Ricard Graells (Unknown - 11 December 1949) was the 15th president of FC Barcelona from 10 June 1919 to 27 June 1920. He took over the club after the founder Joan Gamper resigned presidency for the third time. Under his presidency the team won the double in 1920, the

Campionat de Catalunya The Catalan football championship ''(Campionat de Catalunya)'' was a football competition in Catalonia and the first football league in Spain before La Liga was established in 1929. In December 1900, Alfons Macaya, the president of Hispania AC, ...

and the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

Biography

Although little has been recorded of his playing career, he was one of the members that participated in the inaugural edition of the

Pyrenees Cup The Pyrenees Cup (), officially Challenge International du Sud de la France, was an international football competition contested by Spanish and French clubs based in the territories of Pyrénées (Catalonia, the Basque Country, Languedoc, Midi-Py ...

, netting two very important goals, one in a 1–1 draw with Olympique de Cette in the semi-finals and the other in a 2–1 win over

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

in the final, thus contributing decisively in the club's first piece of international silverware. Before becoming president, Graells had been part of the club's board of directors in 1916 and 1917, with Gaspar Rosés as president. He then became vice-president (1918), and finally reached the presidency of the club on 10 June 1919, when Joan Gamper resigned for the third time. His mandate was very positive, with the club reaching 3,217 members, with a monthly average of 131 registrations and 44 deregistrations. Also under his presidency he increased the cost of membership from two to three pesetas, and paid off a debt of 16,110 pesetas inherited from the previous board, making the club debt-free for the first time in its 20-year history. The club also achieved great sporting success under Graells' leadership, winning the double in 1920, the

and the

after beating

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

2–0 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. At the end of the season, on 27 June 1920, a massive assembly of members was held, which saw the election of Gaspar Rosés, who thus began his second term at the helm of Barça.

Honours

Club

;

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

* Catalan championship: **Champions (1): 1909–10 *

: **Champions (1):

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

References

External links

Year of birth unknown 1949 deaths Spanish footballers Men's association football forwards FC Barcelona players FC Barcelona presidents {{Spain-bio-stub

Biography

Honours

Club

See also

References

External links