Fathers of Football by Keith Baker

Author:Keith Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2015-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Underway

In early December 1899 the fledging side, bearing the name FC Barcelona, took the field for their inaugural game against an English Select team in a match played at Bonanova cycle race track, now known as Turo Park. The two teams had ten men each and both in fact included several players who had also been recruited by Gamper, including Arthur Witty. The English Select won 1-0 with Arthur scoring the only goal. Later in the month, on Christmas Eve, Arthur Witty made his first official debut for the Barcelona team in a 3-1 win over FC Catala.

The long and illustrious career of FC Barcelona was underway. But it was not going to be easy and the early years, from 1899 to 1922, were to be critical. A cosmopolitan team, largely drawn from foreign members of the city’s of the middle and upper classes, was hardly likely to appeal to the cause of Catalan nationalism which was proving to be a powerful force.

Moreover, by 1900 there were several football clubs formed in the city who were proving tough competitors, notably FC Catala, and Espanyol – whose founding statutes specifically declared, ‘We create this club to compete with the foreigners of FC Barcelona.’ [Goldblatt. p.149]

Gamper remained true to his conviction that his club should be open to everyone regardless of their origin, but accepted that the foreign image needed modification. He decided that this would be best done by firmly associating it with the rise of Catalan nationalism so it could develop a true Catalan identity. He demonstrated his own devotion to his adoptive Catalonia by learning the language. As his son, Arthur, was to record later, ‘From the moment he fixed his residence in Barcelona his main objective was to become a Catalan citizen like everybody else.’ [Burns p.83]h

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