15 years since victory in Paris

For some fans it was the first time. For those old enough to remember the fantastic night of Wembley 1992 it was the second. But it had been a long for 14-year wait for it to happen again. But what a night it was! On 17 May 2006, in París, Barça won the European Cup, now called the Champions League, for the second time. 

Saint-Denis was the venue for the win, a comeback included, as goals from Eto’o after 71 minutes and Belletti after 81 cancelled out Campbell’s opener, and celebration ensued in the Barça end of the stadium and across the streets of Catalonia. 

A new era

Barça had also won the league that season, and those two victories heralded in a new era. The team would go on to win the trophy three more times, (Rome 2009, London 2011 and Berlin 2015), four times in eleven years, and also reach the semi-finals four times.

Playing the version 2.0 of that magnificent style of football created under Johan Cruyff and that had earned the moniker of the Dream Team, Barça were regarded far and wide as the greatest team, and by extension, club on the planet. And 2006 was the year it all started. We’ll always have Paris!