episode swept its time slot with a 25.6 rating and 39% share (39% of the national audience). Although ABC received hundreds of phone calls after the premiere, executives at the network described initial public reaction as "mild" with more calls in favor of the show than in protest. A University of Richmond poll found that 74% of viewers found Soap inoffensive, 26% found it offensive, and half of those who were offended said they planned to watch it the next week.[6]

Initial reviews—somewhat clouded by the controversy—were mixed, with negative reviews predictably focusing on the show's racy content. The Los Angeles Times called the show "a prolonged dirty joke" that "is without cleverness or style or subtlety. Its sex jokes are delivered by the shovelful, like manure." Variety called the show "forced and derivative", "bland" and "predictable and silly" while conceding that the sex is "no more outrageous than daytime soapers, no more outspoken than Three's Company."[18]

Time magazine praised the "talented cast" and singled out Jimmy Baio and Billy Crystal as "sharp young comedians", but felt the show suffered from "nastiness" and "lacked compassion".[12]

On the more positive side, TV Guide gave the show a good review saying that there was "a heap of talent" in the cast and asking "It is funny? Yes it is...and I guess that constitutes redeeming social value".[19]

Harry F. Waters' 1977 Newsweek review proved prescient of conservative reaction when the following year, the National PTA declared Soap one of "ten worst" shows in television. In spite of this designation, Soap ranked #13 for the 1977â€“78 season[6] and went on to gain positive critical reviews and high ratings over the rest of its four-year run.

Although the uproar against Soap died down shortly after its premiere, the program continued to remain somewhat controversial, often generating additional criticism for its relatively frank depictions of homosexuals, racial and ethnic minorities, the mentally ill as well as its treatment of other taboo topics such as social class, marital infidelity, impotence, incest, sexual harassment, rape, student-teacher sexual relationships, kidnapping, organized crime, and new age cults. Much of the criticism focused on the openly gay character of Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal). Soap was among the earliest American prime time series to include an openly gay character who was a major part of the series. Social conservatives opposed the character on religious grounds, while some gay rights activists were also upset with the character of Jodie, arguing that certain story developments reinforced negative stereotypes, e.g. his desire to have a sex change operation, or represented a desire to change or downplay his sexual orientation.

Before the start of the second season, ABC ran a 90-minute retrospective clip show called "Who Killed Peter?" in which Burt Campbell visits Jessica Tate in prison as she awaits the verdict of her murder trial. The two discuss each of the show's individual characters and their possible motives for killing Burt's son Peter using flashbacks to illustrate specific story lines. The show was designed to remind viewers of what happened in Season 1 to prepare them for the upcoming season.

At the start of season three, another 90-minute retrospective aired in which Jessica says goodbye to Benson, using the flashback clips to try to explain why he should stay. This show also served to help launch the spinoff Benson, which was premiering at the start of the 1979â€“80 season.

A third 90-minute retrospective titled "Jessica's Wonderful Life" aired at the start of Season 4. Jessica, who had just died in hospital, found herself in heaven speaking to an angel (played by Bea Arthur). Jessica explained via the flashback clips why she was not ready to die and had to return to earth to help her family.

Although Susan Harris had planned for five seasons of Soap, the program was abruptly canceled by ABC after its fourth season. Therefore, the final one-hour episode, which originally aired on April 20, 1981, did not serve as a series finale and instead ended with several unresolved cliffhangers. These involve a suicidal Chester preparing to kill Danny and Annie (his son and wife) after catching them in bed together, an irreversibly hypnotized Jodie believing himself to be a 90-year-old Jewish man, Burt preparing to walk into an ambush orchestrated by his political enemies, and Jessica about to be executed by a Communist firing squad. Vlasic Foods pulled their sponsorship of the program shortly after this episode aired and ABC announced that the program was not picked up for its planned fifth season. The official reason given by the network was its declining ratings. However, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Soap "ended under suspicion that resistance from ad agencies may have caused ABC to cancel [it] at that point" because its still controversial content was negatively affecting its relationship with sponsors.[6]

A 1983 episode of Benson mentions Jessica's disappearance, noting the Tate family is seeking to have her declared legally dead. In the episode, Jessica appears as an apparition that only Benson can see or hear and reveals to him that she is not dead, but in a coma somewhere in South America. No other incidents from the final episode of Soap are mentioned.

Since its cancellation, Soap's reputation has grown and it is often considered one of the best shows in television history.[2] Much praise has been given to its "exceptionally rich cast"[20] of performers "such as was seldom seen on any serious dramatic show".[21]

In a 1982 post-series analysis in The Village Voice published just as the series was first entering syndication, TV critic Tom Carson lauded the ensemble saying that "the cast matches the best TV series rep troupes ever." Carson went on to note that Soap "patently started out intended as a lampoon of middle-class values, and ended up instead as a weirdly offbeat celebration of them".[22]

In 2007, Time magazine, which initially panned the show, named it one of the 100 Best Shows of All-Time.[2] The Museum of Broadcast Communications said that Soap is "arguably one of the most creative efforts by network television before or after".[6]

In 2010, The Huffington Post called Soap a "timeless comedy" and concluded: "Rarely does a show come along with such a unique voice and vision from the first episode". [23]

Soap was nominated for a total 17 Emmy Awards including:

At the 1981 Golden Globe Awards, Katherine Helmond won Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series—Musical/Comedy. That same year, the program was also nominated for Best TV Series—Musical/Comedy.

Director Jay Sandrich was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' at the DGA Awards in 1978 and 1979.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all four seasons of Soap on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 has been released on DVD in Region 2 in Norway (as Forviklingar), Sweden (as LÃ¶dder), Spain (as Enredo) and the UK. Seasons 1 and 2 have been released in Australia (Region 4).

Some of the episodes on these DVD collections are edited or replaced with the syndicated versions, shortened by as much as 2 to 3 minutes. Season 1 is also missing the disclaimer at the start of the show.

In addition, the DVDs omit the three 90-minute Soap retrospective clips shows, which aired before each season began to remind the audience of what happened in the story during the previous season. The season 1 retrospective "Who Killed Peter Campbell?" and season 3 retrospective "Jessica's Wonderful Life" were released on VHS in the 1990s.

On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Soap.[24] They subsequently re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014.[25]

On June 2, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released Soap: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[26]


normochromic pertains to what aspect of a blood cell

Normochromic is a form of anemia in which the concentration of hemoglobin in the red blood cells is within the standard range. However, there are insufficient numbers of red blood cells. This includes: aplastic, posthemorrhagic, and hemolytic anemias and anemia of chronic disease. MCH or MCHC in these cells are normal.

Normochromic anemia


when did mac miller release best day ever

Best Day Ever is the fifth mixtape by American rapper Mac Miller. This mixtape was released online March 11, 2011. Over 20,000 viewers joined Miller for a live video stream just prior to releasing the tape.[2] The mixtape consists of 16 songs produced by nine producers (predominantly ID Labs).

Best Day Ever (mixtape)

Best Day Ever represents the follow up to Mac Miller's highly acclaimed previous mixtape  K.I.D.S. (Kickin' Incredibly Dope Shit)

Four of the songs in the mixtape have their respective videos, the songs being: "Donald Trump", "Get Up", "Wear My Hat" and "Best Day Ever". These videos have achieved popularity on YouTube.[3][4][5][6]

The mixtape only features two other artists besides Mac Miller himself: Phonte on the chorus of the song dedicated to Mac Miller's mother "I'll Be There" and label mate Wiz Khalifa on the chorus of the marijuana themed song "Keep Floatin".

The mixtape received favorable reviews, including an 'XL' (second highest) from XXL Magazine.[7]

The first single, "Donald Trump" charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 debuting at number 80.

Since the release, it has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times and streamed over 740,000 times from the official host of the mixtape, DatPiff. Custom made copies can be found online.[8] The video for the first single released from this mixtape, "Donald Trump", has reached 83 million views on YouTube,[3] and Donald Trump himself acknowledged the video on the social networking site Twitter when it reached 16 million views stating "Who wouldn't be flattered?".[9]

Following Mac Miller's death on September 7, 2018, Best Day Ever debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard 200 with 17,000 album-equivalent units.[10]


where does the name beef stroganoff come from

Beef Stroganoff or Beef Stroganov (Russian: бефстроганов befstróganov[1]) is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce with smetana (sour cream). From its origins in mid-19th-century Russia, it has become popular around the world, with considerable variation from the original recipe.

Beef Stroganoff

The name derived from a Russian diplomat and minister of the interior, Alexander Stroganov. Despite several versions, it remains unclear how the recipe was invented. [2].

Elena Molokhovets's classic Russian cookbook A Gift to Young Housewives gives the first known recipe for Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju, "Beef à la Stroganov, with mustard", in its 1871 edition.[3][4][5] The recipe involves lightly floured beef cubes (not strips) sautéed, sauced with prepared mustard and bouillon, and finished with a small amount of sour cream: no onions, no mushrooms. A competition purported to have taken place in 1890 is sometimes mentioned in the dish's history, but both the recipe and the name existed before then. Another recipe, this one from 1909, adds onions and tomato sauce, and serves it with crisp potato straws, which are considered the traditional side dish for Beef Stroganoff in Russia.[3][6] The version given in the 1938 Larousse Gastronomique includes beef strips, and onions, with either mustard or tomato paste optional.

After the fall of Tsarist Russia, the recipe was popularly served in the hotels and restaurants of China before the start of World War II.[7] Russian and Chinese immigrants, as well as US servicemen stationed in pre-Communist China, brought several variants of the dish to the United States, which may account for its popularity during the 1950s. It came to Hong Kong in the late fifties, with Russian restaurants and hotels serving the dish with rice, but not sour cream. In the version often prepared in the United States today in restaurants and hotels, it consists of strips of beef filet with a mushroom, onion, and sour cream sauce, and is served over rice or noodles.

In the UK and Australia, a recipe very similar to that commonly found in the United States has become popular, generally served with rice and sometimes with pasta as well as in commercially prepared frozen dishes.[8] Today, the dish is generally served over wide or twisted egg noodles in the United States. British pubs usually serve a version of the dish with a creamy white wine sauce, whereas more "authentic" versions are often red stews with a scoop of sour cream separately served on top.

Larousse Gastronomique lists Stroganov as a cream, paprika, veal stock and white wine recipe.

The Brazilian variant includes diced beef or strips of beef (usually filet mignon) with tomato sauce, onions, mushrooms and heavy cream. Brazilians also prepare Stroganoff with chicken or even shrimp instead of beef. It is commonly served with potato sticks, as in Russia, but with the addition of white rice. Sometimes one can also see creative servings of estrogonofe, such as a crepe filling, a topping for baked potatoes, or on pizzas. Many recipes and variations exist — with or without wine, with canned sweet corn, with ketchup instead of tomato sauce, etc.

Stroganoff is also popular in Nordic countries. In Sweden, a common variant is korv-stroganoff (sausage Stroganoff), which uses the local falukorv sausage as a substitute for the beef. In Finland, the dish is called makkara-stroganoff, makkara meaning any kind of sausage. Beef Stroganoff is, however, also a common dish. Diced brined pickles are also a normal ingredient in Finnish Stroganoff.

Stroganoff's popularity extends to Japan, where it is most commonly served with white rice, or white rice seasoned with parsley and butter. Its popularity increased dramatically with the introduction of "instant sauce cubes" from S&B corporation. These are cubes with dried seasoning and thickening agents that can be added to water, onion, beef, and mushrooms to make a Stroganoff-style sauce. Additionally, Japanese home recipes for Stroganoff frequently call for "non-traditional" Japanese ingredients, such as small amounts of soy sauce.[citation needed]


does away goal count in efl cup semi final

The League Cup is played as a knockout cup competition with each tie, except semi-finals, being played as a single match with the winner advancing to the next round. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with each club playing one leg at home, and the club that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the finals. If the score is level after 90 minutes, or if the aggregate score is level for semi-finals, then thirty minutes of extra time is played, divided into two fifteen-minute halves. If the aggregate scores in semi-finals are still level at the end of extra time the tie shall be decided by goals scored away from home counting twice, according to the away goals rule. If the tie is not decided during extra time, it is decided by a penalty shoot-out.

2016–17 EFL Cup

The 2016â€“17 EFL Cup was the 57th season of the EFL Cup, formerly known as the Football League Cup, featuring all 92 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). It began on the week commencing 8 August 2016 and concluded with the final on 26 February 2017.[1] The cup did not have a sponsor following the withdrawal of sponsorship from Capital One after four years as the Capital One Cup,[2] but was renamed the EFL Cup after the Football League was rebranded as the EFL.[3]

Manchester United won its fifth title after a 3â€“2 win over Southampton in the final.[4]

Manchester City was the defending champions,[5] but it was eliminated by Manchester United in the fourth round.[6]

The League Cup is open to all 92 members of the Premier League and the English Football League and is divided into seven rounds, organised so that 32 clubs remain by the third round.[7] Clubs involved in European competition during the season receive a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League clubs enter at the second round, and the remaining Football League clubs enter at the first round.[7]

In the first five rounds, the club drawn first played at their home ground, and in the semi-finals the club drawn first played the first leg at home. The final was played at Wembley Stadium, a neutral ground.

A total of 92 clubs from the top four English tiers (Premier League, EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two) participated in the 2016â€“17 EFL Cup.

The tournament was organised so that 32 clubs remained by the third round.[7] Seventy of the seventy-two clubs in the English Football League (tiers 2–4) entered in the first round. In the second round, the thirteen Premier League clubs not involved in European competition as well as the two highest-ranked Championship clubs relegated from 2015–16 Premier League (Newcastle United and Norwich City) entered the cup,[7] with Arsenal, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all receiving a bye to the third round.[5][8] In the third round the aforementioned clubs involved in European competition entered the competition.

The schedule was as follows.[9]

A total of 70 clubs played in the first round: 24 from League Two (tier 4), 24 from League One (tier 3), and 22 from the Championship (tier 2). The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into 'northern' and'southern' sections. Teams were drawn against a team from the same section.

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016â€“17 season.

A total of 50 clubs played in the second round: 15 that entered in this round and the 35 winners from the first round. The 15 clubs entering this round were the 13 clubs from the 2016–17 Premier League not involved in any European competition, plus the 18th and 19th placed teams from last season's Premier League. The draw for the second round was held on 10 August 2016 [11]

A total of 32 teams played in the third round, seven that entered in this round and the 25 winners from the second round. The seven teams entering in this round were the clubs from the 2016–17 Premier League that are involved in European competition in the 2016–17 season. There was no seeding in this round.

A total of 16 clubs played in the fourth round, all winners of the third round. There was no seeding in this round.[12] The draw was held on 21 September 2016.[13]

A total of eight clubs played in the fifth round, all winners of the fourth round. There was no seeding in this round and the draw was held on 26 October following the conclusion of the tie between Manchester United and Manchester City in the previous round.[12]

A total of four clubs played in the semi-finals, all winners of the fifth round. There was no seeding in this round and the draw was held on 30 November.[14]

The semi-finals were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advancing to the final.

The first leg matches were played in the week commencing 9 January 2017.

The second leg matches were played on 25 and 26 January 2017.

The final was held on 26 February 2017 at Wembley Stadium.


what is the significance of the bodhi tree

The Bodhi Tree (Sanskrit: बोधि) also known as Bo (from Sinhalese: Bo) and "peepal tree" (Devanagari: पीपल क पेड़)[1] was a large and very old sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa[1][2]) located in Bodh Gaya, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who later became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment (Bodhi).[3] In religious iconography, the Bodhi Tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.

Bodhi Tree

Coordinates: 24°41′45.29″N 84°59′29.29″E / 24.6959139°N 84.9914694°E / 24.6959139; 84.9914694

The term "Bodhi Tree" is also widely applied to currently existing trees, particularly the Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) growing at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, which is often cited as a direct descendant from the original specimen planted in 288 BC. This tree is a frequent destination for pilgrims, being the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Other holy Bodhi trees which have a great significance in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti and the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree.

On December 8, Bodhi Day celebrates Buddha's enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree. Those who follow the Dharma greet each other by saying, “Budu saranai!” which translates to "may the peace of the Buddha be yours.”[4]

The Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Temple is called the Sri Maha Bodhi. Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath a Ficus religiosa. According to Buddhist texts the Buddha, meditated without moving from his seat for seven days under this tree. A shrine, called Animisalocana cetiya, was later erected on the spot where he sat.[6]

The spot was used as a shrine even in the lifetime of the Buddha. King Ashoka was most diligent in paying homage to the Bodhi tree, and held a festival every year in its honour in the month of Kattika.[7] His queen, Tissarakkhā, was jealous of the Tree, and three years after she became queen (i.e., in the nineteenth year of Asoka's reign), she caused the tree to be killed by means of mandu thorns.[8] The tree, however, grew again, and a great monastery was attached to the Bodhimanda called the Bodhimanda Vihara. Among those present at the foundation of the Mahā Thūpa are mentioned thirty thousand monks from the Bodhimanda Vihara, led by Cittagutta.[9]

The tree was again cut down by King Pushyamitra Shunga in the 2nd century BC, and by King Shashanka in 600 AD. In the 7th century AD, Chinese traveler Xuanzang wrote of the tree in detail.

Every time the tree was destroyed, a new tree was planted at the same place.[10]

In 1862 British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham wrote of the site as the first entry in the first volume of the Archaeological Survey of India:

The celebrated Bodhi tree still exists, but is very much decayed; one large stem, with three branches to the westward, is still green, but the other branches are barkless and rotten. The green branch perhaps belongs to some younger tree, as there are numerous stems of apparently different trees clustered together. The tree must have been renewed frequently, as the present Pipal is standing on a terrace at least 30 feet above the level of the surrounding country. It was in full vigour in 1811, when seen by Dr. Buchanan (Hamilton), who describes it as in all probability not exceeding 100 years of age.[11]

However, the tree decayed further and in 1876 the remaining tree was destroyed in a storm. In 1881, Cunningham planted a new Bodhi tree on the same site.[12][13]

Buddhism recounts that while the Buddha was still alive, in order that people might make their offerings in the name of the Buddha when he was away on pilgrimage, he sanctioned the planting of a seed from the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya in front of the gateway of Jetavana Monastery near Sravasti. For this purpose Moggallana took a fruit from the tree as it dropped from its stalk, before it reached the ground. It was planted in a golden jar by Anathapindika with great pomp and ceremony. A sapling immediately sprouted forth, fifty cubits high, and in order to consecrate it the Buddha spent one night under it, rapt in meditation. This tree, because it was planted under the direction of Ananda, came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi.

King Asoka’s daughter, the nun Sanghamittra, brought a piece of the tree with her to Sri Lanka where it is continuously growing to this day in the island’s ancient capital, Anuradhapura.[12] This Bodhi tree was originally named Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, and was a piece of another Bodhi tree planted in the year 245 B.C.[14] Although the original Bodhi tree deteriorated and died of old age, the descendants of the branch that was brought by Emperor Ashoka’s son, Mahindra, and his daughter, Sanghmittra, can still be found on the island.[15]

According to the Mahavamsa, the Sri Maha Bodhi in Sri Lanka was planted in 288 BC, making it the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm. In this year (the twelfth year of King Asoka's reign) the right branch of the Bodhi tree was brought by Sanghamittā to Anurādhapura and placed by Devānāmpiyatissa his left foot in the Mahāmeghavana. The Buddha, on his death bed, had resolved five things, one being that the branch which should be taken to Ceylon should detach itself.[7] From Gayā, the branch was taken to Pātaliputta, thence to Tāmalittī, where it was placed in a ship and taken to Jambukola, across the sea; finally it arrived at Anuradhapura, staying on the way at Tivakka. Those who assisted the king at the ceremony of the planting of the Tree were the nobles of Kājaragāma and of Candanagāma and of Tivakka.

The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is also known to be the most sacred Bodhi tree. This came upon the Buddhists who performed rites and rituals near the Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree was known to cause rain and heal the ill. When an individual became ill, one of his or her relatives would visit the Bodhi tree to water it seven times for seven days and to vow on behalf of the sick for a speedy recovery.[16]

In 1913, Anagarika Dharmapala took a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi to Hawaiʻi, where he presented it to his benefactor, Mary Foster, who had funded much Buddhist missionary work. She planted it in the grounds of her house in Honolulu, by the Nuʻuanu stream. On her death she left her house and its grounds to the people of Honolulu, and it became the Foster Botanical Garden.

In 1950, Jinarajadasa took three saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhi to plant two samplings in Chennai, one was planted near the Buddha temple at the Theosophical Society another at the riverside of Adyar Estuary. The third was planted near a meditation center in Sri Lanka.[17]

In 2012, Brahmanda Pratap Barua Ripon, Dhaka, Bangladesh took a sapling of Bodhi tree from Buddha Gaya, Maha Bodhi to Thousand Oaks, California, where he presented it to his benefactor, Anagarika Glenn Hughes, who had funded much Buddhist work and teaches Buddhism in USA. He and his students received the sapling with a great thanks, later they planted the sapling in the ground in a nearby park.

According to the Mahavamsa,[18] branches from the Bodhi trees of all the Buddhas born during this kalpa were planted in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on the spot where the sacred Bodhi tree stands today in Anurādhapura. The branch of Kakusandha's tree was brought by a nun called Rucānandā, Konagamana's by Kantakānandā (or Kanakadattā), and Kassapa's by Sudhammā.

Prayer beads are made from the seeds of Ficus religiosa, considered sacred because of the closeness to Buddha himself and his enlightenment.


who is the owner of barcelona f c

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (English: "More than a club"). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the second most valuable sports team in the world, worth $3.56 billion, and the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €560.8 million.[2][3] The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.[4]

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ ˈkɫub bərsəˈɫonə] ( listen)), commonly known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça,[note 1] is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Domestically, Barcelona has won 24 La Liga, 29 Copa del Rey, 12 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, Barcelona has won twenty European and World titles — four UEFA Champions League titles and one European Cup, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a shared record five UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a record three FIFA Club World Cup.[5] Barcelona was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015[6][7] and currently occupies the third position on the UEFA club rankings.[8] The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid; matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.

Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams.[9][10] Barcelona players have won a record number of Ballon d'Or awards (11), with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards (7), with winners including Ronaldo, Romário and Ronaldinho. In 2010, three players who came through the club's youth academy (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football school.

Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.[11] In 2011, the club became European champions again and won five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won 14 trophies in just 4 years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time.[12][13][14] By winning their fifth Champions League trophy on 6 June 2015, Barcelona became the first European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.

On 22 October 1899, Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club; a positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November. Eleven players attended — Walter Wild (the first director of the club), Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons — and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born.[16]

FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya, and participated in the first Copa del Rey, losing 1–2 to Bizcaya in the final.[17] In 1908, Hans Gamper – now known as Joan Gamper – became club president in a desperate attempt to save Barcelona from extinction, finding the club struggling not just on the pitch, but also financially and socially, after not winning a competition since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905. He said in a meeting, "Barcelona cannot die and must not die. If there is nobody who is going to try, then I will assume the responsibility of running the club from now on."[18] Club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his main achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium and thus generate a stable income.[19]

On 14 March 1909, the team moved into the Camp de la Indústria, a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year. Carles Comamala won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day.[20]

With the new stadium, Barcelona participated in the inaugural version of the Pyrenees Cup, which, at the time, consisted of the best teams of Languedoc, Midi and Aquitaine (Southern France), the Basque Country and Catalonia; all were former members of the Marca Hispanica region. The contest was the most prestigious in that era.[21] From the inaugural year in 1910 to 1913, Barcelona won the competition four consecutive times. Carles Comamala played an integral part of the four-time champion, managing the side along with Amechazurra and Jack Greenwell. The latter became the club's first full-time coach in 1917.[22] The last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona, which local rivals Espanyol won.[23]

During the same period, the club changed its official language from Castilian to Catalan and gradually evolved into an important symbol of Catalan identity. For many fans, participating in the club had less to do with the game itself and more with being a part of the club's collective identity.[24] On 4 February 1917, the club held its first testimonial match to honour Ramón Torralba, who played from 1913 to 1928. The match was against local side Terrassa: Barcelona won 6–2.[25]

Gamper simultaneously launched a campaign to recruit more club members, and by 1922, the club had more than 20,000, who helped finance a new stadium. The club then moved to the new Les Cortes, which they inaugurated the same year.[26] Les Cortes had an initial capacity of 30,000, and in the 1940s it was expanded to 60,000.[27]

Gamper recruited Jack Greenwell as the first full-time manager in Barcelona's history. After this hiring, the club's fortunes began to improve on the field. During the Gamper-led era, Barcelona won eleven Campionats de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cups and enjoyed its first "golden age".[17][19]

On 14 June 1925, in a spontaneous reaction against Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the crowd in the stadium jeered the Royal March. As a reprisal, the ground was closed for six months and Gamper was forced to relinquish the presidency of the club.[28] This coincided with the transition to professional football, and, in 1926, the directors of Barcelona publicly claimed, for the first time, to operate a professional football club.[26] On 3 July 1927, the club held a second testimonial match for Paulino Alcántara, against the Spanish national team. To kick off the match, local journalist and pilot Josep Canudas dropped the ball onto the pitch from his aeroplane.[25] In 1928, victory in the Spanish Cup was celebrated with a poem titled "Oda a Platko", which was written by a member of the Generation of '27, Rafael Alberti, inspired by the heroic performance of the Barcelona goalkeeper, Franz Platko.[29] On 23 June 1929, Barcelona won the inaugural Spanish League. A year after winning the championship, on 30 July 1930, Gamper committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by personal and financial problems.[19]

Although they continued to have players of the standing of Josep Escolà, the club now entered a period of decline, in which political conflict overshadowed sports throughout society. Attendance at matches dropped as the citizens of Barcelona were occupied with discussing political matters.[30] Although the team won the Campionat de Catalunya in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936 and 1938,[17] success at a national level (with the exception of the 1937 disputed title) evaded them.

A month after the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, several players from Barcelona enlisted in the ranks of those who fought against the military uprising, along with players from Athletic Bilbao.[31] On 6 August, Falangist soldiers near Guadarrama murdered club president Josep Sunyol, a representative of the pro-independence political party.[32] He was dubbed the martyr of barcelonisme, and his murder was a defining moment in the history of FC Barcelona and Catalan identity.[33] In the summer of 1937, the squad was on tour in Mexico and the United States, where it was received as an ambassador of the Second Spanish Republic. The tour led to the financial security of the club, but also resulted in half of the team seeking asylum in Mexico and France, making it harder for the remaining team to contest for trophies.[34][35]

On 16 March 1938, Barcelona came under aerial bombardment from the Italian Air Force, causing more than 3,000 deaths, with one of the bombs hitting the club's offices.[36][37] A few months later, Catalonia came under occupation and as a symbol of the "undisciplined" Catalanism, the club, now down to just 3,486 members, faced a number of restrictions. All signs of regional nationalism, including language, flag and other signs of separatism were banned throughout Spain. The Catalan flag was banned and the club were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These measures forced the club to change its name to Club de FÃºtbol Barcelona and to remove the Catalan flag from its crest.[38]

In 1943, Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of Copa del Generalísimo (now the Copa del Rey). The first match at Les Corts was won by Barcelona 3–0. Real Madrid comfortably won the second leg, beating Barcelona 11–1.[39] According to football writer Sid Lowe, "There have been relatively few mentions of the game [since] and it is not a result that has been particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11–1 occupies a far more prominent place in Barcelona's history. This was the game that first formed the identification of Madrid as the team of the dictatorship and Barcelona as its victims."[40] It has been alleged by local journalist Paco Aguilar that Barcelona's players were threatened by police in the changing room, though nothing was ever proven.[41]

Despite the difficult political situation, CF Barcelona enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, with Josep Samitier as coach and players like César, Ramallets and Velasco, they won La Liga for the first time since 1929. They added two more titles in 1948 and 1949.[42] In 1949, they also won the first Copa Latina.[43] In June 1950, Barcelona signed László Kubala, who was to be an important figure at the club.[44]

On a rainy Sunday of 1951, the crowd left Les Corts stadium after a 2â€“1 win against Santander by foot, refusing to catch any trams, and surprising the Francoist authorities. The reason was simple: at the same time, a tram strike was taking place in Barcelona, receiving the support of blaugrana fans. Events like this made CF Barcelona represent much more than just Catalonia and many progressive Spaniards saw the club as a staunch defender of rights and freedoms.[45][46]

Coach Ferdinand Daučík and László Kubala led the team to five different trophies including La Liga, the Copa del Generalísimo, the Copa Latina, the Copa Eva Duarte, and the Copa Martini Rossi in 1952. In 1953, the club won La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo again.[27]

With Helenio Herrera as coach, a young Luis Suárez, the European Footballer of the Year in 1960, and two influential Hungarians recommended by Kubala, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor, the team won another national double in 1959 and a La Liga and Fairs Cup double in 1960. In 1961, they became the first club to beat Real Madrid in a European Cup play-off. However, they lost 2–3 to Benfica in the final.[47][48]

The 1960s were less successful for the club, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The completion of the Camp Nou, finished in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players.[48] The 1960s saw the emergence of Josep Maria Fusté and Carles Rexach, and the club won the Copa del Generalísimo in 1963 and the Fairs Cup in 1966. Barcelona restored some pride by beating Real Madrid 1–0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalísimo final at the Santiago Bernabéu in front of Francisco Franco, with coach Salvador Artigas, a former republican pilot in the Civil War. With the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1974, the club changed its official name back to Futbol Club Barcelona and reverted the crest to its original design, including the original letters once again.[49][50]

The 1973–74 season saw the arrival of Johan Cruyff, who was bought for a world record £920,000 from Ajax.[51] Already an established player with Ajax, Cruyff quickly won over the Barcelona fans when he told the European press that he chose Barcelona over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Francisco Franco. He further endeared himself when he named his son "Jordi", after the local Catalan Saint George.[52] Next to champions like Juan Manuel Asensi, Carles Rexach and Hugo Sotil, he helped the club win the 1973–74 season for the first time since 1960,[17] defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu en route. He was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1973 during his first season with Barcelona (his second Ballon d'Or win; he won his first while playing for Ajax in 1971). Cruyff received this prestigious award a third time (the first player to do so) in 1974, while he was still with Barcelona.[53]

In 1978, Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of FC Barcelona, and, since then, the members of Barcelona have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of FC Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. The new president's main objective was to develop Barcelona into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch. His presidency was to last for 22 years, and it deeply affected the image of Barcelona, as Núñez held to a strict policy regarding wages and discipline, letting go of such players as Diego Maradona, Romário and Ronaldo rather than meeting their demands.[56][57]

On 16 May 1979, the club won its first European Cup Winners' Cup by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 4–3 in Basel in a final watched by more than 30,000 travelling blaugrana fans. The same year, Núñez began to invest in the club's youth programme by converting La Masia into a dormitory for young academy players from abroad. The name of the dormitory would later become synonymous with the youth programme of Barcelona.[58]

In June 1982, Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee of £5 million from Boca Juniors.[59] In the following season, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona's time with Barcelona, however, was short-lived and he soon left for Napoli. At the start of the 1984–85 season, Terry Venables was hired as manager and he won La Liga with noteworthy displays by German midfielder Bernd Schuster. The next season, he took the team to their second European Cup final, only to lose on penalties to Steaua București during a dramatic evening in Seville.[56]

Around this time, tensions began to arise between what was perceived as president Núñez's dictatorial rule and the nationalistic support group, Boixos Nois. The group, identified with a left-wing separatism, repeatedly demanded the resignation of Núñez and openly defied him through chants and banners at matches. At the same time, Barcelona experienced an eruption in skinheads, who often identified with a right-wing separatism. The skinheads slowly transferred the Boixos Nois' ideology from liberalism to fascism, which caused division within the group and a sudden support for Núñez's presidency.[60] Inspired by British hooligans, the remaining Boixos Nois became violent, causing havoc leading to large-scale arrests.[61]

After the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Barcelona signed the English top-scorer Gary Lineker, along with goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, but the team could not achieve success, as Schuster was excluded from the team. Terry Venables was subsequently fired at the beginning of the 1987–88 season and replaced with Luis Aragonés. The season finished with the players rebelling against president Núñez, in an event known as the Hesperia mutiny, and a 1–0 victory in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.[56]

In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager and he assembled the so-called "Dream Team".[62] He used a mix of Spanish players like Pep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero and Txiki Begiristain while signing international players such as Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov.[63]

It was ten years after the inception of the youth programme, La Masia, when the young players began to graduate and play for their first team. One of the first graduates, who would later earn international acclaim, was previous Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.[64] Under Cruyff's guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley, with a free kick goal from Dutch international Ronald Koeman. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and three Supercopa de España trophies. With 11 trophies, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager at that point. He also became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving eight years.[65] Cruyff's fortune was to change, and, in his final two seasons, he failed to win any trophies and fell out with president Josep Lluís Núñez, resulting in his departure.[56] On the legacy of Cruyff's football philosophy and the passing style of play he introduced to the club, future coach of Barcelona Pep Guardiola would state, "Cruyff built the cathedral, our job is to maintain and renovate it."[66]

Reacting to Cruyff's departure, an independent protest group was organised by Armand Caraben, Joan Laporta and Alfons Godall.[67] The objective of the group, called L'Elefant Blau, was to oppose the presidency of Núñez, which they regarded as a corruption of the club's traditional values.[67][68] Laporta would later take over the presidency of Barcelona in 2003.[69]

Cruyff was briefly replaced by Bobby Robson, who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996–97. He recruited Ronaldo from his previous club, PSV and delivered a cup treble, winning the Copa del Rey, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the Supercopa de España. Despite his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for Louis van Gaal to become available.[70]

Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time before he left for Internazionale. However, new heroes emerged, such as Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo, and the team won a Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999, the club celebrated its centenari, winning the Primera División title, and Rivaldo became the fourth Barcelona player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000.[70]

The departures of Núñez and Van Gaal were hardly noticed by the fans when compared to that of Luís Figo, then club vice-captain. Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barcelona fans, however, were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and, during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou, Figo was given an extremely hostile reception. Upon his first return, a piglet's head and a full bottle of whiskey were thrown at him from the crowd.[73] The next three years saw the club in decline, and managers came and went. Van Gaal was replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer who, despite an extensive investment in players in the summer of 2000, presided over a mediocre league campaign and a humiliating first-round Champions League exit, and was eventually dismissed late in the season. Long-serving coach Carles Rexach was appointed as his replacement, initially on a temporary basis, and managed to at least steer the club to the last Champions League spot on the final day of the season. Despite better form in La Liga and a good run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Rexach was never viewed as a long-term solution and that summer Van Gaal returned to the club for a second spell as manager. What followed, despite another decent Champions League performance, was one of the worst La Liga campaigns in the club's history, with the team as low as 15th in February 2003. This led to Van Gaal's resignation and replacement for the rest of the campaign by Radomir Antić, though a sixth-place finish was the best that he could manage. At the end of the season, Antić's short-term contract was not renewed, and club president Joan Gaspart resigned, his position having been made completely untenable by such a disastrous season on top of the club's overall decline in fortunes since he became president three years prior.[74]

After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch and Milan star Frank Rijkaard, saw the club bounce back. On the field, an influx of international players, including Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly, Samuel Eto'o, and Rafael Márquez, combined with home grown Spanish players, such as Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Víctor Valdés, led to the club's return to success. Barcelona won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third, respectively, in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.[75]

In the 2005–06 season, Barcelona repeated their league and Supercopa successes. The pinnacle of the league season arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid. It was Rijkaard's second victory at the Bernabéu, making him the first Barcelona manager to win there twice. Ronaldinho's performance was so impressive that after his second goal, which was Barcelona's third, some Real Madrid fans gave him a standing ovation.[76] In the Champions League, Barcelona beat the English club Arsenal in the final. Trailing 1–0 to a ten-man Arsenal and with less than 15 minutes remaining, they came back to win 2–1, with substitute Henrik Larsson, in his final appearance for the club, setting up goals for Samuel Eto'o and fellow substitute Juliano Belletti, for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years.[77]

Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006–07 season without trophies. A pre-season US tour was later blamed for a string of injuries to key players, including leading scorer Eto'o and rising star Lionel Messi. There was open feuding as Eto'o publicly criticised coach Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.[78] Ronaldinho also admitted that a lack of fitness affected his form.[79] In La Liga, Barcelona were in first place for much of the season, but inconsistency in the New Year saw Real Madrid overtake them to become champions. Barcelona advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, winning the first leg against Getafe 5–2, with a goal from Messi bringing comparison to Diego Maradona's goal of the century, but then lost the second leg 4–0. They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional.[80] In the Champions League, Barcelona were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Liverpool on away goals.

Barcelona finished the 2007–08 season third in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, both times losing to the eventual champions, Manchester United and Valencia, respectively. The day after a 4–1 defeat to Real Madrid, Joan Laporta announced that Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola would take over Frank Rijkaard's duties on 30 June 2008.[81]

Barcelona B youth manager Pep Guardiola took over Frank Rijkaard's duties at the conclusion of the season.[81] Guardiola brought with him the now famous tiki-taka style of play he had been taught during his time in the Barcelona youth teams. In the process, Guardiola sold Ronaldinho and Deco and started building the Barcelona team around Xavi, AndrÃ©s Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey final, winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A historic 2–6 victory against Real Madrid followed three days later and ensured that Barcelona became 2008–09 La Liga champions. Barça finished the season by beating the previous year's Champions League winners Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win their third Champions League title and completed the first ever treble won by a Spanish team.[83][84][85] The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao[86] and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk,[87] becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the 2009 Club World Cup.[88] Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Supercopa de España for a ninth time.[89][90]

After Laporta's departure from the club in June 2010, Sandro Rosell was soon elected as the new president. The elections were held on 13 June, where he got 61.35% (57,088 votes, a record) of total votes.[91] Rosell signed David Villa from Valencia for €40 million[92] and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for €19 million.[93]

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Barcelona players that had graduated from the club's La Masia youth system would play a major role in Spain becoming world champions. On 11 July, seven players who came through the academy participated in the final, six of which were Barcelona players whom started the match, with Iniesta scoring the winning goal against the Netherlands.[94]

In November 2010, Barcelona defeated their main rival, Real Madrid 5–0 in El Clásico. In the 2010–11 season, Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third title in succession, finishing with 96 points.[95] In April 2011, the club reached the Copa del Rey final, losing 1–0 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia.[96] In May, Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final 3–1 held at Wembley Stadium, a repeat of the 2009 final, winning their fourth European Cup.[97] In August 2011, La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas was bought from Arsenal and he would help Barcelona defend the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup victory brought the total number of official trophies to 73, matching the number of titles won by Real Madrid.[98]

Later the same month, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup after defeating Porto 2–0 thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas. This extended the club's overall number of official trophies to 74, surpassing Real Madrid's total amount of official trophies.[99] The Super Cup victory also marked another impressive achievement as Pep Guardiola won his 12th trophy out of 15 possible in only three years at the helm of the club, becoming the all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at Barcelona.[100]

In December, Barcelona won the Club World Cup for a record second time since its establishment, after defeating 2011 Copa Libertadores holders Santos 4–0 in the final thanks to two goals from Messi and goals from Xavi and Fàbregas.[101] As a result, the overall trophy title during the reign of Guardiola was further extended and saw Barcelona win their 13th trophy out of 24 possible in four years, continuing their high-quality performance in recent world football competitions.[102][103]

In the 2011–12 season, Barcelona lost the semi-finals of the Champions League against Chelsea. Right afterward, coach Guardiola, who had been on a rolling contract and had faced criticism over his recent tactics and squad selections,[104][105] announced that he would step down as manager on 30 June and be succeeded by assistant Tito Vilanova.[106][107] Guardiola finished his tenure with Barça winning the Copa del Rey final 3–0, bringing the tally to 14 trophies that Barça had won under his coaching.[108]

It was announced in summer of 2012 that Tito Vilanova, assistant manager at Barcelona, would take over from Pep Guardiola as manager. Following his appointment, Barcelona went on an incredible run that saw them hold the top spot on the league table for the entire season, recording only two losses and amassing 100 points. Their top scorer once again was Lionel Messi, who scored 46 goals in La Liga, including two hat-tricks. On 11 May 2013, Barcelona were crowned as the Spanish football champions for the 22nd time, still with four games left to play. Ultimately, Barcelona ended the season 15 points clear of rivals Real Madrid, despite losing 2–1 to them at the beginning of March.[109] They reached the semifinal stage of both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, going out to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively. On 19 July, it was announced that Vilanova was resigning as Barcelona manager because his throat cancer had returned, and he would be receiving treatment for the second time after a three-month medical leave in December 2012.[110]

On 22 July 2013, Gerardo "Tata" Martino was confirmed as manager of Barcelona for the 2013–14 season.[111] Barcelona's first official games under Martino were the home and away legs of the 2013 Supercopa de España, which Barça won 1–1 on away goals. On 23 January 2014, Sandro Rosell resigned as president by the admissibility of the complaint for alleged misappropriation following the transfer of Neymar. Josep Maria Bartomeu replaced him to finish the term in 2016.

In April 2014, FIFA banned the club from buying players for the next two transfer windows following the violation of the FIFA's rules about the transfer of footballers aged under 18.[112] A statement on FIFA's website read, "With regard to the case in question, FC Barcelona has been found to be in breach of art. 19 of the Regulations in the case of ten minor players and to have committed several other concurrent infringements in the context of other players, including under Annexe 2 of the Regulations. The Disciplinary Committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods, together with a fine of CHF 450,000. Additionally, the club was granted a period of 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned."[113] FIFA rejected an appeal in August but the pending appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Barcelona to sign players during the summer of 2014.[114]

On 17 May, in a game where they needed to defeat Atlético Madrid (who had eliminated them from the Champions League in the quarter-finals earlier in the year) to be crowned champions of La Liga for the 23rd time, they drew after Atlético defender Diego Godín headed in the equaliser in the 49th minute, giving Atlético the championship.[115]

Two days later, it was announced that Luis Enrique would return to Barcelona as head coach, after he agreed to a two-year deal. He was recommended by sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, his former national teammate.[116][117] Following Enrique's arrival, Barcelona broke their transfer record when they paid Liverpool between €81 to €94 million for striker Luis Suárez,[118][119] who was serving a four-month ban from all football-related activity imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during his appearance for Uruguay in a World Cup group stage match.[120][121][122]

In late December, Barcelona's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was unsuccessful and the original transfer ban was reinstated, leaving the club unable to utilise the 2015 winter and summer transfer windows.[114] On 5 January 2015, Zubizareta was sacked by the board after four years as director of football.[123] The next month, Barcelona announced the formation of a new Football Area Technical Commission, made up of vice-president Jordi Mestre, board member Javier Bordas, Carles Rexach and Ariedo Braida.[124]

Barcelona won the treble in the 2014–15 season, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles, and became the first European team to have won the treble twice.[125] On 17 May, the club clinched their 23rd La Liga title after defeating Atlético Madrid.[126] This was Barcelona's seventh La Liga title in the last ten years.[127] On 30 May, the club defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at Camp Nou.[128] On 6 June, Barcelona won the Champions League final with a 3–1 win against Juventus, which completed the treble, the club's second in six years.[129] Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", scored 122 goals in all competitions, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history.[130]

On 11 August, Barcelona started the 2015–16 season winning a joint record fifth European Super Cup by beating Sevilla 5–4 in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup. They ended the year with a 3–0 win over Argentine club River Plate in the 2015 Club World Cup final on 20 December to win the trophy for a record third time, with Suárez, Messi and Iniesta the top three players of the tournament.[131] The Club World Cup was Barcelona's 20th international title, a record only matched by Egyptian club Al Ahly.[132][133] By scoring 180 goals in 2015 in all competitions, Barcelona set the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, breaking Real Madrid's record of 178 goals scored in 2014.[134]

On 4 January 2016, Barcelona's transfer ban ended. The same day, they registered 77 players across all categories and ages, and both last summer signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal became eligible to play with the first team.[135] On 10 February, qualifying for the sixth Copa del Rey final in the last eight seasons, Luis Enrique's Barcelona broke the club's record of 28 consecutive games unbeaten in all competitions set by Guardiola's team in the 2010–11 season, with a 1–1 draw with Valencia in the second leg of the 2015–16 Copa del Rey.[136][137] With a 5–1 win at Rayo Vallecano on 3 March, Barcelona's 35th match unbeaten, the club broke Real Madrid's Spanish record of 34 games unbeaten in all competitions from the 1988–1989 season.[138][139] After Barça reached 39 matches unbeaten, the run has ended on 2 April 2016 with a 2–1 defeat to Real Madrid at Camp Nou.[140] On 14 May 2016, Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight seasons with a 3–0 win in the final day of the season at Granada.[141] On 8 March 2017, Barcelona made the largest comeback in Champions League history in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League in 2nd Leg, beating Paris Saint-Germain by a score of 6–1 (aggregate score 6–5), despite losing the first leg in France by a score of 4–0.[142] On 29 May 2017, former player Ernesto Valverde was named as Luis Enrique's successor signing a two-year contract with an option for a further year.[143]

On 20 September 2017, Barcelona issued a statement exercising their stance on the 2017 Catalan Referendum quoting "FC Barcelona, in holding the utmost respect for its diverse body of members, will continue to support the will of the majority of Catalan people, and will do so in a civil, peaceful, and exemplary way".[144] The match against UD Las Palmas on the referendum day was requested to be postponed by the Barcelona board due to heavy violence in Catalonia, but it (the request) was declined by La Liga, therefore being held behind closed doors.[145] Two directors, Jordi Monés and Carles Vilarrubí, handed in a resignation in protest to the game being played.[146]

The nickname culé for a Barcelona supporter is derived from the Catalan cul (English: arse), as the spectators at the first stadium, Camp de la Indústria, sat with their culs over the stand. In Spain, about 25% of the population is said to be Barça sympathisers, second behind Real Madrid, supported by 32% of the population.[147] Throughout Europe, Barcelona is the favourite second-choice club.[148] The club's membership figures have seen a significant increase from 100,000 in the 2003–04 season to 170,000 in September 2009,[149] the sharp rise being attributed to the influence of Ronaldinho and then-president Joan Laporta's media strategy that focused on Spanish and English online media.[150][151]

In addition to membership, as of 2015[update] there are 1,267 officially registered fan clubs, called penyes, around the world.[152] The fan clubs promote Barcelona in their locality and receive beneficial offers when visiting Barcelona.[153] Among the best supported teams globally, Barcelona has the second highest social media following in the world among sports teams, with over 100 million Facebook fans as of April 2017, just behind Real Madrid.[9][154][155] The club has had many prominent people among its supporters, including Pope John Paul II, who was an honorary member, and former prime minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[156][157] Barcelona has the second highest average attendance of European football clubs only behind Borussia Dortmund.[158][159]

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Barcelona and Real Madrid is known as El ClÃ¡sico. From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities. The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War.[160]

During the dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1930) and especially of Francisco Franco (1939–1975), all regional cultures were suppressed. All of the languages spoken in Spanish territory, except Spanish (Castilian) itself, were officially banned.[161][162] Symbolising the Catalan people's desire for freedom, Barça became 'More than a club' (Més que un club) for the Catalans. According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the best way for the Catalans to demonstrate their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement, and allowed them to express their dissidence.[163] During Franco's regime, however, the blaugrana team was granted profit due to its good relationship with the dictator at management level, even giving two awards to him.[164]

On the other hand, Real Madrid was widely seen as the embodiment of the sovereign oppressive centralism and the fascist regime at management level and beyond: Santiago Bernabéu, the former club president for whom their stadium is named, fought on the Nationalist side during the Spanish Civil War.[165][166] During the Spanish Civil War, however, members of both clubs such as Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra suffered at the hands of Franco supporters.

During the 1950s, the rivalry was exacerbated further when there was a controversy surrounding the transfer of Alfredo Di Stéfano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key to their subsequent success.[167] The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice in a controversial knock-out round of the European Cup, with Madrid receiving unfavourable treatment from the referee,[168][169] In 2002, the European encounter between the clubs was dubbed the "Match of The Century" by Spanish media, and Madrid's win was watched by more than 500 million people.[170]

Barça's local rival has always been Espanyol. Blanc-i-blaus, being one of the clubs granted royal patronage, was founded exclusively by Spanish football fans, unlike the multinational nature of Barça's primary board. The founding message of the club was clearly anti-Barcelona, and they disapprovingly saw FC Barcelona as a team of foreigners.[171] The rivalry was strengthened by what Catalonians saw as a provocative representative of Madrid.[172] Their original ground was in the affluent district of Sarrià.[173][174]

Traditionally, Espanyol was seen by the vast majority of Barcelona's citizens as a club which cultivated a kind of compliance to the central authority, in stark contrast to BarÃ§a's revolutionary spirit.[175] Also in the 1960s and 1970s, while FC Barcelona acted as an integrating force for Catalonia's new arrivals from poorer regions of Spain expecting to find a better life, Espanyol drew their support mainly from sectors close to the regime such as policemen, military officers, civil servants and career fascists.[176]

In 1918, Espanyol started a counter-petition against autonomy, which at that time had become a pertinent issue.[171] Later on, an Espanyol supporter group would join the Falangists in the Spanish Civil War, siding with the fascists. Despite these differences in ideology, the derbi has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than Barcelona ones due to the difference in objectives. In recent years the rivalry has become less political, as Espanyol translated its official name and anthem from Spanish to Catalan.[171]

Though it is the most played local derby in the history of La Liga, it is also the most unbalanced, with Barcelona overwhelmingly dominant. In the primera división league table, Espanyol has only managed to end above Barça on three occasions from 81 seasons (1928–2016) and the only all-Catalan Copa del Rey final was won by Barça in 1957. Espanyol has the consolation of achieving the largest margin win with a 6–0 in 1951, while Barcelona's biggest win was 5–0 on six occasions (in 1933, 1947, 1964, 1975, 1992 and 2016). Espanyol achieved a 2–1 win against Barça during the 2008–09 season, becoming the first team to defeat Barcelona at Camp Nou in their treble-winning season.[177]

Barcelona's rival in European football is Italian club A.C. Milan.[178][179][180][181] The team against which Barcelona has played the most matches (19), it is also the second most played match in European competitions, tied with Real Madrid–Juventus and both after Real Madrid–Bayern Munich (24).[182][183] Two of the most successful clubs in Europe, Milan has won seven European Cups to Barça's five, while both clubs have won a record five European Super Cups.[184] Barcelona and Milan have won other continental titles, which make them the second and third most decorated teams in world football, with 20 and 18 titles respectively, both behind Real Madrid's 21.[185]

Barcelona leads the Head-To-Head record with eight wins and five defeats. The first encounter between the two clubs was in the 1959–60 European Cup. They faced off in the round of 16 and Barça won the tie on a 7–1 aggregate score (0–2 in Milan and 5–1 in Barcelona).[186] While Milan had never knocked Barcelona out of the European Cup, they've beaten Johan Cruyff's Dream Team 4–0 in the 1994 Champions League final, despite being the underdogs.[187][188] In 2013, however, Barcelona made a "historic" comeback from a 0–2 first leg defeat in the round of 16 of the 2012–13 Champions League, winning 4–0 at the Camp Nou.[189][190]

Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership.[191] The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.[192] As of 2016[update] the club has 140,000 socis.[193]

In 2010, Forbes evaluated Barcelona's worth to be around €752 million (US$1 billion), ranking them fourth after Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal, based on figures from the 2008–09 season.[194][195] According to Deloitte, Barcelona had a recorded revenue of €366 million in the same period, ranking second to Real Madrid, who generated €401 million in revenue.[196] In 2013, Forbes magazine ranked Barcelona the third most valuable sports team in the world, behind Real Madrid and Manchester United, with a value of $2.6 billion.[197] In 2014, Forbes ranked them the second most valuable sports team in the world, worth $3.2 billion, and Deloitte ranked them the world's fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €484.6 million.[3][198]

Xavi presently holds the team record for most number of total games played (767) and the record number of La Liga appearances (505), Andrés Iniesta comes second with 642 in all competitions and 420 in the League.

Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Lionel Messi with 557 goals, surpassing Paulino Alcántara's record (369 goals) held for 87 years,[199] as well as being the highest goalscorer in official competitions with 523 goals. He is also the record goalscorer for Barcelona in European (100 goals) and international club competitions (105 goals), and the record league scorer with 361 goals in La Liga. Alongside Messi, three other players have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: César (190), László Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (108). Josep Samitier is the club's highest goalscorer in the Copa del Rey, with 65 goals.

László Kubala holds La Liga record of most goals scored in one match, with seven goals against Sporting de Gijón in 1952.[200] Lionel Messi holds the Champions League record with five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.[a][201] Eulogio Martínez became Barça's top goalscorer in a cup game, when he scored seven goals against Atlético Madrid in 1957.

Barcelona goalkeepers have won a record number of Zamora trophies (20), with Antoni Ramallets and Víctor Valdés winning a record five each. Valdés had a ratio of 0.832 goals-conceded-per-game, a La Liga record,[202] and he also holds the record for longest period without conceding a goal (896 minutes) in all competitions for Barcelona.[203] Claudio Bravo has the record of best unbeaten start in a season in La Liga history (754 minutes).[204][205]

Barcelona's longest serving manager is Jack Greenwell, with nine years in two spells (1917–1924) and (1931–1933), and Pep Guardiola is the club's most successful manager (14 trophies in 4 years). The most successful Barcelona players are Andrés Iniesta and Messi (30 trophies), surpassing Xavi (25 trophies).[206]

Barcelona's Camp Nou is the largest stadium in Europe. The club's highest home attendance was 120,000 in a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986.[207] The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current capacity of the stadium is 99,354.[208]

El Barça de les Cinc Copes is the first team in Spanish football to have won five trophies in a single season (1951–1952).[209][210][211] Barcelona is the only club to have played in every season of European competitions since they started in 1955 counting non-UEFA competition Inter Cities Fair Cup.[212][213] On 18 December 2009, alongside being the only Spanish club to achieve the continental treble, Barcelona became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple.[214][215] In August 2017, Barcelona signed Ousmane Dembélé from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million, the highest transfer fee in club history.[216][217][218] In August 2017, Barcelona player Neymar transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record transfer fee of €222 million.[219][220]

In 2016, Barcelona's La Masia was ranked second by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) as the most top-level players producing academy in the world.[221]

The club's original crest was a quartered diamond-shaped crest topped by the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James, and surrounded by two branches, one of a laurel tree and the other a palm.[20] In 1910, the club held a competition among its members to design a new crest. The winner was Carles Comamala, who at the time played for the club. Comamala's suggestion became the crest that the club wears today, with some minor variations. The crest consists of the St George Cross in the upper-left corner with the Catalan flag beside it, and the team colours at the bottom.[20]

The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900.[223] Several competing theories have been put forth for the blue and red design of the Barcelona shirt. The son of the first president, Arthur Witty, claimed it was the idea of his father as the colours were the same as the Merchant Taylor's School team. Another explanation, according to author Toni Strubell, is that the colours are from Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the common perception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.[224] The club's most frequently used change colours have been yellow and orange. An away kit featuring the red and yellow stripes of the flag of Catalonia has also been used many times.

Prior to the 2011–2012 season, Barcelona had a long history of avoiding corporate sponsorship on the playing shirts. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five-year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement had the club donate €1.5 million per year to UNICEF (0.7% of its ordinary income, equal to the UN International Aid Target, cf. ODA) via the FC Barcelona Foundation.[228] The FC Barcelona Foundation is an entity set up in 1994 on the suggestion of then-chairman of the Economical-Statutory Committee, Jaime Gil-Aluja. The idea was to set up a foundation that could attract financial sponsorships to support a non-profit sport company.[229] In 2004, a company could become one of 25 "Honorary members" by contributing between £40,000–60,000 (£55,400–83,100)[230] per year. There are also 48 associate memberships available for an annual fee of £14,000 (£19,400)[230] and an unlimited number of "patronages" for the cost of £4,000 per year (£5,500).[230] It is unclear whether the honorary members have any formal say in club policy, but according to the author Anthony King, it is "unlikely that Honorary Membership would not involve at least some informal influence over the club".[231]

Barcelona ended their refusal of corporate sponsorship prior to the commencement of the 2011–12 season, signing a five-year, €150 million deal with Qatar Sports Investments, that meant the Qatar Foundation[232] was on the club's shirt for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, then replaced by Qatar Airways for the 2013–14 season, the deal allowing for a commercial sponsor logo to replace the charity logo, two years into the six-year deal.[233] The deal with Qatar Airways was extended for one more year in 2016.[234]

On 16 November 2016, Rakuten signed a $200m deal for global sponsorship with FC Barcelona. It will replace Qatar Airways as the main shirt sponsor till 2020, starting from the 2017/18 season.

Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[235]

In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, BarÃ§a was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[236]

After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of László Kubala in June 1950, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[236][237][238] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[236] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[236]

In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[239][240][241] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[242] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.[1]

There are also other facilities, which include:[243]

Spanish teams are limited to three players without EU citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. Also, players from the ACP countries that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement are not counted against non-EU quotas due to the Kolpak ruling.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Last updated: 16 July 2017
Source: FC Barcelona

Last updated: 11 October 2017
Source: FC Barcelona


what type of book is because of winn-dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie is a children's novel written by Kate DiCamillo, which was published in 2000, and was the winner of a Newbery Honor distinction the following year.[1] In 2000, the book won the Josette Frank Award,[2] and in 2003 won the Mark Twain Award.[3] It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Opal Buloni.[4][5]

Because of Winn-Dixie

In 2007 the U.S. National Education Association named Winn-Dixie one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children", based on an online poll.[6] In 2012 it was ranked number 20 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal – the first of three books by DiCamillo in the Top 100.[7]

A 10-year-old girl named India Opal Buloni has just moved to a trailer park in the small town of Naomi, Florida, with her father who is known as The Preacher because he preaches at the local church. While in the Winn-Dixie supermarket, Opal sees a scruffy dog wrecking the store. Opal decides to take him home. Miss Franny Block, a librarian, shares great stories about her past including one about her great-grandfather, whose family members died while he was fighting for the South in the Civil War. He invented Littmus Lozenge candies, which tasted like root beer and strawberry but included a secret ingredientâ€” sorrow. Anyone who tasted the candies tasted sweetness mixed with sadness. In Because of Winn-Dixie, these candies symbolize that even though life sometimes deals people a bit of sadness, there is always much to appreciate. Opal learns that her sour faced neighbor, Amanda Wilkinson, lost her brother Carson because he drowned. She vows to be nicer to her from then on.

Opal finds a dog collar that she wants to buy for Winn-Dixie but she has no money and decides to work for the pet store to earn it. Otis, the owner of Gertrude's Pets, is unwilling to hire Opal as a cleaning girl, but she comes to work. When Opal and Winn-Dixie step into the store, the animals panic when they see the big dog. Otis plays his guitar to calm them. Opal learns that Otis once went to jail for hurting a police officer after he was told that he could not play his guitar on the street because he was disturbing others.

Opal was riding her bike while Winn-Dixie pulled ahead and they meet a woman named Gloria Dump. They become good friends. Opal and recovering alcoholic Gloria Dump decide to host a small party, inspired by the party in Gone With the Wind, inviting everyone they know. In the process, Opal becomes a friend to her former enemies, the brothers, Stevie and Dunlap Dewberry. She also invites Amanda Wilkinson and Sweetie Pie Thomas, a girl who has no pet, and so had fallen in love with Winn-Dixie. Otis and Miss Franny Block are also invited.

They set up everything outside, but it starts to rain, so they bring the party inside. Opal can't find Winn-Dixie anywhere, even after searching the town. Ten minutes later she returns to Gloria's home to discover that Winn-Dixie had been there all the time, hiding because he is scared of storms. The book ends with Otis playing his guitar and everyone singing one of The Preacher's songs.

Translated to Persian, published in 2005 by Ghatreh. [8]