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| Full name | Barcelona Sporting Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
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| Founded | 1 May 1925; 99 years ago (1925-05-01) | |||
| Ground | Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha | |||
| Capacity | 59,283 | |||
| Manager | Segundo Castillo | |||
| League | Ecuadorian Serie A | |||
| 2024 | Serie A, 3rd of 16 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Barcelona Sporting Club (Spanish:[baɾθeˈlona]), internationally known asBarcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based inGuayaquil, known best for its professionalfootball team. They currently play in theEcuadorian Serie A, the highest level of football in the country, and hold the distinction of being the only club in the Ecuadorian top flight to not have played in theSerie B.[1]
Barcelona Sporting Club is one of the most successful football teams in Ecuador, having won theSerie A title a record 16 times, most recently in 2020. They have also won six regional titles (five in the professional era), and were the first Ecuadorian club to make it to theCopa Libertadores finals, making it twice, but lost on both occasions.
Barcelona Sporting Club was founded on 1 May 1925, by Eutimio Pérez, a Spanish immigrant who named the club after his home city ofBarcelona. Since then, Barcelona Sporting Club has become the most popular club in the country. The club holds a long-standing rivalry withEmelec, where matches between the two teams are considered the most important derby in Ecuador, commonly referred to as "El Clásico del Astillero". The club plays their home matches inEstadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, the largest stadium in the country.
In addition to football, the club has teams in professional basketball, bowling, boxing, swimming, volleyball, baseball, athletics, and tennis. In 2008, its basketball team was the champion in the Ecuadorian National Basketball League.[2]
Barcelona Sporting Club's 1st squad of 15 June 1925. The coach was Eutimio Pérez.
Barcelona Sporting Club was founded on 1 May 1925 by Eutimio Pérez, a Spanish immigrant who decided to name the club after his home city ofBarcelona,Spain. The team was named after Pérez's return to Ecuador, and BSC's Barça-like crest was adopted later on. The team competed in the provincial amateur tournament organized by Asociación de Fútbol del Guayas (AFG), which included clubs from around theGuayas Province in Ecuador. In the 1940s, Barcelona's popularity grew partly by its notoriety in playing matches against important Colombian teams, such asDeportivo Cali andMillionarios, two of the best teams fromColombia'sgolden era of football. Barcelona defeated Millionarios twice in Guayaquil, by scores of 3–2 and 1–0.
Barcelona was formed in the same place where the club which would become its most intense sporting rival was founded,Club Sport Emelec. Both clubs were born in the same Guayaquil neighborhood,Astillero de Guayaquil.
In 1950, Barcelona Sporting Club won its first AFG amateur title; the following year, the Association turned professional, and between 1951 and 1967, Barcelona racked up five professional regional titles and finished as runners-up six times, tying crosstown rivalEmelec for the most titles. In 1957, as one of the top two finishers in the Guayas regional tournament, Barcelona was invited to participate in the newly organizedSerie A de Ecuador, which would crown a national championship from among the top two teams from both the AFG and the Interandino tournament disputed by teams fromQuito andAmbato. Barcelona of Guayaquil finished second in their first participation. Barcelona won its first national title in 1960, and became the first Ecuadorian team to compete in theCopa Libertadores.
Deportivo Cali (4–4)By the 1970s, Barcelona had established themselves as one of Ecuador's more popular teams after winning a number of provincial and national championships. Despite their national success, their performance in the Copa Libertadores had been lackluster, having exited the tournament early in competition. That changed in1971, when they reached the semi-finals of the tournament with a star-studded squad that featured players such as Brazilian internationalJose Paes, Peruvian World Cup playerPedro Pablo León, and Ecuadorian legendAlberto Spencer. Although they failed to reach the finals, at that timeEstudiantes de La Plata was undefeated 4 years in row in home matches inCopa Libertadores, they managed to defeat three-time tournament winnerEstudiantes de La Plata 1–0 inLa Plata, later it would be recognized asLa Hazaña de la Plata.[3] In 1972, they reached the semi-finals again, establishing themselves in the international stage.
The first two years of the decade were in stark contrast to the remainder; after the 1972 season, the club entered a dry spell that would last nine years. Barcelona did not win a national title, nor did it qualify for the Copa Libertadores, until the 1980s.
In the 1980s, Barcelona shed the shackles of the prior decade and resurged on the international and domestic fronts. In 1980, the team won their first national title since 1971, going on to win four more before the end of the decade, making the 1980s the team's most successful period in terms of national titles; Barcelona became the first Ecuadorian squad to win 10 national championships. During this period, Barcelona competed in six editions of the Copa Libertadores, reaching the semi-finals twice in1986 and1987. In 1988, the club hosted a historic meeting againstFC Barcelona from Spain, homonym to the Ecuadorian club, during theGuayaquil City Cup friendly; the Ecuadorian Barcelona emerged victoriously 2–1.[4]
In 1987, Barcelona inaugurated a new home ground, theEstadio Monumental. With an opening capacity of almost 90,000 spectators, theMonumental is still the largest stadium in Ecuador, and was the second-largest in South America, after theEstádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. The capacity has been reduced to just under 60,000 due to safety concerns like most South American stadiums.
In 1990, under a new president, and with the firm intention of conquering the Copa Libertadores for the first time (and the first time for a team in Ecuador), the club acquired key international players: former Argentine international and World Cup champion in1986Marcelo Trobbiani,Argentine internationalAlberto Acosta, andUruguayanMarcelo Saralegui. With the inclusion of the foreign players and a batch of young as well as experienced Ecuadorian players, they played a fantastic tournament.
In1990 Copa Libertadores edition, a dramatic semi-final home and away series, Barcelona beatRiver Plate of Argentina in a penalty shoot-out, to finally reach the long-awaited final. Unfortunately they would come short, losing againstOlimpia of (Paraguay) 2–0 in the away game, and tying 1–1 in the home game. Many considered the referee had affected the outcome in favor of the Paraguayan team.[citation needed]
In1992, they put together another great team, beating the previous championsColo-Colo (Chile) and reaching the Libertadores Cup semi-finals once again, but losing against the powerful Brazilian team ofSão Paulo, who at the time was coached byTele Santana. Among their stars, São Paulo had players such asZetti,Cafu,Raí,Müller andPalhinha.
This decade also proved to show a negative side in the team's history. On 26 December 1993, three days after Barcelona had achieved the second place in the Ecuadorian league and earning a spot in the next Libertadores cup, Ecuadorian strikerCarlos Muñoz died in a car accident at the age of 26.
After winning the Ecuadorian league title in 1997 (their last until 2012) with the help of such players as formerBolivian internationalMarco "El Diablo" Etcheverry, formerColombian internationalAnthony "El Pipa" De Avila and formerEcuadorian internationalAgustin "Tin" Delgado, they would go on to play the1998 Libertadores Cup with mostly old players that seemed to be on their way out. But against all odds, they would reach their second Libertadores Cup final, losing both championship games againstBrazilian teamVasco Da Gama, 2–0 in the away game and 2–1 in the home game.
1998 was their last appearance in the Copa Libertadores final as of 2022, ultimately meaning that their intention of capturing the Copa Libertadores that they wanted since the turn of the decade turned out to be a missed opportunity and was disappointing to many fans as they expected to win at least one continental title. The glory of being the first Ecuadorian team instead went to bitter rivalsL.D.U. Quito who won the2008 Copa Libertadores and leaving Barcelona further stings of what could have been.
Barcelona did not win a national title for 15 years since 1997, and participated in only two editions of the Copa Libertadores in the 2000s (decade). Despite the lack of titles in recent years, the club remains among the most successful teams in the league, having managed three Serie A runners-up finishes in the decade. Barcelona continues to be among the top contributors to theEcuador national team, and remains one of the most popular teams in Ecuador. Thederby with crosstown teamEmelec, remains the most popular football rivalry in Ecuador.[5]
During November 2007,Eduardo Maruri was elected President of Barcelona for the 2007–11 period. Maruri and Noboa (Barcelona's Vice President) introduced the sloganLa Renovación (The Renovation), thereby promising to bring in key international players as well as the best Ecuadorian players and to clean up the mess that had prevented Barcelona from winning the national title.[6] However, the 2009 season was Barcelona's worst season in its history in theSerie A. Such teams asDeportivo Quito,ESPOLI,Deportivo Cuenca andLDU Portoviejo came out and spoke about their concern: if Barcelona were relegated, it would enormously impact those teams' economic situations, since when they would play at home against Barcelona it would almost guarantee a sell-out. (This was because Barcelona had the most fans of any team in Ecuador.[7]) On 3 October 2009, more than 70,000 fans showed up at theEstadio Monumental Banco del Pichincha to supportEl Idolo del Ecuador so that it would not be relegated to theSerie B. In an intense match, Barcelona defeatedLDU Portoviejo 2–0 with goals fromJosé Luis Perlaza (46th minute) andJuan Samudio (90th minute). This allowed Barcelona to remain the only Ecuadorian team that has never played a game inSerie B.[8][9][10]
On 5 November 2009, Barcelona's President,Eduardo Maruri, announced the hiring of a multimedia communications group from Spain,MediaPro, to help them as a consultant and guide them through the new decade in the aspects of advertisement, finance, and sport. This was done with the hope of bringing Barcelona back to international prominence and giving the fans what they most desired, the elusive 14th domestic title.[11][12]
However,Eduardo Maruri resigned the presidency of Barcelona during a surprise press conference on 22 December 2010, stating that he was doing so because of "family issues".[13] Maruri was resigning one year before the scheduled completion of his term. After Maruri resigned, Juan Carlos Estrada was designated as the new President of Barcelona.[14] Estrada also resigned the next day and Alfonso Harb Viteri assumed the presidency. Harb stated that he was going to step down as President and announced that Barcelona's presidential elections would be held on 11 June of the following year.
The businessman Antonio Noboa with his sloganPrimero Barcelona, defeated his opponent Jose Herrera and was sworn as the new president of Barcelona SC on 11 June 2011.[15]
During the Noboa era, Barcelona managed to win the2012 Serie A, ending a 14-year without a title.[16]
Former goalkeeperJosé Francisco Cevallos assume the presidency of Barcelona on 13 December 2015 againstUniversidad Católica in Barcelona's home stadium, "El Monumental". His term ended in 2020, but was renewed.[17]
In his tenure, Barcelona won the2016 Ecuadorian Serie A, qualifying them for the2017 Copa Libertadores, which they reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1998. This run was a great one, qualifying 2nd in their group after River Plate and alongsideIndependiente Medellín, andMelgar. In the knockouts, they beat Brazilian SidesPalmeiras in the round of 16 andBotafogo in the Quarterfinals, before losing to eventual championGrêmio in the Semifinals. His term ended with a gleeful2020 Ecuadorian Serie A Championship, and then was re-elected Club President. The next year, Barcelona reached the semifinals of the2021 Copa Libertadores. This run saw Barcelona top a very tough group with 7 time winnersBoca Juniors, the previous year's runner-upSantos, and one of the best Bolivian clubs inThe Strongest. In the knockouts, they beatVélez Sarsfield in the round of 16 andFluminense in the quarter-finals before falling to finalistsFlamengo in the semi-finals. In the2022 Ecuadorian Serie A, despite winning the first phase, they fell short of the Championship to first time winnersAucas.
The crest of Barcelona has changed over the years. The teams' first crest consisted of a modified version of the city ofBarcelona's Coat of Arms in dark blue borders. The team used this crest for two years until 1927. In 1935, the first major change came when they used Barcelona's flag in a circle, with a triangle behind it bearing the team's initials. In 1955, after the team won their first Guayas Championship, the team adopted their current crest, which is similar toFC Barcelona's. Changes they made to it included the number of spikes, the colour of the ball, border colour, and the initials.
        1925–26 |    1926–42 |    1942–46 |    1947–present |
The team's traditional colors are yellow and red, with the home kit being all yellow since moorlands era 2015
Prior to that, the teams used to play in black and white kits. For a period early in their history, the team used a kit similar to FC Barcelona's, but after a series of losses in that uniform, the team president swore never to wear those colors again. In the 1940s, yellow was introduced, and would eventually become the team's primary color, replacing white altogether; red would become the secondary color, used in their alternate kit.
Barcelona has played in three stadiums. Their first stadium wasEstadio George Capwell, with whom they shared with crosstown rival Emelec as it was the only stadium in Guayaquil.
In 1959, they moved to the Guayaquil's brand new stadiumEstadio Modelo. This was the stadium in which the teams played in during the golden years. For several years Barcelona shared this stadium with Emelec and Patria.
AfterEstadio Modelo's success, the president of Barcelona,Isidro Romero Carbo, initiated the project to give Barcelona their own stadium. Romero talked withJaime Nebot, Guayaquil's mayor, andLeón Febres Cordero, then President of Ecuador (both of whom are Barcelona fans) about the idea; they decided to help. Nebot donated a huge ground, for construction and Febres Cordero helped him with money. In 1986, Romero put up the first block of the stadium in 1986. In 1987, Estadio Monumental opened for the first time. The stadium was the first in Ecuador to have suites, and became the largest in terms of capacity, with space for close to 90,000 fans.
Recently the team signed a ten-year deal with Latin America Futbol Corporation to install a state of the art LED perimeter board in the Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha. The 243-meter LED perimeter board was installed in September 2008 and is the first LED perimeter board in an Ecuadorian football stadium. The deal is a 50–50 partnership between the two groups. On 12 July 2015 a Giant LED perimeter board was debuted in theEstadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, the biggest in South America, which is located in the north sector in parish Tarqui of Guayaquil. A aerial lift or cable car currently under construction will connect the stadium with the "Aerovia" Julian Coronel station in downtown Guayaquil, which service is scheduled to start in the second half of August 2021.
Barcelona SC has the largest fanbase of any club in Ecuador.[18] According toCONMEBOL, it is considered the most popular sports club in Ecuador with more than 7 million fans as of April 2016.[19] When Barcelona SC plays away, many of their followers from the city of the home team show up to the stadium to root for Barcelona.
Barcelona'sultras are known asLa Sur Oscura (English:The Dark south). During home matches, they are located in the southern end of the Estadio Monumental. In Quito, Barcelona's ultras are known asSur Oscura Quito (English:Dark South Quito). Another group of Barcelona's ultras are known asZona Norte (English:North Zone).
El Clásico del Astillero is a match played against Barcelona's old rivalEmelec. It was not until 22 August 1943 that the two sides faced each other for the first time, in aGuayaquil League match. Sporting their distinctive yellow jerseys, Los Canarios defeated El Eléctrico 4–3, with Pedro Villalta scoring a late winner for Barcelona. It was a match that would forever be remembered as The Derby of the Posts due to the number of times that theEmelec forwards struck the woodwork.
In 1948, the local derby received a name of its own in a preview in the newspaper El Universo, becoming known forever more asEl Clásico del Astillero (The Shipyard Derby).
In 1990, proved to be a very special year in the history ofEl Clásico del Astillero, with the two sides facing off in aCopa Libertadores quarter-final second leg on 29 August. Barcelona de Guayaquil advanced to the semi-finals after a 1–0 win.
The rivalries between these two teams is immense in Ecuador and international that it caught the eye of international filmmakerFilmadora Panamericana and in 1973 a movie was made titled "El derecho de los pobres", starting Spanish-Mexican actorEnrique Rambal,Mexican actorEnrique Rocha and Ecuadorian football playerAlberto Spencer, proclaimed the best Ecuadorian football player of all times, makes his cinema debut.[20]
On social media, the rivalry between the two teams comes up more frequently. The fans take advantage of any slip of the opposite team to create memes and videos to laugh down, especially the day after a game. The most used phrase to highlight the existing rivalry is "Barcelona, tu papá." (English: "Barcelona is your father"), referring to the fact that Barcelona has always occupied a most important hierarchical position thanEmelec in many aspects.[21]
This rivalry has gained special significance with the recent success of both teams in Serie A play, with Barcelona winning in 2012, and Emelec winning in 2013 and 2014. The 2014 championship was decided by a 3–0 Emelec win over Barcelona.[22]
Source:[23]
Source:[24]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The following players were chosen to represent their country at theFIFA World Cup while contracted to Barcelona SC.
Antony de Ávila (1998)
Nicolás Geovanny Asencio (2002)José Francisco Cevallos (2002)Luis Oswaldo Gómez (2002)Iván Jacinto Hurtado (2002)Iván Kaviedes (2002)Edwin Tenorio (2002, 2006)Máximo Banguera (2014)Juan Carlos Paredes (2014)Luis Saritama (2014)| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Diego Lopez |
| Assistant Manager | Rolando Azas |
| Fitness Coach | Marco Conenna |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Carlos Caicedo |
Last updated: 7 January 2020
Source:El Universo
List according to each manager that has won a title.[25]
Julio Kellman (won the 1960 Serie A title)
Francisco Ferreira de Sousa "Gradim" (won the 1963 Serie A title)Pablo Ansaldo (won the 1966 Serie A title)Otto Vieira (won Serie A titles 1970,71 and 80)Hector Morales (won the 1981 Serie A title)
Luis Santibáñez (won the 1985 Serie A title)Roque Gastón Máspoli (won the 1987 Serie A title)
Miguel Brindisi (won the 1989 Serie A titles)Jorge Habegger (won the 1991 Serie A titles)Salvador Capitano (won the 1995 Serie A title)Rubén Insúa (won the 1997 Serie A title)Gustavo Costas (won the 2012 Serie A title)Guillermo Almada (won the 2016 Serie A title)Fabián Bustos (won the 2020 Serie A title)
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