FC Barcelona: An Era Between Two Greats
Between the time a FC Barcelona great named Johann Cruyff was sacked as Barca manager on May of 1996 and before another Barcelona great Lionel Messi truly shows the world he was something special, the Blaugrana went through a rough patch which included an identity crisis and tasteless titles.
From Rivaldo to Ronaldinho, from Van Gaal to Rijkaard, and from Josep Núñez to Joan Laporta.
Watch the detailed chronicles of the great Catalan club as they go through thick and thin to get back their glory from 1996 and until their second Champions League triumph in 2006.
Written, Directed, and Edited by:
Fahad Al-Thekair
#fcbarcelona_documentary #fcbarcelona_history
Forgot to give credit for the music in the intro by the talented Cassini "Recall"
Instagram: / balonmedia
Twitter: / baionenglish
English Captions Available.
To support the channel on Patreon: www.patreon.com/balon
Sir your videos are better than many netflix/amazon videos
Notice how pessi isn't in the thumbnail
Please do a part 2.
@@harjansingh4492 it says to be continued so he probably do it.. hopefully soon tho
Great job 👍
NETFLIX needs to give this man a deal - he could change sports history documentary making forever
You are so right
Absolutely, these videos are so well done. The one on Van Basten was superb
Yes sir
Why work for a company when he can grow own channel like Robbie
Facts
"And Frank Rijkaard gave some limited minutes to a young seventeen-year-old Argentinian in that season"! .... Yes yes, indeed, the rest is history😭❤
😢Messi
MESSI !! 🐐🥲🥲🥲😭😭😭
Randomly stumbling upon this Chanel was an actual blessing
right?!!
Soo trueee now I have a lot of content during lockdown
Same here
Etoo ended up being a far better signing from Real Madrid to Barca than Figo from Barca to Real Madrid.
@@Ivan-xr6qg how?
@@brumpole6787 Eto’o won everything at Barca and had way more sustained success individually and team wise than Figo did at Madrid. Figo is the bigger name that’s it but etoo was a much bigger succes at Barcelona no debate
@@mashwork6615 I agree 100%. Lol that guy deleted his comment probs after searching it up on Google
@@brumpole6787 lmaoo facts
@@brumpole6787 How? Figo basically made a step back when he joined Real, he played less well and barely made any impact at all
Content quality on par with something that would be made by Sky Sports. Hard to believe it's all executed by one man. Fantastic work.
Appreciate the compliment !
I fully agree, I enjoyed it very much 🙂
one man???? my god!
It far surpasses what sky would have done
I know i just discovered his channel a couple days ago! I wish his accent wasn't as strong, the content, quality and editing is top class!
Eto'o is one of the most underrated players in history.
Second to Henrik Larsson
Wdym he is said to be the greatest african player in history
Absolutely
not too africans
@Metaverse God 100% agree.Brasil's Ronaldo Nazario is the greatest player of all time,better than Christiano,Messi,or Zidane.
What a documentary man. Sent chills down my spine. I still remember that Barcelona match as a Chelsea fan under Mourinho’s second season. We got outplayed by Messi and that was the first time I watched him and said ‘Man, who is this guy?’
I had watched already at the U-20 World cup in 2005 and I was impressed, as well as Juve in pre-season, which he was incredible. But that match on the muddy pitch of Stamford , He produced one of his best performances until this day and nearly scored a wonder goal too from 25 yards. He gave chelsea a run for their money.
We all remember man. As a Man Utd fan who had heard of Messi a year or so before - I (and I'm sure many of us were) was very intrigued by the fact this was his first appearance in a CL game in England - and he was starting. "Let's see how well the kid holds up..." Best player on the pitch by a country mile - such a confident and dominant performance at 18 years old. Hadn't seen anything like it before that - and haven't seen it since.
"who is this guy?" Moments are awesome...
@@iwasjustfollowingorders8068 Greatest player ever there was and there ever will be.
Barcelona truly love Brazilian players so much, it's impressive how much great footballers from Brazil have played there
I realised that they signed Brazilian greats -Romario -R9 (Ronaldo Nazario) -Rivaldo -Ronaldinho -Neymar -Coutinho -
Damn, this is some of the best content I've seen on Barcelona's history. Awesome job!
Thanks for watching!
@@balon-english Kuwait 🇰🇼??? 😳😳😳Kuwait 🇰🇼??? 😳😳😳Kuwait 🇰🇼??? 😳😳😳
@@d.bcooper2271 yes he has a Arabic channel
@@user-mp6mr3lu2h 👍👍
@@user-mp6mr3lu2h Fisrt time saw someone from Kuwait 🇰🇼 😀
This video makes me realize that we're not in such a bad position right now. History does repeat itself. Enrique leaving cos of the board was the recent equivalent to Cruyff leaving(Start of downfall). Neymar=Figo(players leaving cos of board) and most importantly, Bartomeu = paranoid, wasteful manager who let Figo go. Van Gaal wasn't so bad as he did bring success to the club after Cruyff.
I think with all the new players/ young players we will do well in the long run if we get a great attacker like if Fati lives out to his potential
Your in trouble!! Listen I’m an Arsenal fan!! So my expectations are respectable league finishes and a domestic cup! You guys are in serious debt and in the 7th place mid season! All your hope is on players with lots on potential! Gavi and Fati! Not convinced by your right back Dent! Pedri slots in midfield nicely but you don’t have a team to finish top 4 in league let alone challenge! This isn’t 2008 where you had great players from La Masia who had been long over looked and a young Messi! There’s a genuine shortage of world class talent..and they are going to the bigger clubs elsewhere..not Barcelona! One positive is it will get rid of a lot of your plastic international fans who seem to dominate these comments lol!
@@its_rick_james_bich2575 you talk of debt but which top team isn’t in debt after Covid? Did debt stop us from dominating #2 in the league, Sevilla? One more goal and we’d be in top 4. People use words like potential, young and world class, but what matters is the performance game to game. The “youngsters” are performing, the team is growing. La Masia talent is what has always made Barca great.
This team under Xavi is not the team that lost to Benfica or first leg against Bayern. It’s not the team that put us is 8th place. Playing the way we are now consistently, top 4 won’t be an issue
@@williamsodonon7081 Your in denial or just completely clueless regarding debt!! Your not in 1.3 billion debt because of COVID!!! Your in debt because of mass money mismanagement! Every club, especially the top ones harbour debt, but it’s whether and how it’s being managed! Your transfers deals since 2015 and massive wages have put you in your position! LMAO!!🤣
I've never seen any other foreign documentary of FC Barcelona's history so well done and so well related to the reality of the club. Normally, when I watch this type of documentaries done by foreign media there's always huge gaps in the moment of understanding why some decisions are taken or why the "socis" think one way or another. For us, catalans, Barça is like a religion. We may be more "introverd" in comparison to, for example, argentinian fans on expressing our feelings, but the way the people get involved on the daily life of the club is very unique. Even, there's some people that says that if Barça goes wrong, Catalonia goes wrong. Also, in the club there are ideologies and their believers on the way of directing the club, football style, and even ways on acting and thinking in a philosphic way. We could divide simply that into "Nunyisme" (Josep Lluís Núñez) and their more recent variant like "Rossellisme-Bartomeuisme" vs "Cruyffisme" and their variants like "Laportisme" and "Guardiolisme". The first group is like a more pro-stablishment group because has the suport of the media (Sport and Mundo Deportivo), also doesn't care in the way of winning and doesn't give attention to the club values. On the second group we have the typical position playing and tiki taka style believers, the importance of La Masia, the values of the club ("més que un club") and intellectual things (this may sound crazy but for example, during the Guardiola Era, because of the beautiful way of playing of the team those years, people said that was ART and compared going to Camp Nou to an Opera. Also Guardiola was considered a very important figure for his clever way of thinking that he made important speeches on catalan institutions, like when he received the "Medalla d'Or del Parlament". That's all. I thought this was the perfect video to make this comment.
Barcelona played UEFA Cup vs Liverpool mate, with Rivaldo, they weren't as good as Valencia at the time, simply. Rivaldo and Figo were class players though.
Ya know when eto said he brought the start of barca winning era and not messi , he was right goddamn, he's a fooking legend ,massive respect
Another fabulous documentary.... Thanks... The legendary channel is back....
Thanks again!
@@balon-english use ad man
@@balon-english we need part 2
For me, this is the true Barcelona. A Barcelona that was human, where stars were different every few years, there were ups and downs. Any title was special. I fell in love with Barcelona around 1999 and my favorite player of all time is Saviola. The Champions League nights with Kluivert, Rivaldo and Saviola were special. Sure, Barcelona with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta was great, but that period is still the true Barcelona for me.
4:37 "And as soon as Ronaldo left for Brazil, the fans were not aware that he will never wear the Barca shirt again..." Here we go again 💔
mahn im so surprised at how history repeats itself Koeman situation is LVG the situation of focusing on la masia is same as now
As soon as I started watching football as a kid, Barca always had a world class superstar. It's so strange seeing them without one right now
City and Liverpool don't exactly have BdO contenders either but they're the best teams in the world. Barca needs a top coach more than they need a superstar. Too early to judge Xavi, but if he fails then the priority is clear.
They'll get Lewandowski
Absolutely madness what a single man did with this documentary!!! How is this even possible??? Hats off dude!!!
Imagine a Barcelona team in the early 2000s consisting of: Arnau / Reiziger, Puyol, F. de Boer, Sergi / Cocu , Xavi - Figo - Rivaldo - L. Enrique / Ronaldo
What about the Romario/Stoichkov Duo?
@@SdH76zhEU Unfortunately too old in the early 2000s
Guardiola?
@@madjue4483 I guess he left Barca to Italy for another 2 year, he got long term injury and he quit. He went back to Barca to coach the youth team and so now. I think he left to New York but not sure it's before or after he came back to coach barca youth team.
Xavi is overrated. Barca had to sign Deco to finally get a proper 10
I’m a Real Madrid fan and I thank the universe every morning that Ronaldinho didn’t go to Man United or the EPL for that matter.
Loved those Barcelona teams lacking balance but all passion. Loved Rivaldo's left-footedness and Figo's bull-like runs with the ball. Those were flawed but great teams. Great highs and equally tragic lows. Awesome video! Thank you!
It only makes the success that came later all the more beautiful and poetic.
I always thought that the assembling of Dutchmen was _"a little"_ to much. Not for nothing, but it's still a Spanish/Catalan club. But half of the players _(I'm exaggerating)_ and the coaching staff were Dutch. And Van Gaal is not the best at learning new languages. I know his English and his German. Most Dutch players and coaches in Germany basically speak perfect German with it's distinctive accent. But Van Gaal even struggled with German. I can't even imagine his Spanish!!
@@yannick245 tbf after the influence left by cruyff you can well imagine that they wanted to replicate it as much as possibly by bringing people who went through the same systems as he did.
Rivaldo's hatrick against Valencia is still one of the - if not the best - ive ever seen
For me the era of Rivaldo at Barca was not the time between two greats. I didn't like or follow football until I visited Camp Nou in 1999 and then started watching Barcelona play on Sky TV in England. Rivaldo and Barca are the reason I have been a football fan for the last 20 years. His hat trick against Valencia was the single greatest performance I've seen by one player on a football pitch. Rivaldo was a truly brilliant player and those years at Barca were his best.
It's actually sad how underrated Rivaldo is among Barcelona fans. However, it doesn't help that once his time at Barcelona ended, His teammate Ronaldinho came and completely outshone him. Following Ronaldinho, the prime era of Barcelona emerged, and then, of course, came Messi. This sequence of events has made Rivaldo's time at Barcelona almost forgotten at times.
@@womenssinglebadminton1874he is even underrated in the comments. The first two praising Eto'o, they should first and foremost Rivaldo. Especially his 98/99 season was fucking amazing, one of the best players ever
@@amann7166 He deserve all the love and praise from Barca fans , played out of position in his first few seasons , never complained ( Except after he won the Ballandor 😂😂 ) , and stuck with the club throughout it's tough times until that old dutch man came back. Besides Messi i feel if any of the other stars we had were in his position they would have left after 1 season.
After Johan Cruyff left and before Ronaldinho era started, Barca had LVG, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Luis enrique- 4 of the greatest coaches to manage in the modern game.
Pep wasn’t coaching
@@SKa-tt9nm so werent the others😏
@@SKa-tt9nm He did not say he was
@@SKa-tt9nm'in the modern game'
@@SKa-tt9nm Pep was always coaching. But at first, from the field.
I cannot thank you enough for these videos. Your research and passion to tell these stories show how a lover of the beautiful game you really are.
Appreciate the kind words Alee ❤
We all are waiting for the part 2 (The future of Barcelona with Guardiola and Messi).
If you check out the channel, you'll notice that he mainly focuses on the transition periods. And I think that's the strange of the channel, since everyone knows about periods of the great successes. Did you know that he produces the films all by himself? It's a one-man-channel!
Oh really? 😮 I didn't know that.
Didn't know about the van gaal hatred of Johan cruyff, once again , excellent video
These documentaries are amazing.... Being able to watch players and teams that made me fall in love with the game!!! Back when teams played with heart and passion!! And players were artists and played with swagger!! Love it! ❤❤❤
I became Barcelona's Fan In that period , Rivaldo was an amazing player and then Ronaldinho's Magic .
Watching this video in December 2021 at a time when Barça have been sent packing to the Europa League. I feel; another chapter is set to be added to our vclub's history {at the dawn of this new decade}. Joan Laporta is back as the El Presidente. Xavi has taken-over as the new manager. Gavi and Ansu Fati and Pedri and Nico González and co· could usher-in a new era.
so who gonna be saviour for us now ? like ronaldinho
@@sarvagyaupadhyay7607 adama traore lol
@@Underground187 i prefer auba and dembele
AUBAMEYANG
We back in the UCL now and even finished 2nd
This needs a 2nd episode from 06 to Messis goodbye
Not goodbye it was see you later😉 He's coming back to home .
Wow.. This intro gave me goosebumps!! Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi.........
Chasing Barca since 1999 . And, that goal by Rivaldo still gives goosebumps to me. Vista Barca. mes que un club
There is something that blaugranas now a days never mentioned that how a legend of a player Rivaldo was...I never saw Rivaldo play but despite the situations at that time and how Rivaldo played that time is beyond astounding 🔥❤️❤️
I supported Barça since 93 and have seen Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho but Rivaldo has always been a legend for Barça. I still have his shirt from the 99/00 season. Definitely in my all time XI for the Blaugrana
@@batmanmartin496 i get jealous when someone witness them..and meanwhile my first full 90mins match was 2015ucl final and after following the last 6years it was nothing but pain..messi carrying us and after he gone we can clearly see the results..dont know whether I will see such legendary players on blaugrana ever again with positivity and playing for the red blues😢😢
@@deepnag1442 we will again back to no1 in the world
I used to consider Rivaldo underrated during his period. Zidane even considered him the best player at the time. Very elegant but deadly freekicks.
Rijkaard was always underrated and overly under appreciated for me! There was a sabotage at that point in their history
whatever money you're making from these videos, it's not enough. such quality
This is the best documentary I have seen on KZhead. All non mainstream information, concise yet clear delivery, and no shitty music/emotional clip/interview etc.
simply amazing .. no other words can describe this .. i can't imagine how much effort and how many hours was put into this so please keep doing it .. me and my friend we're from tunisia and we've seen all the videos on the arabic channel : he's a barca fan and i love united and we had a bet over which of the videos you're gonna upload first here : this or the road to the man utd treble one .. i lost but it's worth it anyway .. professional content keep it up my friend
Appreciate your words !
I'm Tunisian
@@balon-english we're waiting for part2
@@Ladddddddd same
Fantastic video. The production values incredible! Fascinating era of Barca's history, the Rijkard years are somewhat forgotten now but that team was outstanding at times.
This is incredible, a true and proper documentary masterpiece. Itching for a second part!
I grew up watching that Barca in the late 90s, as a kid. Frustrating times. They were always the favorites for the UCL and they always failed. Them and Lazio, yes I said Lazio. Cragnotti assembled a team of super heroes there, but failed the same way
This is high quality content, really great. The second great began in my eyes, in the second half of the first season with Rijkaard.
Top quality work, man, thanks for this great history lesson. Professionally made with terrific graphics, video and narration. Can’t wait for Barcelona: The Messi Years.
Thank you so much for this quality information, the content really shares what the club has gone through in the past and it's enlightening
Pure quality, I’ve watched this countless times. Please balon it would be awesome to make a part 2 on this your videos are superb 💯✨
Perez must be a good chess player, that Figo move was shrewd AF
The Figo transfer was savage as is but learning about how Perez made it happen just doubled how savage it was
He might be up to it again with Mbappe
Barcelona always suffered when ego of its president goes overboard... Nunez clash with cruyff, sandro rosell clash with pep guardiola and Messi clash with bartomeu. Clearly the president Barcelona ever had is Joan Laporta a true culer. Always with the club during every hardship
Suggestions: Mourinho era at Chelsea 2004-07. Sevilla ascension 2004-18 Parma era during the 90´s.
I would add French and Portuguese clubs in the 80s and 90s when they were strong
This deserves so many more views it's so well described and edited, thank you for making this.
You are doing an awesome work man. It also shows how much impact Bobby Robson and Van Gaal had on the teams future because they put some players on the map that helped building the legacy. Funny enough that Mourinho despite being a co-trainer he never made it as a head coach there
He's almost there, until the board decided to put Guardiola instead.
Before Ronaldinhos arrival the last time Barca win in the Bernabeu was in 1997 but Dinhos assist to Xavi changed that routine Actually Xavi himself mentioned that it's that match that propelled Barca into believing they could beat any opponent....that goes to show you the impact that Ronaldinho had .... it was not just about the fancy dribbles the man offered more than that Also that picture at the end where Ronaldinho has removed his shirt... look at his well formed ABS... but some fans say he was overweight
Ronaldinho literally lifted barcelona from Assists, goals, free kick, penalty corner's watching those games day in and out. I had to admit the pressure was real and the psychology of him not caring after 2006 it's understandable that the development of barcelona was aches and pains a reason why he should be respected more than Xavi and Iniesta because Ronaldinho was the talisman, the only person who made the difference
Great content. This is a treat for those of us who loved the game and cherish memories of the good old days
Wow! Outstanding documentary, please keep working like that, it´s 2h15 in the morning and I couldn´t stop watching it. Thank you very much! Visca el Barça!
This is so incredible. Amazing work my man
Greatest football channel in youtube history!
I agree
Just found this channel today. Already hands down the superior football doc-show on KZhead. Thank you for your true passion mate 👍
Asolutely stunnin cant wait to watch the continuation of this!!
Bro amazing content! This is exactly what we are lacking on KZhead from a football perspective! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the support!
You have to understand that Cruyff comes from a generation that was not dazzled with all the commerce of these days he actually believed in improving the game instead of improving himself.
the man that didn't play in a world Cup because of his personal sponsorship deal... I don't think you know Cruyff.
@@RasDamhe played in the 1974 WC
Cruyff and Cor Coster have been pioneers in arming comercial deals and Cruyff was more like a union man for colleague players... cruyff didn t play 78 because of his wife (and off course Videla was a nice excuse). Cruyff didn t coach Italia 90 because his old mentor Michels screwed up and didn t want to surpass him after euro 88. Cruyff didn t coach 94 because of being to lazy to work out a deal and sponsoring issues between adidas and puma were never main factor but did complicate things a lot more...
football community is so blessed to have you mate, we appreciate your work. Never stop brother.
Hats off man...the way you dictate the stories is just so perfect...being a Barca fan eagerly waiting for the next part.
we need the second part. cant leave it on a cliffhanger like that
Truly amazing channel. Please produce more. Waiting for the final part, The Messi's Barcelona era
Patiently waiting for the much anticipated Part 2 😊❤
Man, great job on this!! Best article I ever watch on KZhead Legend keep it up
Crazy to see how history repeats itself. The same sequence of events that led Figo out of Barca causing a collapse in the next years, and then a recovery seems to have happened again after Neymar left in similar circumstances.
O Cruyff é lendário demais! Foi na época do Romário que comecei a torcer pro barça fora do Brasil e cara, que decisão bem tomada! Ver todas as lendas que passaram por lá foi algo que sempre me surpreendeu! É irado ver como o Barça é uma mistura de escolas Holandesa, Brasileira, Espanhola e Argentina que faz algo sempre surgir lá. Gostaria de ver mais isso hoje em dia, o Barça apostando em novos talentos Brasileiros e Argentinos e uma escola de futebol que revolucionasse a forma de jogar e não mais um 433 aleatório.
This one is criminally under appreciated 👍
This was amazing. Definitely going to be watching all your videos
The quality of these documentaries is incredible. Keep up the good work
Found this gem of a channel today! Great work...
I mean I just stumbled on this channel and im addicted. The quality of your content in unbelievable. 50k subs bro!!! Youre a machine this is the best football content ive seen in a very long time. keep up the great work
every single one of these is quality, thank you!
Great documentary. Thanks from a young Barca fan, its great to learn about the history of the club you love.
Great video, need part 2 ASAP. Need more of this type content
I like how you document precisely what happened be it negative or positive in an impartial way, much better than most youtube "documentaries" who only select the good things
This video came as a recommendation from the algorithm, I just clicked on it without watching how long it took when it ended I said to myself " this should have been at least 30 minutes or an hour", come to my surprise it was a 30 minute video I enjoyed it so much it just felt like a 10 minute clip. Amazing work Balon. Can't wait for part 2. Forca Barca
At the intro...Talked about Guatdiola, guaocho, iniesta, xavi, suarez...about to be disapointed...but then...Messi, messi, messi...I ☺
Every month I rewatch your video and Barca's season resembles it more and more like a compressed version of the years they had in the documentary.
Thank you for this.... it was needed
I love how emotional you tell the stories 👍
Algo que muchos jóvenes no entienden es que, sin Ronaldinho y Etoo, Messi no habría sido el jugador que ahora conocen, porque el Barcelona habría sido un club muy distinto.
This is amazing content ive always hated Luis Figo for leaving even though I wasn't a Barca fan then I started supporting Barca in 2003 but now I understand everything. It wasn't his fault. I just learnt a lesson. never point a finger of judgment if you don't understand things. To think that many Barca fans hate Figo and only few really understand the situation if things at that time
We don’t want to understand we feel betrayed and we hate Madrid cuz of that 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Fantastic! I've really enjoyed this 👏
i have been thoroughly hovering KZhead since my childhood i have seen so many channels but only you and Lemmino channel managed to reach the god tier video making,i can't describe what you do in words only to say keep up the awesome work. أسطورة والله ✨
From 2003.. and then 18 years later and Barcelona have hit rock bottom once again.. (arguably at an even worst state than before) 😥
We will comeback for sure
they are at 3 rn brother ...Gavi and xavi are beast
We won the league let's hope for the better
Please make part 2 as soon as possible
Amazing work bro! Thank you! ❤️
Wonderful wonderful wonderful content, made with so much perfection! Absolutely loved it, looking forward to the next chapter!
Legendary ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️, What a documentary Man 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Funny how Eto went from hating Madrid to remembering them fondly on his biography while completely trashing Barca.
He only hate guardiola not barca.
Madrid never treated him badly, he was just not given a chance because of galactico they didn't have youth policy...Barca on the other hand are really good at mistreating foreigners... Ibrahimovic, Sanchez, Eto'o, and now Suarez
Etoo is a Madrid fan, but he hated Pérez because he wanted to be a legend in Madrid but Pérez preferred Ronaldo
I love your documentaries! Takes so much skill to research and produce, I'm sure. Long may you continue making them x
thank you for this man!
This is amazing content. Please keep making, keep delivering. A big fan of your work. Thank you.
Glad you enjoy it!
Sir Bobby Robson, greatest gentleman in the game, so underrated as a manager.
Simply brilliant rendition. Eagerly waiting for Part - 2
This is a great video. For people who have only followed Barcelona during the glory days, this shows the pain that older fans endured. Nothing was guaranteed! I don’t miss those times. But it reflects the last 4 seasons. Now Laporta is back with Xavi and there is potential for greatness again! Visca Barca!!!
This is not just good it's ART❤️😭 the way he made this and the way the story is told👏
Great work! Could you make another video focusing on rivaldo and his performances in Barcelona despite playing in different positions throughout his career?It would be amazingly interesting
Maybe down the road it could be done 👍🏼
@@balon-english we need part 2
Amazing Intro- gives me goosebumps every freaking time ❤️