FCBARCELONA.CAT

14.04.2009 22:46

Semifinal number 24

Jordi Clos

Barca’s tie against Chelsea will be their 24th European semi-final and their tenth in the European Cup. Since their first appearance in the Fairs Cup in 1957 until last year’s Champions League tie with Manchester United, Barca have won 14.

Ever since European Football began in 1955, Barca have been a major player and are the only club who have never missed a season playing in a European competition. Barca have reached the semi finals in the Fairs, UEFA, Cup Winners’ and European Cups a total of 23 times.

9+1 in the European Cup

The semi final against Chelsea will be Barca’s 10th semi final in the continent’s top competition. Previously, they’ve beaten Milan, Porto, Gothenburg and Hamburg, whilst losing to Manchester United, Madrid (twice), Valencia and Leeds United.

In addition, Johan Cruyff’s unforgettable Dream Team went on to win the 1992 Final in Wembley after coming through the semi final group stages.

6 out of 6 in the Cup Winners’ Cup

The old Cup Winners’ Cup was Barca’s favourite trophy, no other team could match the 4 titles that Barca took and every time they reached the semis they made it through to the final, beating Florentina, Juventus, CSK Sofia, Tottenham, Beveren and Cologne

No Luck in UEFA Cup

In contrast, Barca have never managed to get through a UEFA Cup semifinal, losing to Liverpool twice, Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven, although oddly enough they always went through in the semis of the competition’s predecessor the Fairs Cup, beating Chelsea, Red Star and Birmingham City to reach the finals of the now defunct competition.