For those who don’t know, that fun cartoon that has Barcelona’s stars skydiving into the Camp Nou promotes the Gamper Festival which every year remembers Emil “Joan” Gamper the Swiss who founded in 1899 what is today the best club in the world, FC Barcelona.
That’s right, Swiss. The story goes that during a visit to relatives in Barcelona he so fell in love with the city that he never left and converted immediately to the Catalan cause.
Here’s what the club’s website now says of Gamper:
“The man from Switzerland was a true example of what a sportsman should be; Joan Gamper (Winterthur, Switzerland, 1877 – Barcelona, 1930) had success in swimming, rugby, cycling, athletics and above all, football. He arrived in Barcelona in 1898 and practised the sport in the streets of Sant Gervasi and by 1899, football had been born in Barcelona. He founded the club and was captain of the team, however, he did not take on the presidential role until 9 years later. His level was superior to that of most others at the time and left many people marvelling at his skills. He was a forward player and scored a tally of goal unthinkable in modern times.”
The player who founded Barca
Here’s what Gamper’s Wiki says of his playing days for the club:
“He was still only 22 and wanted to concentrate on playing the game he loved. He played 48 games for FC Barcelona between 1899 and 1903, scoring over 100 goals. His team mates included Arthur Witty. In 1900-01 he was a member of the FC Barcelona team that won the clubs first trophy, the Copa Macaya. This competition is now recognised as the first Catalan championship. In 1902 he played in the very first Copa del Rey final. Barca lost 2-1 to Club Vizcaya.”
So fitting that the man who founded the club so loved to play the game. For today the club has the most revered player development system at La Masia and possesses some of the best players in the world, including another Barcelona convert, Argentine Lionel Messi.
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