Camp Nou iPhone

"The construction of the Camp Nou began because the old stadium could no longer accommodate new fans. Also the eternal enemy of the Catalans, Real Madrid, had already built its Estadio Chamartín (now known as the Santiago Bernabéu). The project was undertaken by the architect Francesc Mithans. And so the grand opening of the new stadium took place on September 24, 1957.

Two years later the stadium was equipped with artificial lighting. In '71 a gymnasium was built, used by the basketball, handball and volleyball teams. In '75, an electronic scoreboard was added to the stadium.

The first match between Barcelona and Real Madrid took place in 1902. The Catalans won then. But the most heated period between the teams was during the Franco government. The dictator used soccer (even though he himself had no interest in the sport) for his political purposes. Franco did not like separatists and the Catalans at the time were fighting fiercely against the official authorities. As you can guess, the dictator gave privileges to Real Madrid.

The Catalans suffered their most humiliating defeat in 1943. Then Barcelona lost to Real Madrid 11-1. There is evidence that, prior to the match, the Minister of Sport came to the Bluegranate players and threatened that if Real Madrid did not win, all Barça players would be shot.