Barcelona Revolution (FIFA 21)

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FC Barcelona have been a fixture of Spanish football for over a century. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Spanish, English, and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona, similar to the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. It is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $4.06 billion, and the world's richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €840 million.

They are still among the top tier of European clubs, having lifted the La Liga trophy 26 times, 10 since 2005. In the same period, the Copa de España has been claimed a record 30 times (six times including the last four), and the Champions League five times. That said, the Catalans have not topped Europe’s premier competition since 2015. But with success comes complacency and with complacency comes inconsistency. In the 2018-19 season Barcelona lost in the Copa de España (Copa del Rey) final against Valencia and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League thanks to a 4-0 comeback from Liverpool in the Semi-Finals; last season they failed to win another LaLiga title and were slaughtered by a Bayern Munich squad in what the biggest defeat in history in a UEFA Champions League knockout match.

In no less than a year, the squad will be completely scrubbed clean of the old guard that endured so much success under managers such as Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. With names like Luis Suárez and Arturo Vidal out the door and Lionel Messi aging, time is ticking on whether Barcelona can lift the Champions League again. The question remains: Can someone take this brilliant squad to one last European crown as a new dawn of Barça football is fast approaching?

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June 1, 2020
Setién Sacked While Barcelona Is Set To Join The Elite

Just two days after FC Barcelona's stunning defeat at the hands of FC Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, the FC Barcelona supporters were shocked to learn that Quique Setién was fired as manager of FC Barcelona. This decision ultimately led the FC Barcelona supporters to determine that they have seen enough of their club president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Bartomeu was named president after the resignation of Sandro Rosell in 2014 and saw the club reach the pinnacle of European football in 2015. But his term didn't come without controversy as following Rosell's resignation on January 23, 2014, due to the so-called “Neymar case,” Bartomeu is being investigated in a case of alleged tax fraud over the signing of striker Neymar along with Rosell.

While the Barcelona board ponders Bartomeu’s future, the club's financial takeover has been agreed and supporters will wake up this morning to the news that their club is now amongst the wealthiest on the planet, making them the latest club to join the ranks of the super-rich. A deal to buy shares of the club while remaining a member-owned club was agreed last night and wealthy new members of Barcelona, which are called socis, American businesswoman Valentina Ryan and Spanish-American businessman Cristóbal Miramontes will take total control in the coming days are now expected to set about FC Barcelona as a new force in world football. Negotiations were concluded late yesterday evening at a hotel in Barcelona.

“The new club-members have built a reputation of being the most smart in financial decision making and building a better culture,” one reporter said. “Barcelona supporters can breathe a big sigh of relief because the new members are not only intent on keeping Barcelona as a membership-only club, they are putting more money in the transfer budget to compete with the likes of Atletico and Real Madrid.”

As negotiations have continued, supporters and the Spanish media have been speculating as to what the future holds for Barça.

Ms. Ryan, 30, is a former FC Barcelona Femení player and current investment executive of her family investment firm Ryan Investments. From 2008 to 2018 Ms. Ryan spent ten seasons with FC Barcelona Femení scoring 30 goals and putting up 43 assists as a left full back. After that, she became an investor, joining her family firm before working her way up the ladder. She is one of the richest women in the United States with $41 Million.

Mr. Miramontes, 38, is an investment executive and founder of his investment company Miramontes & Company, after years of working in his family's investment firm. With Miramontes & Company based in both Barcelona (Where he is a member of the FC Barcelona board) and New York (Where he is based), Mr. Miramontes is a devout follower of former Barça player and manager Johan Cruyff's views on football development philosophy and sports culture. Mr. Miramontes brings a vast wealth of experience and passion to FC Barcelona as he is one of the richest people in the world with £71 billion in his name.

After yesterday’s agreement was finally announced, a group of fans gathered outside Camp Nou to celebrate.

“It’s amazing to think this has happened to us,” said one supporter. “With that kind of money behind us, anything’s possible now, isn’t it?”

It remains to be seen exactly how the nouveau riche of the club intend to move forward. What’s certain is that this famous old club has now entered an exciting new era.

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June 3, 20202
Supporters Revolt: Barça Removes Bartomeu As President, Taps Ryan As Next Prez

Just days after the financial takeover of FC Barcelona, the deed is done. FC Barcelona supporters have officially seen enough of their club president Josep Maria Bartomeu as well as the board. The board announced that effective immediately Bartomeu must step down as president. The Barcelona board of directors released a statement thanking Bartomeu for his time, announcing that Ms. Valkentina Ryan will serve as club president. Ryan is the first American to be President of the historic club and the first woman to be named to the position. Mr. Cristóbal Miramontes will serve as First Vice President and Director of the Barça Foundation.

The board have long stated that their ideal candidate for president will have a great reputation of building relationships with players and coaches alike. Turns out that Ms. Ryan has brought that and much more to the Barcelona boardroom. Her vision of La Masia will consist of youth players making their way into the youth system and becoming Barcelona players in the future. The new president will hire her own coach regardless of gender and experience.

“It's a great honor for me to become the new president of FC Barcelona,” said Ms. Ryan in an official statement. “While I personally do not have much to say about the previous administration's management, I hope to completely turn around the ideas and strategies of the club, and return them to glory of the past two decades as soon as possible. I have gotten to work on hiring a new manager, and I should be announcing that individual soon.”

While FC Barcelona fans are hard to please, the new woman in the boardroom made it very clear, build the team the right way. No timeline has been released officially, but the feeling in the Catalan capital is that a new manager could be appointed as early as next week.

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June 22, 2020
An Historic First: Barcelona Locks Up Suárez

FC Barcelona has found their man. Make that Woman.

Maria Suárez was unveiled today as the surprise new manager of FC Barcelona, despite the concerns of the fans and the Barcelona press in recent days. The ousting of president Josep Maria Bartomeu meant there was cleaning up to do inside the Nou Camp, and the ascension of Valentina Ryan as club president was a sure thing at best. This deal has finally put fans' minds at ease and many agreed she was the best candidate for the club, as Suárez is the first female manager in FC Barcelona history and the first coach of any major sports league.

One optimistic fan said; “The manager looks like a good choice to me and I think she might be exactly what we need. We need to go back to the days of Cruyff and Guardiola, and she might be the one to do just that. Hopefully she can help provide the club with good results. As long as we are winning the fans will love her.”

Ms. Ryan seemed to echo that sentiment. “We are going through lots of changes at Barcelona considering the change in management and we are convinced that Maria Suárez is the right choice to lead this club, inspire our players and bring happiness to our fans.”

A club spokesperson said that the board was “happy” with their choice after the long interview process. Speculation surrounded various candidates for the job but it seems that Ms. Suárez was the best choice in the eyes of the club's board of directors, especially Ms. Ryan, who was a fervent supporter of equality in not only the business, but also the sports world as well.
“Maria used to train me at La Masia when I came to Barcelona. She's a very smart and ambitious individual that believes in women's empowerment in sports,” said Ms. Ryan. “Most managers in LaLiga is male, so why not bring in a woman who can not only work with the players, but also have ties to FC Barcelona as well?”

With the press keen to hear more both Ms. Ryan and Ms. Suárez were on hand to give their views.

“I couldn't imagine leaving FC Barcelona after everything they have done for me and my family,” said Suárez. “I would like to thank Valentina, who I worked with when she was at La Masia and played for the women’s team, and members of the board for believing in me and allowing me to take this opportunity to manage the first team of FC Barcelona.”

A statement from the FC Barcelona board about the hiring of Ms. Suárez says the following: “We are here to help support and build the club. Of all the candidates that were on our shortlist Ms. Suárez was the one we really wanted. She is simply the right person for the job.”
Mr. Miramontes felt that this was “a reset point for the club to rebuild” and that the new manager would go on to “provide the success the fans crave.” Fan groups expressed their reservations but were prepared to give the new manager a chance.

Ms. Suárez, 38, comes home to FC Barcelona after spending 3 years as an assistant manager of the United States women's national team. Ms. Suárez comes with minimal management experience, but the club's board of directors were impressed with her interview. Ms. Ryan didn't reveal the transfer budget that would be available to the new manager, however she suggested that he would make available funds for the club to be competitive in LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.

Ms. Suárez shares the club's vision of developing a core group of youth players to carry the club forward while at the same time building relationships with the veteran players on the squad. In her introductory press conference, Ms. Suárez stated her intent to help the club to not only win the league title, but also the Copa de España and set her ambitions on winning the UEFA Champions League in the long term. She also began plans to utilize La Masia, FC Barcelona's academy, better than any coach before her.

“She shares our vision for the future and wants to help us succeed in any way,” the board's statement continued.

“You couldn't ask for a better manager to make great use of La Masia and develop new faces of Barcelona football. Ms. Suárez spent most of her life in the academy and developed her talent there,” said Ms. Ryan. “That speaks volumes. With Messi not getting any younger it might be time to develop new stars in Barcelona. The time is right on our side to dominate in LaLiga and beyond.”

As a player, Ms. Suárez spent 7 years playing as a central forward/striker for Futbol Club Barcelona Femení from 1999 to 2006. Over her 7 year career she earned 211 caps, scoring 30 goals, and added 41 assists. Ms. Suárez earned 58 caps for the Spanish women's national team, scoring 11 goals and adding 17 assists throughout her career. After her playing days were over, she attended the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam, Netherlands for four years. Graduating with a coaching degree, she returned to Barcelona worked as their Head of Youth Football in 2010. In 2016, she joined the United States Women's National team as an assistant manager.

Ms. Suárez was highly regarded as a youth coach and developer of top talent, rumor has it that Ajax were attempting to hire her as director of their famous youth academy back in 2017, but that fell through. Once she got her coaching card, Ms. Suárez began researching different tactics, different systems, especially Total Football, the football philosophy which former FC Barcelona manager and legendary Dutch player Johan Cruyff was a proponent of, and Ms. Suárez is a Cruyffista at heart. She is also a fervent follower of Pep Guardiola and the tactics he brought to FC Barcelona.

Outside of football, Ms. Suárez is also an accomplished belly dancer, learning from her mother at an early age. She can be dancing up a storm at home or at the local clubs in Barcelona.
FC Barcelona's team and fans though were left to ponder on the recent choice to appoint Ms. Suárez as manager. Even though many would say that the new manager is not qualified enough it seems that the board is firmly backing her.

“Maria is bright, new, and ambitious. Look up Pep Guardiola, her childhood hero and mentor during his time at this club. When you find someone that's able to offer something fresh to the table, you have to take that chance and then back them,” said Ms. Ryan. “By bringing Ms. Suárez back into the Barcelona fold where she got her start at Futbol Club Barcelona Femení, the women's side of FC Barcelona, we hope to start a whole new chapter and begin to build the team the fans deserve.”

The hiring of Ms. Suárez earned praise from pundits and fans alike. With her arrival at FC Barcelona some football pundits consider her to be one of the most promising managers in football. She was confident that despite being a newcomer, the club would not regret giving the job to someone with so little experience. But her appointment will no doubt bring confidence, ambition and fearlessness to the Barcelona locker room.