| 1899-1900 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Walter Wild | ||
| Manager | No manager | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: No league All: Joan Gamper (8 goals) | ||
The 1899-1900 season was the first season for FC Barcelona. During this season, the club only played friendly matches against local clubs.
On 22 October 1899, a sports weekly printed in Barcelona, Los Deportes, published an advert in which Hans Gamper, a 21-year-old German-speaking Swiss, called for football fans.
Football Club Barcelona was created on 29 November of the same year, after a meeting held at Gimnasio Solé, a gym located at number 5 Montjuïc del Carme Street, in Barcelona's El Raval. Walter Wild, Luis de Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Künzli, Otto Maier, Enric Ducay, Pere Cabot, Carles Puyol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, William Parsons, and Joan Gamper signed the record.
On 8 December, Barcelona played their first match, at the former Velódromo de la Bonanova , against some Englishmen who had settled in the city. Both teams played with 10-men squads. The English Colony won 0–1 thanks to a goal from Arthur Witty. [1]
The first board of directors was established on 14 December. Walter Wild was elected chairman since he was the oldest of the members. Terrades was appointed treasurer, Ossó as secretary, Gamper as the team's first-ever captain, and the Parsons brothers as vice-president and vice-captain respectively. Dark blue and garnet were the chosen colours for the uniform, the same colours of Gamper's former Swiss team, FC Basel. The badge was to be the same as the coat of arms of the city. The membership fee was set at two pesetas. [2] [3]
On 11 February, the Englishman Stanley Harris becomes the first player in the history of the club to be sent off in the match played against Català FC, which was using 6 members of Escocès FC. In addition to Harris, Willie Gold, the Scottish player who had received the foul, returned with a punch and was also sent off. The incident caused a fight between players of both teams and as a result, Joan Gamper, Barça's captain in this match, resigned from the position. [4]
On 14 February, Barcelona's third assembly completed the board of directors with Ernest Witty (sub-captain) (replacing William Parsons) and Joan Millet (sub-secretary). In this meeting, Gamper is urged to withdraw his resignation, not considering the incidents of the previous match sufficient. Barcelona refused to play any team with Scottish players in their ranks for a year if an apology was not received, but both Català and Escocès refused to do so, stating that those Scots are members of Català, and therefore, the rest of the 1899–1900 Catalan season was just confrontations between Escocès and Català. [5] Following a 3-month hiatus without playing (Feb - May), Barcelona finally played again on 24 May against Team Rojo, a team formed by a group of dissident players of Català, their established city rivals. [6]
Source: [7] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Losses 1899–1900 | Destination |
 Otto Künzli | Retired |
 Eduardo Schilling | Retired |
 Juan de Urruela | Retired |
 William Parsons | Work reasons |
 Henry W. Brown | Català FC |
| 8 December 1899 | FC Barcelona | 0 – 1 | Team Anglès | Barcelona |
| 15:00 | La Vanguardia | A. Witty | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Referee: Arthur Leask |
| 24 December 1899 | FC Barcelona | 3 – 1 | Català FC | Barcelona |
| 15:00 | Gamper  E. Witty | webdelcule La Vanguardia | Paniagua Ortiz, Mir J.A. Busquets, V.J. González, Joan García G. Busquets, Valdés, Artús, L. Valls, F. Valls | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Attendance: 100 Referee: Arthur Leask Assistant referees: Adolfo López Fermín Lomba |
| 26 December 1899 | FC Barcelona + Català FC | 2 – 1 | Team Anglès | Barcelona |
| 15:00 | Gamper | webdelcule La Vanguardia | J. Parsons F. Ball, Brown Morrison, Fitzmaurice, J. Ball E. Witty, A. Witty, W. Parsons, J.A. Ball, Bastow | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Referee: (1ª half) Jaime Vila |
| 6 January 1900Combined | FC Barcelona + Català FC | 0 – 3 | Team Anglès | Barcelona |
| 15:00 Borrowed from Escocès FC [1] Last match for Barcelona [2] | webdelcule (1) Los Deportes (2) La Vanguardia | Urruela o.g.' ? Hamilton 1 Jim Dykes ,1 Brown H. Morris, A. Witty, Morrison W. Parsons,2 J. Parsons, Fitzmaurice, E. Witty, Bastow | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Referee: (1ª half) J. Candwell (2ª half) Alberto Serra |
| 28 January 1900Training | FC Barcelona | 6 – 0 | Català FC | Barcelona |
| 15:00 Borrowed from Escocès FC [1] | Los Deportes La Vanguardia | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova |
| 2 February 1900 | FC Barcelona | 2 – 0 | Escocès FC | Barcelona |
| 15:00 | Gamper | webdelcule La Vanguardia | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Referee: J. Candwell Assistant referees: Luis de Ossó William Mauchan |
| 11 February 1900 | FC Barcelona | 4 – 0 | Català FC + Escocès FC | Barcelona |
| 15:00 Sent off [1] | E. Witty Gamper | webdelcule La Vanguardia Mundo Deportivo | Stadium: Velódromo de la Bonanova Referee: William Mauchan Assistant referees: Gordon Bastow Manuel Planells |
| 24 May 1900 | Team Roig | 1 – 2 | FC Barcelona | Barcelona |
| 16:30 | webdelcule La Vanguardia | López Gamper | Stadium: Hipòdromo de Barcelona Referee: (1ª half) John Parsons (2ª half) Alberto Serra Assistant referees: Jaume Torres |
Hans Max Gamper-Haessig, commonly known as Joan Gamper, was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC Barcelona and FC Zürich.
Football is the most important sport in Catalonia and was introduced in the late 19th century by a combination of mostly British immigrant workers and visiting sailors, and students returning from Britain. Catalonia led the way in the development of football in Spain, organizing both the first association and the first championship. Today football in Catalonia is organized by the Catalan Football Federation and the RFEF and teams from Catalonia compete in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Copa Catalunya and several European competitions.
The 1900–01 season was the second season for FC Barcelona.
Henry W. Brown Martín was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper and defender for Spanish club FC Barcelona at the turn of the century. He was a member of some of the earliest Catalan clubs in existence such as Barcelona Football Club and Sociedad de Foot-Ball de Barcelona. Together with the Parsons brothers, he was one of the few players who was part of both the Barcelona Society of 1894–96 and FC Barcelona.
The Hispània Athletic Club was a football team based in Barcelona, Spain, which existed during the years 1900 and 1903. It was one of the first football clubs in the city and in 1901, Hispania was the fundamental head behind the organization of the inaugural edition of the Copa Macaya, which was the first football competition played in the Iberian Peninsula, and they won the tournament after beating FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol for the title, thus becoming the very first Spanish club to win an official title. The Copa Macaya was later recognized as the first edition of the Catalan championship, hence they were the first Catalan champion in history.
John Parsons Alexander, was an Anglo-Spanish footballer who played as a forward for FC Barcelona. His younger brother, William, followed him every step through.
Gustavo Gren Córdoba, better known as Gustavo Green, was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol.
John Hamilton was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper and defender for Spanish club FC Barcelona.
Stanley Charles Harris was an English footballer who played as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona. He is best known for being the very first player in Barça's history to have been sent off during a match.
The Velódromo de la Bonanova was a sports venue in the city of Barcelona, Spain. It was the first velodrome in the city, although it was located in the neighboring municipality of San Gervasio, which in 1897 was annexed to the Catalan capital. Later it hosted other sports competitions, especially football, being the very first playing field of FC Barcelona.
The Escocès FC, officially founded as Escocés Fútbol Club, was a football team based in Barcelona, Spain, which existed only during the year 1900, playing a total of ten friendlies against the likes of FC Barcelona and Català FC. The team was formed and made up mostly of a group of Scottish workers from a factory in Sant Andreu de Palomar, hence its name.
The Sociedad de Foot-Ball de Barcelona was a football scratch team that existed between 1892 and 1896, mainly consisting of players from the British colony of Barcelona, but also with Catalans and even Frenchmen. This entity was initially known as the Barcelona Football Club (1892–94), before being renamed as Sociedad de Foot-Ball de Barcelona following a restructuring in 1894. It was one of the first Catalan football clubs and is considered a predecessor of FC Barcelona founded in 1899. Some historians ascribe this entity as "a group of thirty friends, English workers, who played alternately and without a regular squad".
Català Futbol Club, and later Català Sport Club, was a football team based in Barcelona, Spain, which existed from 1899 until its dissolution in the late 1920s. It was one of the most important entities in the amateur beginnings of football in Catalonia, being noted for its prominent role in promoting local football in the city. Català is best known for being the first unofficial football team to be formed in the city of Barcelona, although officially it comes second behind FC Barcelona, with whom they had a very strong rivalry at the turn of the century.
Team Anglès or English Colony Team, was a football scratch team based in Barcelona, Spain, which existed only during the year 1900, playing a total of four friendly matches against the likes of FC Barcelona and Català FC. The team mainly consisted of members of the British colony living in Barcelona, hence its name. Some historians ascribe this entity as "a group of thirty friends, English workers, who played alternately and without a regular squad".
William Parsons Alexander was an Anglo-Spanish footballer who is best known for being, along with his brother John, one of the founders of FC Barcelona in 1899, and then serving as the club's vice-captain in 1899 and 1900. Oddly enough, despite having been a captain of the Barça first team, he never actually played a single match for the club. William was also one of the founders of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
Luis de Ossó Serra was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for FC Barcelona. He was one of the most important footballers in the amateur beginnings of FC Barcelona, being among the 12 founders of the club in 1899, and then serving the club as a forward for six years, netting 68 goals in 72 appearances, thus contributing decisively in the conquest of Barça's first official titles, 1901–02 Copa Macaya, which was the club's first-ever official title, 1902–03 Copa Barcelona and the 1904–05 Catalan championship.
Carlos Soley Güell was a Costa Rican footballer who played as a goalkeeper and a midfielder for Spanish club FC Barcelona at the turn of the century. He was a member of the side that won the very first official title in Spanish football, the 1900–01 Copa Macaya with Hispania AC. He was the brother of Tomás Soley Güell, the founding economist of what is today the National Insurance Institute.
Fermín Amadeo Agustín Lomba de la Pedraja was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder and forward for Catalá FC and Hispania AC in 1900 and 1901, helping the later club became the first-ever to win an official title in Spanish football, the 1900–01 Copa Macaya, which was the very first football competition played on the Iberian Peninsula.
José Ramón Macario Lomba de la Pedraja was a Spanish professor, researcher, and critic. He is best known for his brief football career at the turn of the century, playing as a goalkeeper and defender for Catalá FC and FC Barcelona in 1899 and 1900, most notably in the latter's very first match.
John Henry Ball was an engineer and a footballer who played as a midfielder for Team Anglès in 1899 and who joined the ranks of FC Barcelona in 1900, although he did not play a single match for the Blugrana. He briefly worked as a referee in the first edition of the Copa Macaya, overseeing the first competitive match in the history of football in Catalonia.
