World premiere on December 28 of the documentary series ‘FC Barcelona, A New Era’ on Prime Video
This Wednesday 28 December Prime Video is premiering ‘FC Barcelona, A New Era’, a documentary series featuring five 30-minute episodes offering an inside view of goings-on at the club in the last two years. The first episode only is also being screened on the OTT service Barça TV+, and DTT Barça TV at 8.15pm CET.
This is happening a week after a special private screening in the Auditori 1899 at Spotify Camp Nou that was attended by president Joan Laporta together with members of his board, first team coach Xavi Hernández and several of the players.
Produced by Barça Studios, the series takes a fly-on-wall look at the last two years at the club seen from the perspective of the first team. The narrative begins when, still at the height of the pandemic, Barça suffered a resounding 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It closes with the 2022/23 pre-season and the signing of new players, led by Robert Lewandowski.
Historic moments
On 14 August 2020, the end of an extraordinary era that began in 2004 was certified. That turning point at the club would culminate a few months later with the presidential elections won by Joan Laporta and his current Board of Directors, who opted for a new executive structure with Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff at the helm, and, ultimately, the recruitment of Xavi Hernández as coach.
The series includes a look behind the scenes at such moments as Quique Setién's time in charge, Luis Suárez's departure, Leo Messi's estrangement from the previous board, the Argentinian's last season at the club, the arrival of Laporta, Messi's emotional farewell, the end of Ronald Koeman's era and how Xavi was signed as Barça's new coach.
As the documentary series shows, the new manager was a crucial factor for getting the team back into contention in La Liga and rebuilding the squad, bringing in young, rising talent and making some key signings in the January 2022 winter market in the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres, Dani Alves and Adama Traoré.
The series ends with the new injection of morale when the club signed players of the calibre of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Marcos Alonso, Héctor Bellerín and Pablo Torre, as well as Xavi's insistence that Ousmane Dembélé should stay.
The production features the players and staff, but especially the current coach and his team-talks, such as the one on the day of his debut in the Liga derby against Espanyol or before the victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. But it also offers special moments experienced by some of the players who shone brightly themselves, such as Pedri, winner of the Kopa and Golden Boy awards; Ansu Fati, who went through a difficult recovery from injury before making a spectacular comeback, and Gavi, who quickly leapt from the youth team to a dazzling breakthrough at senior level.
President Joan Laporta and the club's economic recovery also feature prominently, including their part in the construction of a new-look Barça that has fostered renewed optimism among the fans and has ensured that the Spotify Camp Nou is once again filling to capacity.