DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PLAYERS ARSENAL FC HAS SOLD TO FC BARCELONA UNDER ARSENE WENGER'S MANAGEMENT SINCE 2000?

Arsene Wenger

  
At seven, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Gio Van Bronckhorst, Thierry Henry, Aleksandr Hleb, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song are Arsenal FC players sold to FC Barcelona since 2000 under Arsene Wenger's management.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY CLUBS THAT HAVE WON THE SPANISH LA LIGA SINCE INCEPTION IN 1929?

Since its formation in 1929, only eight football clubs have won the Spanish La Liga and they are FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilboa, Valencia CF, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Sevilla FC and Deportivo La Corona. 

DID YOU KNOW THE FIRST AFRICAN PLAYER TO PLAY FOR FC BARCELONA?

Alex Song

Jorge Alberto Mendonça

The first African player to don the Blaugrana strip of FC Barcelona was the Portuguses-Angolan Jorge Alberto Mendonça, signed from Atlético Madrid in 1967/1968 season (67 years after the Catalan club was founded). The major trophy he won is the Spanish Copa del Rey trophy in his first season against bitter rivals Real Madrid CF until he left the club in 1970.

It wasn’t until 1996 that the the club signed its second African player, Emmmanuel Amunike from Sporting Lisbon. The next African player to don the FC Barcelona strip was Gbenga Okunowo, when Louis van Gaal was the team’s manager. Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong aka Alex Song is the latest and seventh African player to play for the club.

DID YOU KNOW THE ONLY PLAYER TO HAVE EVER WON THE SPANISH LA LIGA TITLES FIVE TIMES IN A ROW PLAYING FOR TWO DIFFERENT CLUBS?

Danish football legend Michael Laudrup is one of the few illustrious players to have played for the El-Clásico rivals of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid intermitently from 1989/1990 season to the 1995/1996 season. Laudrup is the only player ever to win the Spanish La Liga five times in a row playing for two different clubs in the 1990/1991, 1991/1992, 1992/1993, 1993/1994 for FC Barcelona and in 1994/1995 season for Real Madrid.

He appeared for Real Madrid in a 5-0 win over FC Barcelona and also played for FC Barcelona when they beat Real Madrid 5-0 while he was playing at Camp Nou. He is now the manager of Swansea City in the English Premier League (EPL) replacing Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers who left for Liverpool FC.

DO YOU KNOW WHO WAS THE ONLY PLAYER TO SCORE A HAT-TRICK DURING THE UEFA EURO 2008 FINALS?

David Villa

David Villa nicknamed the El-Guaje of the La Furia Rojas of Spain is the only player to score an hat-trick at the UEFA Euro 2008 hosted by Austria and Switzerland. 

He did it against Russia on June 10, 2008 in Innsbruck, where he scored three goals in the tournament he ended up winning the Golden Boot with 4 goals and the championship trophy as his team clinched the trophy without him in the final match against Germany.

He missed UEFA EURO 2012 due to the broken tibia injury he sustained while playing for FC Barcelona against Al-Saad in a FIFA World Club Cup tournament in Japan made his debut in 2005 and has so far racked up 82 caps with a record 51 goals.

DO YOU KNOW THE PLAYER THAT LOST THE LAST MINUTE PENALTY THAT CAUSED DEPORTIVO LA CORONA THE 1993/1994 SEASON SPANISH PRIMERA LIGA TITLE?

Djukic stepping up to take the PK

Serbian Miroslav Đjukić made an odd history for Spanish Primera Liga high flying side Deportivo La Coruña in the 1993/1994 season. 

On May 14, 1994, in the league's last round, at home at the Estadio Riazor against Valencia CF, Đjukić missed a penalty kick in the game's last minute with a easy save from Jose Gonzalez (eventual 0–0 draw), as habitual taker Donato had already been replaced and second option Bebeto refused the responsibility. 

As a result, FC Barcelona were crowned champions instead, and the elegant defender left Deportivo La Coruña at the end of 1996/1997 season at the age of 31, as his contract was not renewed.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES SONNY ANDERSON EMERGED TOPSCORER IN THE FRENCH LIGUE 1?

Brazilian Sonny Anderson emerged as French Ligue 1 TopScorer three times while playing for A.S. Monaco and Olympique Lyon in his playing career. In the 1995/1996 season for AS Monaco, he scored 21 goals, in the 1999/2000 season (after returning to France after a two season stint with F.C. Barcelona) he scored 23 goals for Olympique Lyon and in the next season, he netted 22 goals.

DID YOU KNOW THE PLAYER THAT FINISHED JOINT TOPSCORER WITH PATRICK KLUIVERT AT THE UEFA EURO 2000 IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND?

Kluivert tha Goal Bomber

Patrick Kluivert while playing for FC Barcelona alongside Savo Milošević of Yugoslavia with 5 goals apiece, emerged the Top Goalscorers in the UEFA Euro 2000 tournament co-hosted by Belgium and his country, the Netherlands. He still the all time top goalscorer for the Oranje with 40 goals in 79 appearances.

DO YOU KNOW THE REFEREE THAT RETIRED FROM THE GAME ALL BECAUSE OF JOSE MOURINHO'S ACCUSATIONS OF SPEAKING WITH THE OPPONENT'S MANAGER?

Anders Frisk send-off Didier Drogba

Anders Frisk from Sweden is the referee that Jose Mourinho (then manager of Chelsea FC) accused of speaking to Frank Rijkaard ex FC Barcelona manager in their first leg second round UEFA Champions League match in the 2004/2005 season at the Camp Nou which led to his sudden retirement from the game due to threats from Chelsea FC gang fans. Incidentally, he also officiated their duel in April 1999 also at the Camp Nou in the same competition which FC Barcelona won in a 5-1 win.

DO YOU KNOW THE YOUNGEST PLAYER TO RETIRE FROM INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL?

Bernd Schuster

After appearing 21 times for West Germany and scoring 4 goals, attacking midfield wizard, Bernd Schuster became the youngest player to retire from international football at the age of 24 years in 1984 while still playing for FC Barcelona of Spain. According to Schuster himself, his premature retirement from the West German National Team was due to a major disagreement with the managements of both FC Barcelona and the German National Team on either side of a friendly match against Brazil in May 1981.

DO YOU KNOW WHO SCORED FOUR GOALS THE LAST TIME ENGLAND DEFEATED SPAIN IN THEIR OWN GROUND IN A COMPETITIVE MATCH?

The last time the Three Lions of England defeated the La Furia Roja of Spain in an international match was in February 1987 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. FC Barcelona's Gary Linekar scored four goals in the space of 33 minutes as England stunned Spain in an international friendly match 4-2 which saw Spain's Emilio Butragueño opening scoring in that historic match. Linekar's four goals took his England tally to 18 in 21 matches, a rate matched only by Jimmy Greaves and Nat Lofthouse.

DO YOU KNOW THE PLAYER DIEGO FORLAN PIPPED TO WIN THE TWO PICHICHI TROPHY AWARDS FOR THE TOP SCORER WHILE HE WAS IN THE SPANISH PRIMERA LIGA?

Diego Forlan is a two-time winner of the Pichichi Trophy for the top-scorer in the Spanish Primera Liga with two different clubsides. His first Pichichi Trophy was with Villarreal CF 2004–05 season when he scored 25 goals in 38 appearances (averaging a goal every 1.5 games) and helped Villarreal CF to their first ever UEFA Champions League spot. He also jointly won the European Soccer Magazine (ESM) Golden Boot award with Thierry Henry (then of Arsenal FC). Forlan's second Pichichi Trophy came in the 2008-2009 season while at Atletico Madrid and he notched up an impressive 32 goals in 33 matches (essentially a goal per game). Interestingly on both occasion, he came from behind to pip Samuel Eto'o then with FC Barcelona to the prize.

DO YOU KNOW THE PLAYER BANNED BY FIFA IN 1994 FOR SIGNING FOR TWO ITALIAN SERIE A CLUBSIDES?

Portuguese football legend, Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, commonly known as Luis Figo signed for both FC Parma and Juventus from Sportin Lisbon in 1994. The ensuing furore caused FIFA to ban him from the Italian Serie A for two years. FC Barcelona under Dutch coach, Johan Cruyff then stepped in with a £2.25 million transfer fee and the rest is history.

DO YOU KNOW THE ONLY TEAM TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN TWO PENALTY KICK SHOOTOUTS IN THE SAME SEASON OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?

FC Barcelona led by English man Terry Venables is the only team to have been involved in two penalty shootouts in the same season of the European Cup (now UEFA Champions League). In 1985–86 season, they beat IFK Göteborg in the semi-final, but lost to Steaua Bucharest in that cursed final in Seville, no thanks to the heroics of their goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam, who after keeping a clean sheet, saved all four of FC Barcelona's penalties to win the cup.

DO YOU HOW MANY PENALTY KICKS LIONEL MESSI HAVE MISSED FOR FC BARCELONA?



Since he made his debut for FC Barcelona's first team in 2004, Lionel Messi has taken 22 penalties for the Blaguaranas and missed 6 (a conversion rate of just over 72 per cent), although he was lucky enough to be able to pounce on the rebound for one of those, in the 1-0 win over lowly Benidorm in late 2008.

DO YOU KNOW THE FIRST PLAYER TO WIN THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE IN TWO CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH DIFFERENT CLUBS?

Desailly with Milan

Desailly celebrating with Marseille

Ghanaian born French defender, Marcel Desailly is the first player to win the UEFA Champions League in two consecutive seasons with different clubs. His first triumph was with Olympique Marseille of France in the 1992/1993 season against AC Milan at the Olympiastadion in Munich while in the following season (1993/1994), he won it with AC Milan when they defeated FC Barcelona in Athens Karaiskakis Stadium where he scored the last goal in a 4-0 thrashing.

D YOU KNOW WHO SCORED THE WINNING GOAL IN THE LAST EUROPEAN CUP FINAL IN 1992?



Ronald Koeman

 
Ronald Koeman scored the winning goal for FC Barcelona of Spain against USC Sampdoria of Italy in the last European Cup final in 1992 at the old Wembley Stadium in London off a blistering freekick.

DID JOHAN CRUYFF LOSE ANY SPANISH PRIMERA LIGA MATCH IN HIS FIRST SEASON WITH FC BARCELONA?



Johan Cruyff

 When Johan Cruyff of The Netherlands landed in F.C. Barcelona, his new team were one place from bottom of the Spanish Primera Liga and from the day of his debut against Granada on October 28, 1973 (4-0 with two goals from the Dutchman), FC Barcelona did not lose another match in the entire season and were proclaimed La Liga champions.

DO YOU KNOW THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CLUBSIDE IN THE DEFUNCT UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP?



Ronaldo hoisting the trophy in Rotterdam

FC Barcelona of Spain are the most successful club in the competition's history, having won it on four occasions in 1979, 1982, 1989 and the 1997 one against Paris Saint Germain of France with a penalty goal from Ronaldo de Lima at the Feyenoord Stadion, Rotterdam. The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a seasonal association football competition contested between member associations of European football's governing body, who won their respective Domestic cup competitions which was rested in 1999.

DO YOU KNOW THE LAST SPANAIRD THAT WON THE BALLON D'OR AWARD?

In the last 50 years, no Spanish player has won the Ballon d’or for the European Football Player of the Year organised by France Football magazine and the FIFA World Player Award which have been merged and rechristened the FIFA Ballon d'or Awards in 2010. The last man to achieve this feat was Luis Suárez Miramontes of FC Barcelona in 1960.