Barça brings the celebration of its 125 years of history to the center of the Catalan capital. The club has filled Casa Seat with some of the most representative objects of its trajectory, from its beginnings to the present day. Boots of its most emblematic players, jerseys with more than a century of history, cups and trophies trace a journey through its various phases since it was founded in 1899 and until it became the globally renowned team it is today.
Named Els tresors blaugranes and open until May 15, the exhibition includes trophies and objects usually displayed in the FC Barcelona Museum, but also some unreleased pieces and, even, one unexpectedly created for the occasion: Alexia Putellas walked through the exhibition during its presentation and, in front of the first Champions League cup won by the women's team, signed one of her jerseys which will remain in the exhibition as another prominent piece.
Putellas toured the exhibition among Blaugrana relics, most of which will return to the museum after the show. With the works at Camp Nou, the museum is now located in what was the ice rink, but it will not be there for long: it plans to reopen in December in its definitive location, as its director, Jordi Penas, hinted, amidst explanations about the pieces in the exhibition.
The new Blaugrana museum will occupy part of the second floor of the stadium, with a similar size to the current one and with an already active Camp Nou, if the club's objectives are met. After seeing forecasts delayed on several occasions, the intention is for matches to start being played in September, although the works are still ongoing. Initially with a capacity of 60,000 spectators —close to that of the Estadi Olímpic, where they play during the works—, the goal is to be able to host the first of the Champions League group stage matches, since, once started in one field, the location cannot be changed during this stage.
Barça prepares to take this historic step while reviewing its 125 years of history, which begin with its founding in 1899. To start the journey, the exhibition displays a jersey of the team's captain in 1910, Pepe Rodríguez, whose family donated the garment and several objects to the club 15 years ago. "It was not currently exhibited in the museum, as it is a piece that must be preserved," Penas highlighted. Alongside the jersey, with the club's colors despite the passage of years, a pair of boots from that time makes Putellas wonder what a tackle would be like with that hard and heavy footwear.
From the club's founding, the exhibition jumps to the 50s and the Kubala era, when "the Les Corts stadium became too small" and Barça built the now-under-renovation Camp Nou. A stone from the field recalls this process, along with trophies with a lot of history, as Xavier Barbany from the FC Barcelona Board of Directors highlighted: the Ramón Carranza Cup of 1962 was won by Barça in the first final decided by a penalty shootout. "Until then, if there was a draw in extra time, a coin was tossed," until that match played in Cádiz between Barça and Zaragoza, which laid the groundwork for the current penalty phase.
And the exhibition's time machine advances with jerseys of Carles Rexach, Johan Cruyff, and Pep Guardiola, up to the Olympic torch with which Epi lit the arrow that Rebollo launched to the cauldron, which the former Barça Basket player then gifted to the museum. Boots of Ronaldinho and Messi, part of a net cut by Piqué, the boots with which Juliano Belletti scored one of the goals in the mythical Champions League final in Paris in 2006, trophies of the women's team, and classic jerseys complete the exhibition, to which Putellas has surprisingly added her signed jersey.
The exhibition occupies the first floor of Casa Seat, which joins the celebration of the 125th anniversary not only with the exhibition, but will also become a fan zone during the Clásico between Barça and Madrid on May 11, and will host the live recording of an episode of the club's official podcast on May 15, to accompany the closing of the exhibition. "We share many values with Barça: the spirit of being better every day and the commitment to local talent," guaranteed the global director of the Cupra brand, Ignasi Prieto, who highlighted that "for the first time, the club leaves its usual space to bring its legacy to the city center."