Futbol Club Barcelona Handbol is a professional Spanish handball team based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is a part of the FC Barcelona multi sports club, and was founded on 29 November 1942. The club competes domestically in the Liga ASOBAL and in the European Champions League. It is the most successful handball club in Spain and Europe with a record number of domestic and international titles.

FC Barcelona
Full nameFútbol Club Barcelona Handbol
Founded29 November 1942; 81 years ago (29 November 1942)
ArenaPalau Blaugrana
Capacity7,500
PresidentJoan Laporta
Head coachAntonio Carlos Ortega
LeagueLiga ASOBAL
2023–241st
Club colours   
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away
Website
Official site

History

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Early years

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The handball section of Futbol Club Barcelona was founded on 29 November 1942 during the presidency of Enrique Piñeyro. In the beginning handball was played with eleven players per team and did not have a specialized field to play. They used football fields until the late 1950s, when they started to play, as in actual games, with seven players and a covered field.

In the early stages, competitions were dominated by other teams like Atlético de Madrid and Granollers, breaking their domination few times.

Valero Rivera era (1983–2003)

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Things changed radically with the arrival of one of the best coaches in handball history, Valero Rivera. With him, the team became virtually unbeatable in Spain and in Europe, winning a record of 62 trophies under his rule, including 5 consecutive European Cups.

Post Valero Rivera era (2003–present)

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In the summer of 2013, the Barça handball team, conducted by the head coach Xavi Pascual, won the IHF Super Globe trophy, the only trophy that was still missing from the club's trophy cabinet.[1]

FC Barcelona’s handball team closed out the 2013/14 Liga ASOBAL with a record-breaking winning run. Barça made history this season when they completed their Liga ASOBAL without dropping any points from all 30 match days.[2]

FC Barcelona successfully defended its IHF Super Globe title in 2014, marking the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since the most prestigious club handball event has been hosted annually in the Qatari capital Doha.[3][4]

Again, FC Barcelona handball team ended the 2014/2015 Liga ASOBAL season unbeaten for the second consecutive year.[5]

FC Barcelona handball team won the seven titles disputed the 2014/2015 season, something which had not happened since the 1999/2000 season with Valero Rivera's Dream Team.[6]

In 2017 FC Barcelona handball was again champion of the IHF Super Globe after beating the German team Füchse Berlin.[7]

In 2018, the club won the Super Globe trophy again, for the fourth time. In a repeat of last year the team of head coach Xavi Pascual won the IHF Super Globe Final against Füchse Berlin, this time by a five-goal difference, 29–24.[8]

Again Barça won the IHF Super Globe in 2019, their third in a row. The team led by Xavi Pascual beat THW Kiel 34–32.[9]

In 2021 Barça regain the European throne six years after the last title, winning the final against Aalborg Håndbold (36–23), at the end of an absolutely impeccable season: 6/6 titles and 61/61 victories.[10] Xavi Pascual's team secured the section's 10th Champions League and also became the first team to lift the golden net, the new trophy for the European champions from this season, as a replacement for the bronze arm. The title concludes a season with an emotional ending, since it marks the conclusion of a cycle and the goodbye of several players, in addition to David Barrufet, Xavi Pascual and Fernando Barbeito. [11] Former Dream Team player, Carlos Ortega was chosen to be FC Barcelona's new handball coach for the next three seasons.[12]

In the 2021–22 season, after the successes achieved the previous season, the azulgrana certified a new sextet, where the only title that escaped was the Super Globe in October. The team won the Spanish Super Cup, the Catalan Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, the Sacyr ASOBAL League, the Sacyr ASOBAL Cup, and finally the Champions League. The team ended the season winning the 11th Champions League in Barça history. Barça revalidated the title in Cologne, being the first team to win two consecutive years with the new final four format, and extended its dominance in the historic record of the Handball Champions League.[13]

Kits

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Trophies

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Season by season

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Season Tier Division Pos. Notes
1990–91 1 ASOBAL 1st / 1st Champion
1991–92 1 ASOBAL 1st / 2nd Champion
1992–93 1 ASOBAL 2nd / 3rd
1993–94 1 ASOBAL 1st / 1st / ½
1994–95 1 ASOBAL 2nd
1995–96 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
1996–97 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
1997–98 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
1998–99 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
1999–00 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2000–01 1 ASOBAL 2nd
2001–02 1 ASOBAL 2nd
2002–03 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2003–04 1 ASOBAL 2nd
2004–05 1 ASOBAL 4th
2005–06 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2006–07 1 ASOBAL 4th
2007–08 1 ASOBAL 2nd
2008–09 1 ASOBAL 2nd
2009–10 1 ASOBAL 2nd
Season Tier Division Pos. Notes
2010–11 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2011–12 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2012–13 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2013–14 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2014–15 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2015–16 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2016–17 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2017–18 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2018–19 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2019–20 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2020–21 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2021–22 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2022–23 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion
2023–24 1 ASOBAL 1st Champion

Season by season (B team)

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Season Tier Division Pos. Notes
2001–02 3 1ª Nacional 10th
2002–03 3 1ª Nacional 3rd
2003–04 3 1ª Nacional 1st
2004–05 3 1ª Nacional 2nd
2005–06 3 1ª Nacional 1st
2006–07 3 1ª Nacional 2nd
2007–08 3 1ª Nacional 8th
2008–09 3 1ª Nacional 1st / 1st / 2nd
2009–10 3 1ª Nacional 1st / 1st / 1st Promoted
2010–11 2 Plata 6th
2011–12 2 Plata 1st
2012–13 2 Plata 1st
2013–14 2 Plata 1st
2014–15 2 Plata 3rd
2015–16 2 Plata 5th

European record

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Season Competition Round Club 1st leg 2nd leg Aggregate
2020–21 EHF Champions League Group Matches
(Group B)
  HC Motor Zaporizhzhia 42–24 30–25 1st place
  HBC Nantes 30–29 35–27
  PPD Zagreb 45–27 37–33
  Aalborg Håndbold 42–33 35–32
  THW Kiel 29–25 32–26
  Telekom Veszprém 37–30 37–34
  RK Celje 42–28 32–29
Last 16   Elverum Håndball 39–19 37–25 76–44
Quarterfinals   Meshkov Brest 40–28 33–29 73–57
Semifinal   HBC Nantes 31–26
Final   Aalborg Håndbold 36–23
2019–20 EHF Champions League Group Matches
(Group A)
  Paris Saint-Germain 36–32 35–32 1st place
  MOL-Pick Szeged 30–28 28–31
  Aalborg 44–35 34–30
  Flensburg 31–27 34–27
  Celje 45–21 37–25
  PPD Zagreb 32–23 36–19
  Elverum 33–24 30–26
Quarterfinals   Cancelled
Semi-final (F4)   Paris Saint-Germain 37–32
Final (F4)   THW Kiel 28–33

Team

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Staff

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Staff for the 2023–24 season

Current squad

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Squad for the 2024–25 season

Transfers

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Transfers for the 2025–26 season

Notable former coaches

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Notable former players

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Stadium information

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References

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  1. ^ "News - FC Barcelona Official website".
  2. ^ "News - FC Barcelona Official website".
  3. ^ "FC Barcelona retains IHF Super Globe title | 24th Men's Handball World Championship". Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ^ "News - FC Barcelona Official website".
  5. ^ "News - FC Barcelona Official website".
  6. ^ "News - FC Barcelona Official website".
  7. ^ "Füchse Berlin v FC Barcelona Lassa: Champions of the Super Globe! (25-29)".
  8. ^ "BARÇA WIN FOURTH SUPER GLOBE TROPHY". eurohandball.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Barca Lassa win IHF Super Globe 2019". 31 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Barça 36–23 Aalborg: European champions!".
  11. ^ "The tenth Champions League is ours!".
  12. ^ "Carlos Ortega, until 2024".
  13. ^ "FC Barcelona 32-32 Kielce: European Champions on penalties!".
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