WalkABit has asked FC Barcelona fans what they like most of all about the club. We have discovered some interesting and unexpected facts. Read on to learn about our findings…

What is Barcelona famous for? Antoni Gaudí, stunning architecture and many beautiful sights, sandy beaches, the 1992 Olympic Games, the special Catalan spirit, the independence referendum and FC Barcelona, of course, commonly called as “Barça”!

“Més que un club” (More than a club) is more than a club indeed.

It’ s

– a symbol of Catalanism for local residents of Barcelona,

– the most successful European club, that once won all main tournaments within a year, for those who enjoy professional football,

– the broad range of different charity projects, that the club supports, and its alliance with UNICEF,

– a special style of game,

– rich history that dates back to the 19^th century,

– and legendary players, for sure.

So first some short profile of FC Barcelona (in case this article is read by those people, who don’t belong to the list of most devoted fans yet):

Initial name (back in 1899): Foot-Ball Club Barcelona

Full name in Spanish (present time): Futbol Club Barcelona

FC Barcelona’s Nickname: Barça

Team’s Nickname: Blaugrana (Which means Blue-reds in Catalan)

Fan’s Nickname: Culés, Barcelonistas, Blaugranes, Azulgranas

Abbreviation: FCB

When FC Barcelona was founded: 29.11.1899

Main stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

President: Josep Maria Bartolomeu

Head coach: Quique Setién

Captain: Lionel Messi

Official FC Barcelona website: www.fcbarcelona.com

Informational guide: https://barcelona-fc.org/

What have we understood interviewing FC Barcelona fans?

– First of all, all of them like the club very much! You’ll say: “but it’s natural”. Indeed, but what is important, Barça fans also feel for the team’s successes and losses as if the team were their relatives, to say the least.

– Some fans eagerly follow not only the latest news about the scored goals and the games, but the personal life events of their favourite Barcelona players as well.

– They share news, photos, their lively discussions show, that they care about what is waiting for the team in the future, are sincerely upset when something goes wrong in the club and rejoice in its every victory or a successful project.

– Some of them are real experts in FC Barcelona history. You can ask them anything from the past of the club and they’ll explain in detail!

– They live in many different countries of the world.

– Many young men dream about becoming a FC Barcelona player one day and work hard to achieve their goal.

What do they like about FC Barcelona most of all?

The answers weren’t very diverse. The majority of fans like the club for the same reasons.

And the reasons are:

– Lionel Messi and other legendary players like Ronaldinho, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Valdés

– Barcelona’s being one of the three most ranked football clubs in the world

– highly professional play and behaviour on the pitch

– Tiqui-taca or tiki-taka (when translated from Basque language, it means “taking quick, light steps”), style of play based on short passing and movement

– young talents

– the stadium Camp Nou (the biggest in Europe, by the way)

– the city of Barcelona

– FC Barcelona jersey, its colours

– the comebacks

– the club’s simplicity and transparency

– the fact that FC Barcelona has never been racist

But probably the most popular answer to a question what fans like most of all about FC Barcelona was “Everything”. So comments are unnecessary.

There is no doubt, there are some controversial things about the club.

Take, for example, the fact that Pep Guardiola once said to The Telegraph, “I loathe all that passing for the sake of it, all that tiki-taka. It’s so much rubbish and has no purpose. You have to pass the ball with clear intention, with the aim of making it into the opposition’s goal. It’s not about the passing for the sake of it… Don’t believe what people say, Barca didn’t do tiki-taka. It’s completely made up!”

But whether tiki-taka originates from FC Barcelona or not, the club has a special place in the hearts of millions of people (about 148 million btw) – that’s true!

Lastly few words about the name Barça. If you’re planning to go to Barcelona, you might want to refer to the city as Barca. If you are among tourists only, no one will spot it. But if you were with some locals, they would correct you.

Barça refers only to the football club, if you want to change the name of Barcelona city into shorter and more “local sounding” name, you should call it Barna as locals do about their city.