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, EmmmanuelAmunike from Sporting Lisbon. The next African player to don the FC Barcelona strip was GbengaOkunowo, 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.
Before Luis Aragones was appointed manager of the La Furia Roja otherwise known as the Spanish National team in 2004 (where he won the UEFA European Championship in 2008) from RCD Mallorca, he was was arguably the most experienced manager in the Spanish game.
He steered Atletico Madrid to their 8th league title in 1976/1977 season and has won the Spanish Copa Del Rey four times (three times with Madrilenos in 1976, 1985, 1992 and once with F.C. Barcelona in 1988. He also won the Intercontinental Cup now the (FIFA World Club Cup) in 1974, Supercopa de España in 1985, Segunda Division in 2002 and Iberian Cup in 1991 all with Atletico Madrid in all his spell with the club.
His previous clubs have included Real Betis Balompie, city rivals F.C Sevilla, Real Oviedo, Valencia CF and RCD Espanyol. He also managed Turkish side Fenerbache in the 2008/2009 season where he had a bad spell.
