15 Trophies, a profusion of goals, legendary idols, the construction of a football cathedral for over 100,000 fans and the transformation of a city. The 1950’s were a phenomenally successful period for FC Barcelona. In June of 1950, the club signed Hungarian great Ladislao Kubala, who convinced fellow Magyars Koscis and Czibor to join him there. Kubala became an important figure in the history of Barcelona as he introduced many new football techniques that had not been seen before, such as curling the ball. It soon became apparent that Barcelona had outgrown their Les Corts ground, and construction began on their new stadium Camp Nou in this era. In 1951, the crowd left Les Corts Stadium after a match against Santander and refused to catch any trams in support of a tram strike that was taking place in Barcelona. Events like this have led progressive Spaniards to regard the club as a staunch defender of the rights and freedoms of the Catalonian people, giving birth to the teams motto Mas De Un Clube (More Than A Club).

 

The early 50’s were characterised by Barcelonas dominance of Spanish football, and the team of the era became known as “Barcelona of the five cups”, as they won every trophy that was on offer. Barcelona played a stylish, modern and efficient style of football as they proceeded to win La Liga, the Spanish Cup, the Latin Cup, the Copa Eva Duarte and the Copa Martini Rossi. They also won the Copa Del Generallisimo and La Liga the following year. Their attacking front line during this time became the subject of famous song by Joan Manuel Serrat titled Basora, César, Kubala, Moreno y Manchón.

 

In 1953, an event known as the Di Stefano Affair occurred, where Barcelona signed Alfredo di Stefano after an agreement with River Plate, the club that owned him. Meanwhile, Real Madrid carried out negotiations with Millonarios, who di Stefano was illegally playing for, and also signed him. As a result, a bizarre Francoist manoeuvre stipulated that di Stefano should play alternate seasons with each club. Barcelona didn’t agree to this and relinquished the player. This event led to Barca and Real becoming rivals as they competed for many years for the domination of Spanish football.

 

In 1954, Spanish legend Luis Suarez was signed to Barcelona. During this time, Barcelona fans were divided into “kubalistes” (fans of Kubala) and “suaristes” (fans of Suarez). 1957 saw the inauguration of Camp Nou, FC Barcelonas 93,000 seat stadium, and in their new home Barcelona won La Liga and the Copa Del Ray twice in a row each. They also won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1958 and 1960. After the new stadium, a new manager Helenio Herrera, arrived, changing the club in a revolutionary manner. He put together an extraordinary team of foreign and Catalan talent, which boasted local players Gensana, Gràcia, Vergés, Tejada, Olivella and Segarra playing alongside Sandor Kocsis, Zoltan Czibor, Eulogio Martínez and Evaristo. With most of the clubs money having been spent on construction of the Nou Camp there was little left to recruit new players. As a result, the 1960s were less successful for Barcelona, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga and bringing an amazing era for Barcelona to a close.

Achievements: La Liga – Champions x4
                              Copa del Rey – Winners x5
                              Copa Eva Duarte – Winners x2
                              Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – Winners x2

Star player: Ladislao Kubala – DOB 10 June 1927, Budapest, Hungary, nickname: Laci

Kubala was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencvarosi, Slovan Bratislava, Vascas SC, Barcelona and Espanyol. He also played for three different national teams, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Spain. He spent the 1950’s as a leading member of the prominant Barcelona team, and during the clubs centenary celebrations in 1999, he was voted by fans as Barcelonas best player ever. He was known as a forward with great passing qualities, who also possessed an uncommon dribbling ability combining pace and skill. He was also renowned for his finishing composure and strike power, as well as being one of history’s greatest free kick specialists. Kubala was born in Budapest and moved to Czechoslovakia in 1946, allegedly to avoid military service. In 1947 he married the sister of the Czechoslovakian national team coach. He moved back to Hungary in 1948, but the following year he fled in the back of a truck as Hungary became a communist state. In 1949 he agreed to play for Torino in a testimonial against Benfica, but pulled out when his son became ill. As a result, he escaped the Superga catastrophy that killed the entire Torino team. He formed his own team, Hungaria, made up of fellow Eastern European refugees, before being signed by Barcelona in 1950. He last played in his own testimonial in 1993, aged 65.