It is 21 years since Ronaldinho made his European debut at the Camp Nou, in which Barça achieved its biggest win in history: 8-0 with a hat trick by the Brazilian against Puchov
BARCELONA — Barcelona has broken with the past through the signing of Hansi Flick in the same way that 21 years ago, in the summer of 2003, it did so with the first electoral victory of the then young lawyer Joan Laporta, who sponsored by Johan Cruyff opted for Frank Rijkaard on the bench… And Ronaldinho from Asis as a star signing. There began a new Barça, which on October 15, 2003 enjoyed its first epic night in Europe.
The first continental night of that new Barça and that Ronaldinho who six weeks before, on September 3, had appeared at the Camp Nou with an unforgettable goal against Sevilla in LaLiga and who since then, and without discussion, , became the emblem of a team called into history.
Barça received the Slovakian Puchov in the second leg of the first round of the old UEFA Cup, after drawing (1-1) in Trnava the first leg and being the first match in the stadium after a 0-1 defeat against Valencia which, being the first official defeat of the course, motivated the first doubts around the team…
Ronaldinho celebrates after scoring against Puchov on October 15, 2003. Getty Images
But there the magic of Ronaldinho appeared and that first continental match at the Camp Nou led to the biggest win in history in continental competition, an 8-0 in which the Brazilian was the star protagonist, scoring a hat-trick, the first that he achieved as a Barcelona player.
The European route of that Barça, in the UEFA Cup, ended prematurely, abruptly in the round of 16 when they were eliminated by Celtic in March 2004, when the club began to especially pamper Leo Messi. that on November 16, 2003, a month and a day after the defeat of Puchov, he would make his debut in the friendly match in Porto…
Editorial Selections
2 Related
One year and one day before October 16, 2004, when Leo made his official debut in Montjuïc and against Espanyol. Until discovering the emergence of the Argentine star, and during its early days, Barça breathed through Ronaldinho, the team’s surfing smile, the contagious joy in a club in need of recovering optimism and that through that win began to discover a better present and future.
That 8-0, which is 21 years old, remains Barça’s highest result in European competition. In the Champions League, the biggest win was a 7-0 win over Celtic in 2016 and a 7-1 win over Aris Bonnevoie of Luxembourg in 1979 was the biggest win in the defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.
