FCBARCELONA.CAT

19.08.2009 10:49

The Gamper in numbers

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136 matches, 459 goals, 63 teams, the best players in the world… The 43 editions of the Joan Gamper Trophy are a unique showcase. Goals, spectacle, great teams, all of which has been dominated by the host team - Barça.

The Joan Gamper Trophy has offered both quantity and quality. Ever since the then Club president Enric Llaudet inaugurated the summer tournament in honour of the Club’s founder, the Camp Nou has hosted 136 matches in which the 63 participating teams have scored 459 goals: more than three goals per match. Spectacle guaranteed.

The match with the most goals was Barça v Boca (9-1) in 1984. Alexanco (2), Archibald (2), Calderé, Schuster, Carrasco, Esteban and Marcos scored the goals with English manager Terry Venables on the bench.

Barça in charge

Over the years, Barça has dominated the Joan Gamper, winning 33 0f the 43 editions. Barça has played 74 matches, with a balance of 57 victories, 9 draws and 8 defeats. They have scored 180 goals and conceded 77. From 1966 to 1998, the tournament was played between four teams and Barça came out on top on 22 occasions, finishing second three times and third six times – they never finished in fourth place.

New format, just one defeat

In the last twelve years the tournament has consisted of a single match and Barça has lost only once. In 2005, they drew 2-2 against Juventus in a spectacular match that featured a young Leo Messi but lost the penalty shootout.

Apart from Barça, only Cologne from the Bundesliga has won the tournament more than once, in 1978 and 1981.

Germans and Dutch the main opponents

FC Barcelona has invited some 63 teams from 24 different football associations to the Joan Gamper. The German league tops the ranking of guest teams with 18 appearances, with Cologne and Bayern Munich taking part five times each. Dutch football, which has been closely associated with the Club over the years, has made 12 appearances, including PSV (6), Ajax (3) and Feyenoord (3).

Other great names of world football that have graced the tournament include Boca Juniors, Milan, Inter, Anderlecht, Peñarol, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Porto and Rapid Vienna, while from the Spanish league Athletic Club Bilbao has participated twice together with Tenerife, Atlético Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia.