FC Barcelona Handbol

FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Full name	Fútbol Club Barcelona Handbol
Founded	29 November 1942; 81 years ago
Arena	Palau Blaugrana
Capacity	7,500
President	Joan Laporta
Head coach	Antonio Carlos Ortega
League	Liga ASOBAL
2023–24	1st
Club colours
Home	Away
	Website ; Official site

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.

History

Early years

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)

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)

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

HOME
2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23

AWAY
2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-

THIRD
2021-

Trophies

IHF Super Globe: 5 – record
- 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
EHF Champions League: 12 – record
- 1990–91, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
EHF Cup Winner's Cup: 5 – record
- 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1993–94, 1994–95
EHF Cup
- 2002–03
European Super Cup: 5 – record
- 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2003–04
Liga ASOBAL: 31 – record
- 1968–69, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Copa del Rey: 28 – record
- 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Copa ASOBAL: 19 – record
- 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Supercopa ASOBAL: 24 – record
- 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
Supercopa Ibérica: 3 – record
- 2022, 2023, 2024
Spanish Championship: 6 – record
- 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1956–57
Catalan Championship: 10 – record
- 1943–44, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58
Catalan League: 12 – record
- 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1996–97
Pyrenees League: 12 – record
- 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
Catalan Super Cup: 12 – record
- 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Double: 18
- 1968–69, 1972–73, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Triple Crown: 7
- 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2014–15, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24

Season by season

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

32 seasons in Liga ASOBAL

Season by season (B team)

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

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