Catalonia national football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catalonia

Nickname(s)

La Selecció

Association

Federació Catalana de Futbol

Confederation

None

Head coach

Pere Gratacós (2006–)

Captain

vacant

Most caps

Roger García (12)

Top scorer

Mariano Martín (6)

FIFA code





First kit





Second kit

First international

France 7 - 0 Catalonia

(Paris, France; February 21, 1912)

Biggest win

Catalonia 5 - 0 Lithuania

(Barcelona, Spain; 22 December 2000)

Catalonia 5 - 0 Nigeria

(Barcelona, Spain; 22 December 1998)

Biggest defeat

France 7 - 0 Catalonia

(Paris, France; February 21, 1912)

Catalonia national football team is the official football team of Catalonia, Spain. It is organised by the Catalonia Football Federation. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI. Catalonia is not affiliated to either FIFA or UEFA and the team does not participate in either the FIFA World Cup or the European Championship. Catalonia has tried to join UEFA, citing Scotland and Wales as similar regional sides with UEFA membership, but has always been rejected. However since 1904 the team has played nearly 200 games against various national, regional and club teams [1]. Since 1997 they play international games more regularly. Among the teams they have played are Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina. Their most recent game was a 0-1 with the Argentina national team at Camp Nou in May 2008. A match was intended to be against the United States on October 14, 2007 at Camp Nou.^[1] but the Spanish Football Federation denied permission for the match to take place.

1 History
2 Selected Internationals
3 Current squad
4 Selected Players
5 Selected former coaches
6 Honours
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] First Games

Catalonia national football team made their debut in 1904. Initially they played against various club teams such as Club Espanyol, Madrid FC, FC Barcelona and Irún Sporting Club. On February 2 1912 they made their international debut against France, losing 7-0 in Paris. On December 1 1912 the two teams met again in Barcelona and this time the Catalans won 1-0. In 1914 the Catalan XI played the Euskadi XI for the first time, but there is no record of the result [2]. The first recorded game between the two teams took place on January 3 1915 at San Mamés Stadium. The Catalan XI lost 6-1.

[edit] Copa Príncep d'Astúries

Between 1915 and 1926 the Catalan XI competed in an inter-regional competition. They finished as runners-up in 1915 and won the Copa Príncep d'Astúries for the first time in 1916, beating a Castile XI 8-5 over two games. They then retained the trophy in 1917 after beating the Castile XI 2-0. During the 1920s a team featuring Josep Samitier, Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarbá and Ricardo Zamora helped the Catalan XI win the competition in 1922, 1924 and 1926. The last competition in 1926 was a play-off between the two teams who had won the competition the most. The Catalans beat an Asturias XI 6-3 over two games.

As well as playing other regional teams from throughout Spain and Europe, the 1920s also saw the Catalan XI play several internationals. On March 13 1924 at the Les Corts, the Catalan XI played Spain for the first time. A Spain XI team that included Josep Samitier and Ricardo Zamora, two of the best Catalan players of the era, beat a Catalan XI featuring Paulino Alcántara and Sagibarbá. Samiter scored twice as the Spain XI won 7-0. On December 13 1925 Samitier, Zamora, Alcántara and Sagibarbá were on the same team as the Catalan XI beat Czechoslovakia at the Sarria. After conceding a penalty and going down 1-0, Sagibarbá then equalised with another penalty before Samitier clinched a 2-1 win. On July 7 1926 the Catalan XI played Czechoslovakia in Prague. Despite Samitier putting the Catalans 1-0 ahead, they eventually lost 2-1.

[edit] Catalonia vs Brazil

During the 1930s Catalonia continued playing against an array of teams. However 1934 was a particularly good year. On February 2 they played Spain and lost 2-0 at Les Corts. However four months later they played Brazil twice. On June 17 the Catalan XI beat Brazil 2-1 at Les Corts and then on June 24 they held them to a 2-2 draw at the Vista Alegre in Girona. The Brazil team had been in Europe to play in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and included the legendary Leônidas in their team. The Catalan XI completed a good month when on June 29 they beat the reigning La Liga champions, Athletic Bilbao 5-1.

[edit] The Franco Era

After the Spanish Civil War, the Franco regime imposed several restrictions on Catalonia, abolishing the Generalitat de Catalunya and banning the official use of the Catalan language and the flag. However the Catalan XI continued to play regularly during this period and even played Spain twice. On October 19 1947 at the Sarria, with a team featuring Velasco, Marià Gonzalvo, Joan Segarra and César, they beat Spain 3-1. However on August 9 1953 Spain avenged this defeat with a 6-0 win.

During this era several notable FC Barcelona players, including Ladislao Kubala, Luis Suárez, Evaristo and later, Jesus María Pereda, all guested for the Catalan XI. On January 26 1955 in a game against Bologna at Les Corts, Kubala was also joined by another guest player, Alfredo Di Stéfano. The Catalan XI won 6-2 with two goals from Kubala and one from Di Stéfano. On September 1 1956 Di Stéfano returned to Les Corts with Real Madrid, recent winners of the first European Cup, and played a Selecció de Barcelona. Real won the game 7-3.

The Catalan XI marked the end of the Franco era with a game against the USSR at the Camp Nou on June 6 1976. The team included Carles Rexach and guest players Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens. The game finished 1-1 with Neeskens scoring for the Catalan XI. Cruyff’s son, Jordi, would subsequently play regularly for the Catalan XI.

[edit] The recent democratic era

Catalonia V Euskadi XI team playing in Camp Nou

With the democracy, the Catalonia national team has regularly played international matches. They subsequently put together a string of successful results against Bulgaria, Nigeria, Yugoslavia, Lithuania and Chile. On May 5 2002 Catalonia hosted Brazil in a warm up game before the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Brazil, who went onto win the competition, beat Catalonia 3-1. In 2004 Brazil returned for a second game and this time won 5-2 in the Camp Nou, where some months later Argentina defeated Catalonia 0-3. The last matches have been against Paraguay, Costa Rica, Basque Country and Argentina.

[edit] Selected Internationals

Date	Venue	Home Team	Visitor	Score
May 24 2008	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Argentina	0 - 1
Dec. 29 2007	San Mamés	Basque Country	Catalonia	1 - 1
Oct. 8 2006	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Basque Country	2 - 2
May 24 2006	Olímpic de Terrassa	Catalonia	Costa Rica	2 - 0
Dec. 28 2005	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Paraguay	1 - 1
Dec. 29 2004	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Argentina	0 - 3
May 25 2004	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Brazil	2 - 5
Dec. 28 2003	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Ecuador	4 - 0
Dec. 28 2002	Camp Nou	Catalonia	China PR	2 - 0
May 18 2002	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Brazil	1 - 3
Dec. 28 2001	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Chile	1 - 0
Dec. 22 2000	Camp Nou	Catalonia	Lithuania	5 - 0
Dec. 23 1999	Olímpic Lluís Companys	Catalonia	Yugoslavia	1 - 0
Dec. 22 1998	Montjuïc	Catalonia	Nigeria	5 - 0
Dec. 23 1997	Montjuïc	Catalonia	Bulgaria	1 - 1
June 6 1976	Camp Nou	Catalonia	USSR	1 - 1
Feb. 21 1971	San Mamés	Basque Country	Catalonia	1 - 2
Aug. 9 1953	unknown	Catalonia	Spain	0 - 6
Oct. 19 1947	Sarrià	Catalonia	Spain	3 - 1
June 24 1934	Girona	Catalonia	Brazil	2 - 2
June 17 1934	Les Corts	Catalonia	Brazil	2 - 1
Feb. 2 1934	Les Corts	Catalonia	Spain	0 - 2
Jan. 1 1931	San Mamés	Basque Country	Catalonia	3 - 2
June 8 1930	Montjuïc	Catalonia	Basque Country	0 - 1
July 7 1926	Prague	Czechoslovakia	Catalonia	2 - 1
Dec. 13 1925	Sarria	Catalonia	Czechoslovakia	2 - 1
Mar. 13 1924	Les Corts	Catalonia	Spain	0 - 7
04-04-1921	Catalonia	Catalonia	Provence	1 - 0
03-04-1921	Catalonia	Catalonia	Provence	4 - 0
June 4 1916	San Mamés	Basque Country	Catalonia	5 - 0
May 22 1916	Carrer Industrial	Catalonia	Basque Country	0 - 0
May 21 1916	Carrer Industrial	Catalonia	Basque Country	1 - 3
May 15 1915	unknown	Catalonia	Basque Country	0 - 1
Feb. 7 1915	Carrer Industrial	Catalonia	Basque Country	2 - 2
Jan. 3 1915	San Mamés	Basque Country	Catalonia	6 - 1
1914	unknown	Catalonia	Basque Country	x - x
Dec. 1 1912	Barcelona	Catalonia	France	1 - 0
Feb. 20 1912	Paris	France	Catalonia	7 - 0

[edit] Current squad

Squad for game vs. Argentina on 24 May 2008.

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB (Age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Víctor Valdés	14 January 1982	9	0	FC Barcelona
13	GK	José Miguel Morales	26 December 1976	3	0	Terrassa FC
6	DF	Gerard Piqué	2 February 1987	2	0	FC Barcelona
4	DF	David García	16 January 1981	4	0	RCD Espanyol
12	DF	Javi Chica	17 May 1985	2	0	RCD Espanyol
3	DF	David Belenguer	17 December 1972	4	0	Getafe CF
2	DF	Bruno Saltor	1 Octubre 1980	3	0	UD Almería
14	DF	Carlos García	29 April 1984	2	0	UD Almería
5	DF	Alberto Lopo	5 May 1980	8	0	Deportivo de La Coruña
7	MF	Luis García	24 June 1978	5	2	Atlético Madrid
10	MF	Gerard López	12 March 1979	9	2	Recreativo de Huelva
16	MF	Ángel Martínez	19 January 1986	2	0	RCD Espanyol
8	MF	Sergio González	10 November 1976	11	0	Deportivo de La Coruña
15	MF	Joan Verdú	5 May 1983	4	1	Deportivo de La Coruña
11	FW	Óscar Serrano	30 September 1981	5	0	Racing de Santander
9	FW	Jonathan Soriano	24 September 1985	4	0	RCD Espanyol
18	FW	Cristian	21 September 1983	1	0	Deportivo de La Coruña
19	FW	Santi Triguero	4 October 1976	1	0	CF Vilanova i la Geltrú