Though it did not produce silverware, FC Barcelona's 2007–08 season would mark a period of change within the club, having many firsts and lasts. Most importantly, this would be Ronaldinho's last season with the club, being displaced by the coming of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

legend Thierry Henry. This season also marked the breakthrough of young talent Bojan Krkić into the first team, as well as the emergence of Lionel Messi as one of the team's key players. On the other hand, this would be

Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...

's last season as a professional footballer, as well as

Gianluca Zambrotta Gianluca Zambrotta (; born 19 February 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a right-back or as a wide midfielder, on both the left and right wings. Throughout his career, Zambrotta played for several different Italia ...

's last with the club.

Events

* 25 June: Thierry Henry moves from

to Barcelona for €24 million. * 29 August: Nike will supply Barcelona until the 2017–18 season. * 22 September: The

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

turns 50 years old with a celebration full of music, light, and colour. * 22 September: A large reform for the

was revealed, with plans to make the Camp Nou bigger, with a retractable roof and better facilities. * 20 October: Bojan becomes the youngest ever player to score for the club in La Liga. * 26 October: Barça opens a community centre for children in Senegal. * 20 March: Barcelona are knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage by Valencia. * 8 May: The club announces that head coach Frank Rijkaard will leave the club when his contracts expires at the end of June, and that

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the re ...

will replace him.

Players

Squad information

The squad has reasonably changed in the summer transfer window. The biggest addition was Thierry Henry, with a transfer fee of €24 million. That equals the transfer fee paid for Samuel Eto'o in 2004, but just below the €30 million paid for Ronaldinho in 2003. Other additions were Eric Abidal, Yaya Touré, and Gabriel Milito . On the other end, some important players that were often used last season have left the club, such as, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ludovic Giuly. Barcelona still used a great number of players developed in its youth system, 9 of 23, and have two new additions this season: Giovani dos Santos and Bojan (17 years old, the youngest player on the squad). Most of the players have contracts beyond this end of season, but Deco, an important player, has his contract ending in 2008. The captain is still

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...

, who is from Barcelona's youth system, plays in the first squad since 1999 and currently is the player with the most appearances (268). Currently, the highest scorer is Ronaldinho, with 80 goals. Also Ronaldinho, from August of this year, has a

European passport Passports in Europe are issued by each state individually, e.g. the Netherlands or United Kingdom. In general, passports issued in Europe either grant the holder the right of freedom of movement within the European Economic Area (EU and EFTA passp ...

. On mid-October, Samuel Eto'o received Spanish nationality, making him an EU player. The only non-EU player is Yaya Touré. Because Spain ratified the Cotonou Agreement in 2007, however, Touré is now considered an EU player, as his native country of

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

is a signatory to that agreement, and the 2003 Kolpak ruling extended the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association ...

to nations with an associate trading relationship with the EU.

Transfers

In

Total spending: €65.5 million

Out

Total income: €11.7 million. Expenditure: €53.8 million.

Squad stats

Víctor Valdés and Eric Abidal have been the only two players that have started all the matches (excepting Copa Catalunya, when Barcelona didn't use the same players as for the other competitions). Previously,

and Yaya Touré started all the matches until they got injured.

Oleguer Oleguer Presas Renom (born 2 February 1980), known simply as Oleguer, is a Spanish former footballer. Primarily a central defender, he could also operate as a defensive right-back. During his career he was mostly associated with Barcelona, wit ...

replaced Zambrotta and Andrés Iniesta replaced Touré. Giovani dos Santos and Bojan were the substitute forwards, while Santiago Ezquerro played only in the Copa Catalunya, as well as Eiður Guðjohnsen playing once. Thierry Henry started the majority of the matches when Samuel Eto'o got injured. He scored his first

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

wearing Barça's jersey, and he's the second goal scorer with four goals. Ronaldinho missed three matches due to an injury.

Disciplinary record

Club

Coaching staff

This season will be the fifth consecutive season for Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona's manager. Even though Barça did not win any major competition last season, club president Joan Laporta confirmed Rijkaard's presence for this season. All staff from last season, except doctor Gil Rodas, are remaining.

2006–07 FC Barcelona season The 2006–07 season was an overall unsuccessful time for Futbol Club Barcelona in almost all competitions. Although the team managed to snatch the Supercopa de España, and finish second in the domestic league, a lot more was expected from the ...

Kit

, , ,

Other information

Competitions

La Liga

Classification

Results by round

UEFA Champions League

Matches

Competitive

Friendly

References

External links

*
English Speaking FC Barcelona Supporters

ESPNsoccernet: Barcelona Team Page

Footballdatabase.com: FC Barcelona (Spain) profile

UEFA Champions League

Web Oficial de la Liga de Fútbol Profesional
* {{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Fc Barcelona Season Barcelona FC Barcelona seasons