FC Barcelona: The Perfect Football Club?

Following even more success in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, it could be fair to say that in 2010, at the start of the new decade, FC Barcelona could well represent what is a perfect football club.

This may be a statement read much to the anger of the several ardent Madridistas , but if you look closely at the Catalan giants, it's not far from the truth at all.

On the pitch, Barcelona when they choose to perform look simply unbeatable.

La Blaugrana are currently top of La Liga, three points clear of Real Madrid (presuming Los Galácticos win their game in hand against Almeria) and are in the semifinal of the Champions League where they face Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

They have the FIFA World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, within their ranks and dazzling the world as always with an incredible 40 goal tally.

And then they possess a whole host of massive talent, with many homegrown stars like Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique all having a colossal impact in La Selección Española.

Speaking of homegrown talent, in El Clásico last weekend at the Bernabeu, Barca fielded seven homegrown players in their line-up to face Real Madrid, showing just how strong their youth academy is.

In the dugout, Barca have the man who is arguably the best coach in the world today in Josep Guardiola; a man who's eye for meticulous detail and pure football perfection  led his side to the title of La Tripla Corona, i.e. winning La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey,

Guardiola also became the first ever manager to win the sextuple, and has made Barcelona what they are today.

What they are today in that Catalunya's biggest sports team are Spanish, European and World football club champions.  

In terms of infrastructure, FC Barcelona boast one of the biggest stadiums in world football, with the 98,772 all-seater capacity Camp Nou stadium.

And in terms of popularity, around 25 percent of Spain is said to support Barcelona, who are only beaten by Real Madrid (32 percent) but well clear of the third best supported team in Spain, Valencia CF (5 percent).

However, research has strongly indicated that Barca are the most supported football club in Europe with an apparent 44.2 million supporters, 3.2 million more than Real Madrid.

Financially, Barcelona are the second richest club in world football, with a revenue of over 365 million euros for the 2008/09 season.

Finally, from a moral viewpoint, Barca are the only high-profile football club who have always refused to advertise corporate sponsors on their shirts, which no doubt speaks volumes for the power of this mighty club, especially in the current financial climate.

The fact that their shirt sponsor is UNICEF, to whom they donate 1.5 million euros a year to as part of a five-year agreement, also gives FC Barcelona a very positive light.

So as you can see, when you read the Barcelona motto "més que un club," you realise that this club really is more than just a football club.

Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lyon, etc, are all massive football clubs.

But perhaps in this new decade, they're not what FC Barcelona are, and that is, the perfect club. Or to Los Culés, they're not what FC Barcelona are, and that is, more than a club.