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The Club’s Growth
In November 1908, the Club was struggling, with 38 of its members about to abandon it. Gamper was determined to keep the Club afloat and for the first time he became president of the organisation.
This marked a new stage in the Club's history, which consolidated it within the football panorama and social milieu of the city and country. A number of different circumstances played a part in this process, including its strengthening as an organisation via the steady growth of its members; the re-writing of the Club statutes, and the acquisition of the Club's own football grounds for the first time. At the same time, a range of sporting successes and growing recognition accorded to players saw football develop into a mass phenomenon, turning it into a professional sport.
The Club grew rapidly. The number of members increased from 201 in 1909 to 2,973 in less than ten years.
During these years, Barça laid down solid foundations in order to define the type of football club it wanted to be. This took it beyond the original dream of the group of friends that had founded it in 1899; the Club was here to stay.
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The football grounds on Carrer de la Indústria (today, Carrer de París) were inaugurated on 14 March 1909, and owned by the club until 1922
A two-tier stand was erected, the first of its kind in a Spanish football grounds; this increased the stadium capacity to 6,000 spectators.
Barça fans associate these football grounds with the origin of the nickname “culers” (literally “arse-people”), used to refer to supporters of FC Barcelona. Far from being offensive, the name refers to fans seated in the highest row of the stadium. From outside, people who passed by could only see their backsides.
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From 1910 to 1913, the Club won a series of titles
During four seasons from 1910 to 1913, the Club won a series of titles, which included the Spanish Cup (also known as the King’s Cup), and four Pyrenees Cups, which was the first international tournament that Barça played in. Teams from Catalonia, the Basque Country and the South of France played in this competition.
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Barça’s skilled sportsmanship and its first title victories, combined with the emergence of star players, meant that football was becoming increasingly popular
The team’s success led to membership growth and compelled the fans to turn out to welcome the team home after a victory.
The players who beat Madrid in the Spanish Cup received a hero’s welcome at Passeig de Gràcia station, with the crowd following them to the building where the celebration dinner was held. The Canaletes drinks stand, in the centre of Barcelona, became the place where football results were announced. Fans have congregated here ever since to celebrate Barça’s successes.
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Since 1899, FC Barcelona had used the city’s coat of arms, but by 1910 it wanted its own
The Club held a competition to choose a new design; the result, with slight modifications, is the coat of arms we know today, and was designed by the Barça player, Carles Comamala.
The coat of arms is representative of the Club’s identity. It features the St. George’s Cross and the four stripes of the Senyera, the Catalan flag. The Club’s colours, blue and claret, also appear with a football in the centre.
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Paulino Alcántara, from the Philippines, played his debut season in 1911-12, aged just fifteen
He is, without a doubt, Barça’s first star player and the Club’s top goalscorer. He scored a staggering 369 goals in 357 matches, representing an impressive average of one goal per match.
It is said that his kick was so powerful it could rip through the goal net. Alcántara always wore a white scarf tied round his waist.
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The 1908-1909 season marked the beginning of FC Barcelona’s dominance in the Catalan Football Championships, which lasted until 1922
Impressive results led Barça to win the title eight times, and in the 1909-1910 championship, the team won every single match it played.
FC Barcelona
Fc Barcelona
1909-1919 Consolidation at the Carrer de la Indústria Football Grounds
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