Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably Barcelona.

He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of Barcelona, being the fundamental head behind the foundation of the club in 1899, and then serving as the club's first captain between 1899 and 1903, netting over 100 goals in just 48 matches for Barça, and in 1902, he captained his side to a victory in the Copa Macaya, the club's first title. He then served as its president on five occasions between 1908 and 1925. One of his main achievements was getting the funds for the construction of their own stadium in 1909, the Camp de la Indústria, which is regarded as the main element that helped the club grow in the 1910s. Under Gamper's leadership, Barcelona won eleven Championat de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cup.

Early years

Hans-Max Gamper (his mother's maiden name – Haessig – is generally appended in Spanish sources) was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. He was the eldest son and third of five children born to August Gamper and Rosine Emma Haessig. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was eight and the family moved to Zurich. He became a citizen of the city and in his later youth started to learn his craft as a tradesman in an apprenticeship at the silk trade house Grieder at the centrally located Paradeplatz. As a youngster, Gamper was a keen cyclist and runner. In 1893, 15 years old, he was one of the pacers of Swiss champion Edouard Wicky in a match race competition over 100 km (against Gaston Béguin). Throughout his life he was a lover of all sports and, apart from football, he also played rugby union, tennis and golf. In Switzerland, he was highly regarded as a footballer. His first football club was Excelsior Zürich which was playing in the same colours (red and blue) as later Barcelona. After some members of Excelsior split off to form Turicum Zürich, they reunited with Excelsior in 1896 to form FC Zürich. Gamper was a co-founder and the first captain of the club's history. In the early years of football in Switzerland, it was allowed to play for an indefinite number of teams from other cities as a guest player in friendly games – Gamper is known to have played among others two games for Winterthur and Basel. Hans Gamper representing Zürich was in 1898 holder of the Swiss records over the 800m and 1600m track distances. He also organized the first international athletics competition in Zürich during autumn of the same year. Today, this event is one of the most renowned international athletics events worldwide, the Weltklasse Zürich (organized by FC Zürich spin-off LC Zürich). In 1897, work took him temporarily to Lyon in France, where he played rugby for Athletique Union.

When Gamper, who had already founded clubs in his home country, decided to do the same in his new city, he contacted Jaime Vila, the director of the Tolosa gym, which at the time was the home of a group of football enthusiasts that was also practising the sport in Bonanova. He proposed to him the idea of creating a well-organized football club, but Vila rejected him as he did not want foreigners in its ranks and ended up founding Català in October 1899. This did not discourage him, however, with Gamper now aiming to create an organization that was open to everyone, regardless of their origin. He envisaged a club that served as a means of social integration, in which everyone could speak their mind, and create a democratic society that was freely governed by its members. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November and "Futbol Club Barcelona" was born. The founders included a collection of Swiss, British, and Spanish enthusiasts. In the club's second game, he was the author of Barça's first ever goal, netting twice in a 3–1 win over Català. In the following season, however, he helped Barcelona win the club's first trophy, the Copa Macaya in 1901–02, netting a hat-trick on the final matchday on 23 March 1902 in a 15–0 victory over Català. In the final, however, Barça lost 2–1 to Club Vizcaya. In 1903, he added a new title to his career, the Copa Barcelona, which was later recognized as the fourth edition of the Catalan Championship. On 1 February 1903, Gamper scored nine goals to help Barça to a 13–0 win over X Sporting Club in the Copa Barcelona, thus becoming the first and only player to score three nine-goal hauls in his career at Barça.

Club presidency

In 1908, Gamper became president of Barcelona for the first time. Gamper took over the presidency as the club was on the verge of folding. Several of the club's better players had retired and had not been replaced. This soon began to affect the club's performances both on and off the field. The club had not won anything since the Campionat de Catalunya of 1905 and its finances suffered as a result. He was subsequently club president on five occasions (1908–09, 1910–13, 1917–19, 1921–23 and 1924–25.

Gamper also recruited the legendary player Paulino Alcántara, the club's seventh all-time top-scorer, and in 1917 appointed Jack Greenwell as manager. This saw the club's fortunes begin to improve on the field. During the Gamper era, Barcelona won eleven Championat de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cup and enjoyed its first golden age. As well as Alcántara the Barça team under Greenwell also included Sagibarba, Ricardo Zamora, Josep Samitier, Félix Sesúmaga and Franz Platko.

Gamper's final presidency ended in controversial circumstances and personal tragedy. On 14 June 1925, Barcelona fans jeered the Spanish national anthem and then applauded God Save the King, performed by a visiting British Royal Marine band. The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera accused Gamper of promoting Catalan nationalism. And in fact, as a sign of his gratitude to Catalonia, the country that had welcomed him, Gamper imbued Barcelona with the essence that has come to define it ever since: its commitment to Catalan identity.

His funeral was attended by many people in the city. Players of Barcelona took the coffin to the Cemetery of Montjuïc, where Gamper was buried.

In 2002, Barcelona marked the 100th anniversary of his birth. In 2004, the Winterthur Group, a Swiss insurance company with offices in Barcelona since 1910, became sponsors of the Barcelona basketball team, which led to the team featuring the birthplace of Gamper on their shirts and in their name Winterthur FCB until 2007, after Winterthur Group was purchased by AXA. Perhaps this and the fact that the club developed into a polideportivo, the very personification of Gamper, is the most fitting tribute to this all-round sportsman. Today, Barcelona is "more than just a football club". It promotes amateur track and field sports and has rugby union and cycling teams. All of these were sports played by Gamper. Barça also has professional basketball, handball and roller hockey teams as well as amateur indoor football, women's football, volleyball, baseball and field hockey teams. Over the years, they have even had an ice hockey team.

Honours

Club

FC Barcelona

  • Copa Macaya:
  • Champions: 1901–02
  • Runner-up: 1900–01
  • Copa de la Coronación:
  • Runner-up: 1902
  • Copa Barcelona:
  • Champions: 1902–03

Individual

  • Catalan championship Top Scorer: 1900–01 with 31 goals, 1901–02 with 19 goals and 1902–03 (Copa Barcelona) with 21 goals.

Notes

Further reading

References

  • About Joan Gamper in the FC Barcelona Website