Catalonia
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationCatalan Football Federation (Federació Catalana de Futbol)
ConfederationNone
Head coachGerard López
CaptainMarc Bartra
Most capsSergio García (16)[1]
Top scorerSergio García (9)
Home stadiumCamp Nou
Stage Front Stadium
Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Estadi Montilivi
FIFA codeCAT
First colours
Second colours
First international
Not FIFA results
Paris Paris 3–1 Catalonia 
(San Sebastián, Spain; 24 July 1910)
FIFA results
 France 7–0 Catalonia 
(Paris, France; 21 February 1912)
Biggest win
Not FIFA results
 Catalonia 9–0 Brussels Brussels
(Barcelona, Spain; 16 June 1927)
FIFA results
 Catalonia 6–0 Jamaica 
(Girona, Spain; 25 May 2022)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 7–0 Catalonia 
(Barcelona, Spain; 13 March 1924)
 France 7–0 Catalonia 
(Paris, France; 21 February 1912)

The Catalonia national football team (Catalan: Selecció de futbol de Catalunya) is the official football team of Catalonia. It is organised by the Catalan Football Federation, founded in 1900. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI.

As the Catalan Federation is affiliated with the Royal Spanish Football Federation as one of the several Spanish regional football federations, Catalonia cannot be affiliated with either FIFA or UEFA as a national member association and is therefore not allowed to participate in official competitions for national teams such as the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. Other than in certain cases where other nationalities are involved, Catalan players are full Spanish citizens who are eligible to play for Spain, and often do.[2]

Since 1904, the team has played nearly 200 games against various national, regional and club teams.[3] International friendly games have been played more regularly since 1997. Among the teams they have played are Nigeria, Brazil, and Argentina.

History

First games

The Catalonia team made their debut in 1905 Initially they played against various club teams such as Club Espanyol, Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Irún Sporting Club. On 24 July 1910, they played their first-ever international game against a Paris XI, which they lost 1-3, with the author of the Catalan goals being Carles Comamala. The team was: Costa, Bru, Halden, Massana, Aguirreche, Sampere, Barenys, Angoso, Berdié, Comamala and Roteta. On 20 February 1912, they made their international friendly debut against France, losing 7–0 in Paris. The team was: Reñé, Irízar, Amechazurra, German, Peris, Kinké, Forns, Pepe Rodríguez, Comamala, Morales and Ramirez.[4] On 1 December 1912, the two teams met again in Barcelona and this time the Catalans won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Genaro de la Riva of RCD Espanyol.

On 8 December 1912, Catalonia faced a selection of foreigners at the Camp de la Indústria in a benefit match for the Sindicat de Periodistes, ending in a 5–2 win for the Catalans with goals from Massana (2), C. Comamala, Wallace (own goal) and Forns, while the foreign goalscorers were Wallace and Stewart. The Catalan team was: Renyé, Amechazurra, Irízar, A. Massana, Sagnier, Quirante, Armet-Kinké, A. Comamala, C. Comamala, Janer and Forns. The Selection of foreigners was: Manchan, Braussendorf, Wallace, Rositzky, Greenwell, Morris, Allack, Kaiser, Steel, Stewart and McLean.[5] In 1914, the Catalan XI played the Basque Country XI for the first time, but there is no record of the result, while the first recorded game between the two teams took place on 3 January 1915 at San Mamés Stadium, which ended in a 6–1 loss to the Catalan side.[6]

Copa Príncep d'Astúries

Between 1915 and 1926, the Catalan XI competed in the Copa Príncep d'Astúries, an inter-regional competition. They finished as runners-up in 1915 and won for the first time in 1916, beating a Castile/Madrid XI 8–5 over two games, including a shocking 6–3 win in the first leg at the Campo de O'Donnell in Madrid. They then relinquished the trophy in 1917 after losing 2–0 to a weak Castile XI side. During the 1920s, a team featuring Josep Samitier, Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarba and Ricardo Zamora helped the Catalan XI win the competition in 1924 and 1926.[7][8] In the quarter-finals of the former, Catalonia defeated a Gipuzkoa XI featuring René Petit by a score of 2–1, and then beat Biscay XI 1–0 in the semi-finals with the solitary goal being scored by Cristóbal Martí. The final was played on 24 February 1924 in San Mamés against a Castile/Madrid XI, and the game was a tremendously competitive clash, with back-and-forth drama on the scoreboard, but at the end of regulation time the match was tied at 3–3 with Samitier (twice) and Piera scoring the Catalan goals. In extra-time Juan Monjardín appeared to have won the game for the Castile/Madrid XI when he scored past Zamora, but with two minutes remaining Emili Sagi-Barba leveled the scores at 4–4 when no one was expecting it anymore, and the draw forced a replay two days later and this time Catalonia ended up winning 3-2 with goals from Carulla, Samitier and Piera, thus becoming champion.[8] The Catalan team that lined-up that day was: Zamora, Massaguè, Montané, Caicedo, Sancho, Carulla, Piera, Martí, Peidró, Samitier and Sagibarba. The last edition of the competition was a two-legged final between the winners of the previous two, Asturias XI and Catalonia, who faced each other only for the right to keep the trophy, and Catalonia won both games (2–0 and 4–3), thus earning the right to keep the trophy. The Catalan goalscorers were Domingo Broto(2), Josep Forgas(2), Juan Pellicer and Paulino Alcántara.[8][9]

As well as playing other regional teams from throughout Spain and Europe, the 1920s also saw the Catalan XI play several international friendly matches. On 13 March 1924, at the Camp de Les Corts, the Catalan XI played Spain for the first time. The Spain XI included Josep Samitier and Zamora, two of the best Catalan players of the era, while the Catalan XI featured Alcántara and Sagibarba. Samiter scored twice to help Spain to a 7–0 win.[10] On 13 December 1925, Samitier, Zamora, Alcántara and Sagibarba were on the same side as the Catalan XI beat Czechoslovakia at the Estadi de Sarrià. After conceding a penalty and going down 1–0, Sagibarba then equalized with another penalty before Samitier clinched a 2–1 win. On 7 July 1926, the Catalan XI played Czechoslovakia in Prague. Despite Samitier putting the Catalans 1–0 ahead, they eventually lost 2–1.

Catalonia vs. Brazil

During the 1930s, Catalonia continued playing friendly games against an array of teams; 1934 was a particularly good year. On 2 February, they played Spain and lost 2–0 at Les Corts. Four months later, they played Brazil twice. On 17 June, the Catalan XI beat Brazil 2–1 at Les Corts and then on 24 June, they held them to a 2–2 draw at the Vista Alegre in Girona. The Brazil team had been in Europe to play in the official 1934 FIFA World Cup and included the legendary Leônidas in their team. The Catalan XI completed a good month when on June 29 they beat the reigning official La Liga champions, Athletic Bilbao, 5–1.

The Franco era

After the Spanish Civil War, caudillo Francisco Franco imposed several restrictions on Catalonia, abolishing the Generalitat de Catalunya and banning the official use of the Catalan language and the Catalan flag. Despite these restrictions, the Catalan XI continued to play regularly during this period and even played Spain twice. On 19 October 1947, at the Sarrià and with a team featuring Juan Velasco, Marià Gonzalvo, Joan Segarra and César, they beat Spain 3–1. On 9 August 1953, Spain avenged this defeat with a 6–0 win.

During this era, several notable Barcelona players, including the Spanish players László Kubala, Luis Suárez, Evaristo and later Chus Pereda, played for the Catalan XI. On 26 January 1955, in a friendly game against Bologna at Les Corts, Kubala was also joined by another guest player, Alfredo Di Stéfano. The Catalan XI won 6–2 with two goals from Kubala and one from Di Stéfano. On 1 September 1956, Di Stéfano returned to Les Corts with Real Madrid, recent winners of the first official European Cup, and played a Selecció de Barcelona. Real won the game 7–3.

The Catalan XI marked the end of the Franco era with a friendly game against the Soviet Union at the Camp Nou on 6 June 1976. The team included Carles Rexach, guest Netherlands players Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens and Chilean international Carlos Caszely who played for Espanyol. The game finished 1–1 with Neeskens scoring for the Catalan XI. Cruyff's son, Jordi, would subsequently play regularly for the Catalan XI.

Democratic era

Catalonia playing against the Basque Country at the Camp Nou

Since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s, the Catalonia representative team has regularly played international friendly matches. They put together a string of successful results against countries like Bulgaria, Nigeria, Yugoslavia, Lithuania and Chile. On 5 May 2002, Catalonia hosted Brazil in a warm up friendly game before the official 2002 World Cup. Brazil, who went on to win the official competition, beat Catalonia 3–1. In 2004, Brazil returned for a second friendly game and this time won 5–2 at the Camp Nou, where some months later Argentina defeated Catalonia 3–0. The last friendly matches have been against Paraguay, Costa Rica, Basque Country, Argentina and Colombia.

Johan Cruyff era

On 2 November 2009, it was announced that Dutch legend and former Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff would be the new coach of Catalonia.[11] On 22 December 2009, they played a friendly against Argentina, which ended in a Catalonia win, 4–2 at Camp Nou. On 28 December 2010, Catalonia played another friendly against Honduras winning 4–0 at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.[12] On 30 December 2011, Catalonia played Tunisia in a goalless draw at the Lluís Companys.[13] In their last game under Cruyff, on 2 January 2013, Catalonia drew with Nigeria at the Cornellà-El Prat, 1–1.[14]

Post-Cruyff era

Former player Gerard was appointed new coach for the Catalan team for two years. His first match with the team took place on 30 December 2013 against Cape Verde at the Olímpic Lluís Companys.[15]

Fixtures and results

2022

25 May[lower-alpha 1] Friendly Catalonia  6–0  Jamaica Girona, Catalonia
18:45 Deulofeu 3', 28', 44'
Bartra 35'
Jutglà 74'
Puado 88'		 Report Stadium: Estadi Montilivi
Attendance: 6,124
Referee: Victor Garcia Verdura (Spain)

2023

8 June Friendly Catalonia  Cancelled  Mali Lleida, Catalonia
19:00 Report Stadium: Camp d'Esports

Coaching staff

Manager history

  1. Pichi Alonso (1995–2005)
  2. Pere Gratacós (2005–2009)
  3. Johan Cruyff (2009–2013)
  4. Gerard López (2013–2016)
  5. Sergio González (2015–2018)
  6. Gerard López (2018–present)

Players

Due to the unofficial status of the Catalonia team and others, many of the usual conventions of international football do not apply. Players who have already appeared for a FIFA national team can play for the Catalans in addition, but if they are simultaneously called up for both, the FIFA squad (usually Spain) takes precedence.[2][16] Clubs are also not obligated to release their players, and the request is sometimes refused by clubs outside the Spanish leagues, or when the fixture takes place during the domestic season and the club has important upcoming fixtures.[17] Eligible players can also choose not to be involved. This means the Catalan squads are frequently below what would be considered their 'full strength', but also means those who do take part are fully committed to the concept, and in many cases would have no other opportunities to experience international football so consider the match to be an important matter. This contrasts with their opponents, as the fixture does not contribute to their Association ranking points or individual cap totals and is thus one of the least significant matches out of several they would play each year. In combination with home advantage for the Catalan team in most of their fixtures, this has led to the results falling in their favour more often than might be expected compared to other nations perceived to have a similar standard of players.[2][16]

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly match against  Jamaica, on 25 May 2022.[18][19]
All caps and goals as of May 2022 after match against  Jamaica.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Édgar Badía (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 3 0 Spain Elche
1GK Daniel Cárdenas (1997-03-28) 28 March 1997 1 0 Spain Rayo Vallecano
2DF Marc Bartra (1991-01-15) 15 January 1991 7 1 Spain Betis
2DF Sergi Gómez (1992-03-28) 28 March 1992 3 0 Spain Espanyol
2DF Marc Cucurella (1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 2 0 England Chelsea
2DF Salva Ferrer (1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 1 0 Italy Spezia
2DF Edgar González (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 1 0 Spain Almería
2DF Arnau Martínez (2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 1 0 Spain Girona
2DF Óscar Mingueza (1999-05-13) 13 May 1999 1 0 Spain Celta Vigo
2DF Àlex Moreno (1993-06-08) 8 June 1993 1 0 England Aston Villa
2DF Brian Oliván (1994-04-01) 1 April 1994 1 0 Spain Espanyol
2DF Rubén Sánchez (2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 1 0 Spain Mirandés
3MF Riqui Puig (1999-08-13) 13 August 1999 2 0 United States LA Galaxy
3MF Oriol Romeu (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991 2 0 Spain Barcelona
3MF Rubén Alcaraz (1991-05-01) 1 May 1991 1 0 Spain Cádiz
3MF Carles Aleñá (1998-01-05) 5 January 1998 1 0 Spain Getafe
3MF Álex Collado (1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Okhdood
3MF Gerard Gumbau (1994-12-18) 18 December 1994 1 0 Spain Granada
4FW Cristian Tello (1991-08-11) 11 August 1991 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al Fateh
4FW Gerard Deulofeu (1994-03-13) 13 March 1994 2 3 Italy Udinese
4FW Pere Milla (1992-09-23) 23 September 1992 2 0 Spain Espanyol
4FW Javi Puado (1998-05-25) 25 May 1998 2 2 Spain Espanyol
4FW Ferran Jutglà (1999-02-01) 1 February 1999 1 1 Belgium Club Brugge

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last played matches and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Héctor Bellerín (1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 0 0 Spain Betis v.  Jamaica, 25 May 2022 PRE
MF Sergio Gómez (2000-09-04) 4 September 2000 0 0 England Manchester City v.  Jamaica, 25 May 2022 PRE
MF Dani Olmo (1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 0 0 Germany RB Leipzig v.  Jamaica, 25 May 2022 PRE
FW Aitor Ruibal (1996-03-22) 22 March 1996 0 0 Spain Betis v.  Jamaica, 25 May 2022 PRE
  • WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Notable players

  • For a list of recent Catalonia national team players, see here
  • For a list of players from Catalonia who have represented FIFA national teams, see here

Guest players

Because Catalonia is not a member of either UEFA or FIFA due to it being a region of Spain and plays only in unofficial friendly matches, normal eligibility rules based on birthplace do not apply, and a number of players who were not born in Catalonia and played for other international teams have guested for the Catalan XI, although this is much less frequent in the 21st century. With the notable exception of Alfredo Di Stéfano, most were playing for Barcelona or Espanyol at the time. Some of these players, such as Andrés Iniesta, César Rodríguez, Francisco Bru, Guillermo Amor and Pepe Reina had lived a large part of their lives in Catalonia due to their football careers.

 Spain
Other countries

Honours

Head-to-head record

As of 25 May 2022
Opponent Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
 Argentina[lower-alpha 2] 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 033.33
 Brazil 4 1 1 2 7 11 −4 025.00
 Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
 Cape Verde 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 100.00
 Chile 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 China 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
 Colombia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00
 Costa Rica 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
 Czechoslovakia 2 1 0 1 3 3 +0 050.00
 Ecuador 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 100.00
 Yugoslavia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 France 2 1 0 1 1 7 −6 050.00
 Honduras 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00
 Jamaica 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 100.00
 Lithuania 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5 100.00
 Nigeria 2 1 1 0 6 1 +5 050.00
 Paraguay 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
 Soviet Union 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
 Spain 4 1 0 3 3 16 −13 025.00
 Tunisia 2 0 2 0 3 3 +0 000.00
 Venezuela 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00
Total (21 opponents) 33 17 7 9 63 55 +8 051.52

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ The Catalonia v Jamaica match, originally scheduled for 30 March 2020 at the Camp d'Esports, Lleida was postponed due to the coronavirus. The match was later rescheduled to 25 May 2022 at the Estadi Montilivi, Girona.
  2. ↑ Including one match against the Argentina Olympic squad in 2008.

References

  1. ↑ Melgar, Blai (25 March 2019). "Sergio García fa història amb la selecció catalana" [Sergio García makes history with the Catalan national team]. El Món (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Catalonia and Basque Country reignite call for independent national football identities". The Telegraph. 30 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  3. ↑ esportcatala.com Archived 10 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Catalonia 0-7 France". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca. 22 February 1912. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Catalonia 0-7 France". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca. 22 February 1912. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Vasconia-Cataluña" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo. 4 January 1915. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Cataluña - Centro (3 - 2) 25/02/1924". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Vicente Martínez Calatrava (17 August 2009). "La Copa Príncipe de Asturias" [The Prince of Asturias Cup] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Squad of Asturias 1925-26 Copa del Príncipe de Asturias". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Spain 7–0 Catalonia". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). MundoDeportivo. 14 March 1924. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Cruyff will coach Catalonia team". BBC News. 2 November 2009.
  12. ↑ "Catalonia defeats Honduras" Archived 2010-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. La Prensa.hn (Honduran national newspaper). 29/12/2010.
  13. ↑ "Catalonia draws with Tunisia". El Periódico de Catalunya (Catalionian newspaper) 31/12/2011.
  14. ↑ "Catalunya empata con Nigeria en la despedida de Cruyff". ElPeriodico.com. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Catalunya jugará contra Cabo Verde el 30 de diciembre". Lavanguardia.com. 15 November 2013.
  16. 1 2 Matt Davis (13 October 2018). "Basque Country: The Spain internationals playing for a different team". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Spanish clubs refuse to release players for Catalonia-Venezuela friendly". The Local. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  18. ↑ "FCF | la convocatòria oficial del Catalunya-Jamaica".
  19. ↑ "FCF | Pere Milla i Ferran Jutglà entren a la convocatòria del Catalunya – Jamaica".
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