Camp Nou

By Oriol Sentis

Camp Nou stadium is where BFC plays. It is the stadium with the greatest capacity in Europe: 99,354 spectators.

It was built when Francisco Miró-Sans was president of the club, because there was not enough room for all the fans at the old ground in Les Corts. The architect Francesc Mitjans, the cousin of Miró-Sans, was in charge of the project. The building work began in March 1953, with an initial budget of 67 million pesetas. Finally, it cost 288 million, because of various problems in the construction process.

It opened on 24th September 1957 with the name of BFC stadium, but it is popularly called Camp Nou, or “new pitch”, in memory of the replacement of the old Les Corts stadium. In the 2000-2001 season it was officially renamed after a referendum.

A series of commemorative events was organized, as wellas a friendly soccer match between BFC and the Warsaw (Legia Warszawa) Selection, which ended with the victory of BFC, 4-2. Eulogio Martínez scored the first goal of the match and also the first goal in the history of the Camp Nou.

The Camp Nou is the official headquarters of BFC, with administrative offices and the club's museum, which is the most visited in Catalonia.

Several social events have also been held in the Camp Nou:

On 7th November 1982: Mass officiated by Pope John Paul II.

On 6th July 1985: Lluís Llach concert.

In July 1988: Concert by Frank Sinatra.

On August 3rd 1988: Bruce Springsteen concert.

On 9th August 1988: Michael Jackson concert.

On 8th September 1988: Julio Iglesias concert.

On 10th September 1988: macro-concert in favor of Human Rights, organized by Amnesty International, with performances by Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman and The Last of the Row.

On 13th July 1997: The Three Tenors Concert: Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

On 1st October 1999: Concert by José Carreras, as part of the events of the Centenary of BFC.

On 7th August 2005: U2 concert, as part of its "Vertigo Tour".

On 19th and 20th July 2008: Bruce Springsteen performs the last two concerts of his "Magic" tour.

On June 30th and July 2nd 2009: U2 concerts, as part of its "TOUR 360 °''.

Orienteering

By Joel Suñé

Orienteering races have their origins in Norway in 1897, when the very first race was organized. Today orienteering is most popular in Nordic countries such as Finland and Norway, but it is known and organized all over the world.

What is an orienteering race?

An orienteering race is a trial and participants need to pass by different checkpoints marked on a map of the course handed out at the start of the race. A compass can be used.

The map

The map is very complex. It indicates the type of terrain, the altitude and level of curves, as well as individual elements such as trees or rocks, rivers, roads and highways...

The compass

There are two types of racing compass for orienteering: the finger compass and the neck compass. A finger compass is used by top racers. It indicates north very quickly and it is very small. A neck compass goes round the neck and it is sometimes uncomfortable. It is larger and slower than a finger compass.

Formerly, each checkpoint had a clip, each with a different symbol, with 16 spikes, one for each contestant’s control sheet, but nowadays a system called SPORT-IDENT is used. This has the form of a chip card or PIN that passes through the checkpoint to record the time, so that each participant’s progress can be charted at the end of the race.

Orienteering has its own regional, national, continental and world championships but also federated championships for schools and clubs are also organized at a local level.

Lionel Messi

By Indiana Rial

Lionel Messi was born on 24th June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. He comes from a poor family. He began to play football when he was 5 years old in a small club near his home, where his father was coach. At the age of 11 he played in Newell's Old Boys, where he won the “Cup of Friendship”. That same year he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.

The sports director of BFC was interested in Messi and so Lionel moved with his father to Catalonia. The club recognized his talent and signed him up.

Now he plays in the First Division. He is the best player in the world and has received the Golden Ball award several times, as well as the FIFA award for the best player in the world. He is also one of BFC’s three top scorers.

He has won many awards and medals and he is extremely popular. He is a millionaire but he is still very humble and simple. He is a person whom I admire greatly.