September 11 is the National Day of Catalonia (La Diada Nacional in Catalan), which commemorates the events of 1714, and one of the turning points in the War of the Spanish Succession. After holding out for fourteen months, the Siege of Barcelona ended when the Catalan troops were defeated by the armies of Philip V of Spain.

It is traditional for prominent members of Catalan society to lay flowers beneath the monument to Rafael Casanova, who led the ill-fated defence of the city, and to visit the Fossar de les Moreres, the memorial square where the people who died in the 1714 siege lie buried.

Aleña and Samper

Naturally, FC Barcelona is no exception to this rule and like every year president Josep Maria Bartomeu led the club delegation this Tuesday morning, joined by several members of his board, including vice-presidents Jordi Cardoner and Jordi Moix.

The men’s football squad was represented by Carles Aleñá and Sergi Samper, but the women’s team were there too, plus the other sports sections, including Barça Lassa basketball head coach Svetislav Pešić.

Members of the club’s youth teams also joined the group in a proud and well-respected moment for all, as you’ll see in our photo gallery below.