Editing FC Barcelona (section)

=== 1978–2000: Núñez and stabilization ===
[[File:La Masia (Can Planas) (Barcelona) - 1.jpg|thumb|right|In 1979, Barcelona bought [[La Masia]], a farmer's house built in 1702, to be a residence for young academy players. It would later play a significant role in the club's future success.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=Sid |title=Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid (Page 373) |year=2013 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-02-2409-178-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2l6zHv_reuUC&pg=PA373 |access-date=14 July 2016 |archive-date=23 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423203637/https://books.google.com/books?id=2l6zHv_reuUC&pg=PA373 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rogers |first=Iain |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59L02D20091022 |title=Barca talent farm marks 30 years of success |work=Reuters |date=22 October 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104115920/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/10/22/uk-soccer-spain-academy-sb-idUKTRE59L02D20091022|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref>]]

In 1978, [[Josep Lluís Núñez]] became the first elected president of FC Barcelona. Since then, the members of Barcelona have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of FC Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. The new president's main objective was to develop Barcelona into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch. His presidency lasted 22 years. It deeply affected the image of Barcelona, as Núñez held to a strict policy regarding wages and discipline, letting go of such players as [[Diego Maradona]], [[Romário]] and [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] rather than meeting their demands.<ref name="fcbarcelona4">{{cite web |url=http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/historia/etapes_historia/etapa_4.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204143800/http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/historia/etapes_historia/etapa_4.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 December 2012 |title=History part IV |publisher=FC Barcelona |access-date=15 March 2010 }}</ref><ref>Ball, Phil p. 85</ref>

The club won its first [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]] on 16 May 1979, beating [[Fortuna Düsseldorf]] 4–3 in [[Basel]]. More than 30,000 travelling ''blaugrana'' fans watched the final. The same year, Núñez began to invest in the club's youth programme by converting La Masia into a dormitory for young academy players from abroad. The name of the dormitory would later become synonymous with the youth programme of Barcelona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/club_avui/territori_barca/la_Masia/lamasia.html |title=La Masia |access-date=30 July 2010 |publisher=FC Barcelona |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091003171950/http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/club_avui/territori_barca/la_Masia/lamasia.html |archive-date= 3 October 2009 }}</ref>
[[File:Maradona Barcelona shirt.jpg|thumb|right|[[Diego Maradona]]'s ''blaugrana'' shirt on display in the [[FC Barcelona Museum]]]]
In June 1982, Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee of £5&nbsp;million from [[Boca Juniors]].<ref>Dobson, Stephen; Goddard, John A. p. 180</ref> In the following season, under coach [[César Luis Menotti]], Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona soon left to join [[S.S.C. Napoli|Napoli]]. At the start of the [[La Liga 1984-85|1984–85]] season, [[Terry Venables]] was hired as manager. He won La Liga with noteworthy displays by German midfielder [[Bernd Schuster]]. The next season, he took the team to their second [[1985–86 European Cup|European Cup]] [[1986 European Cup Final|final]]. The team lost on penalties to [[CSA Steaua București (football)|Steaua București]] in [[Seville]].<ref name="fcbarcelona4"/>

Around this time, tensions began to arise between what was perceived as president Núñez's dictatorial rule and the nationalistic support group, [[Boixos Nois]]. The group, identified with a left-wing separatism, repeatedly demanded the resignation of Núñez and openly defied him through chants and banners at matches. At the same time, Barcelona experienced an eruption in [[skinheads]], who often identified with a right-wing separatism. The skinheads slowly transferred the Boixos Nois' ideology from [[liberalism]] to [[fascism]], which caused division within the group and a sudden support for Núñez's presidency.<ref>Spaaij, Ramón pp. 291–292</ref> Inspired by British hooligans, the remaining Boixos Nois became violent, causing havoc leading to large-scale arrests.<ref>Spaaij, Ramón p. 293</ref>

After the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]], Barcelona signed the English top scorer [[Gary Lineker]], along with goalkeeper [[Andoni Zubizarreta]], but the team could not achieve success, as Schuster was excluded from the team. Terry Venables was fired at the beginning of the 1987–88 season and replaced with [[Luis Aragonés]]. The season finished with the players rebelling against president Núñez, in an event known as the Hesperia mutiny, and a 1–0 victory in the Copa del Rey final against [[Real Sociedad]].<ref name="fcbarcelona4"/>

[[File:Cruyff_a_la_banqueta_del_Camp_Nou.jpg|thumb|right|200px|As coach of the "Dream Team", [[Johan Cruyff]] won four consecutive league titles with Barcelona.]]
In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to the club, this time as manager. He assembled what would later be dubbed the "Dream Team".<ref>{{cite web|last=Duff |first=Alex |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aoCiLlYsuvL8 |title=Barcelona Emulates 'Dream Team' to Win European Title |publisher=Bloomberg |date=18 May 2006 |access-date=5 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105120217/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aoCiLlYsuvL8 |archive-date=5 November 2012 }}</ref> He used Spanish players like [[Pep Guardiola]], [[José Mari Bakero]], [[Jon Andoni Goikoetxea]], [[Miguel Angel Nadal]], and [[Txiki Begiristain]], and signed international players such as [[Ronald Koeman]], [[Michael Laudrup]], [[Romário]], and [[Hristo Stoichkov]].<ref>{{cite book
| last1 =Barend
| first1 = Frits
| last2 = van Dorp
| first2 = Henk
| title = Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff
| publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-0-7475-4305-3
}}</ref>

Ten years after the inception of the youth programme, La Masia, its players began to graduate and play for their first team. Pep Guardiola, the future coach of Barcelona, was one of the first graduates and would go on to receive international recognition.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article5950195.ece |author=Hawkey, Ian |work=The Times |access-date=30 July 2010 |title=Novelty factor adds spice to clash of giants |date=22 March 2009 |location=London |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704153458/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Under Cruyff's guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They beat [[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]] in both the 1989 [[1988–89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]] final and the 1992 [[1991–92 European Cup|European Cup]] final at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]], with a free kick goal from Dutch international Ronald Koeman. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the [[UEFA Super Cup|European Super Cup]] in 1992 and three Supercopa de España trophies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/noticies/643913/1988-96-lera-del-dream-team|title=1988-1996. The era of the 'Dream Team'|publisher=FC Barcelona|date=13 March 2018|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=18 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218222235/https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/noticies/643913/1988-96-lera-del-dream-team|url-status=live}}</ref> With 11 trophies, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager at that point. He also became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving eight years.<ref name=honours>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/palmares/palmares.html |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091003163828/http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/palmares/palmares.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2009 |title=Honours |publisher=FC Barcelona |access-date=12 March 2010 }}</ref> Cruyff did not win any trophies in his final two seasons, and fell out with president Josep Lluís Núñez, resulting in his departure.<ref name="fcbarcelona4"/>

Reacting to Cruyff's departure, an independent protest group was organised by Armand Caraben, [[Joan Laporta]] and Alfons Godall.<ref name="King"/> The objective of the group, called ''L'Elefant Blau'', was to oppose the presidency of Núñez, which they regarded as a corruption of the club's traditional values.<ref name="King">King, Anthony pp. 185–186</ref><ref>Ball, Phil pp. 110–111</ref> Laporta would later take over the presidency of Barcelona in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|title=Joan Laporta on Barcelona, Beckham, Mourinho, Guardiola and Messi|url=http://www1.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/revista-de-la-liga/news/8713233/joan-laporta-on-barcelona-beckham-mourinho-guardiola-and-messi|publisher=Sky Sports|date=21 March 2015|access-date=20 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101115/http://www1.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/revista-de-la-liga/news/8713233/joan-laporta-on-barcelona-beckham-mourinho-guardiola-and-messi|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cruyff was briefly replaced by [[Bobby Robson]], who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996–97. He recruited [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] for a world record transfer fee from his previous club, [[PSV Eindhoven|PSV]], and delivered a [[Treble (association football)|cup treble]], winning the Copa del Rey, [[1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]] and the Supercopa de España, with Ronaldo registering 47 goals in 49 games.<ref name="Ronaldo"/> Despite his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for [[Louis van Gaal]] to become available.<ref name="fcbarcelona5">{{cite web |url=http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/historia/etapes_historia/etapa_5.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204192124/http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/club/historia/etapes_historia/etapa_5.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 December 2012 |title=History part V |publisher=FC Barcelona |date=15 June 2003 |access-date=12 March 2010 }}</ref>

Ronaldo soon left for [[Inter Milan]] in another world record transfer.<ref name="Ronaldo">{{cite news|last1=Smyth|first1=Rob|title=Ronaldo at 40: Il Fenomeno's legacy as greatest ever No9, despite dodgy knees|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/sep/17/ronaldo-40-birthday-brazil-greatest-ever-striker|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 September 2016|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907161434/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/sep/17/ronaldo-40-birthday-brazil-greatest-ever-striker|url-status=live}}</ref> However, new heroes emerged, such as [[Luís Figo]], [[Patrick Kluivert]], [[Luis Enrique (footballer)|Luis Enrique]] and [[Rivaldo]], and the team won a Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999, the club celebrated its ''centenari'', winning the Primera División title, and Rivaldo became the fourth Barcelona player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000.<ref name="fcbarcelona5"/>