Ibrahim Afellay, the nineteenth Barcelona's Dutch player

The PSV Eindhoven midfielder Ibrahim Afellay will become the next January in the nineteenth Dutch player who will defend the jersey of Barcelona, the club he began his relationship with football in the Netherlands in 1972 with the hiring of Rinus Michels as coach Barça

The arrival of Michels entailed the signing, the 1973-74 season, Johan Cruyff, who was then Ajax star and became the first player 'oranje' to play at Barca.'s March to Gio van Bronckhorst Feyenoord at the end of the 2006-07 season and end the cycle of Frank Rijkaard Barca the following year left the Dutch orphan Barcelona. Between the arrival of Cruyff and Gio's farewell, the Nou Camp has enjoyed another sixteen players from the Netherlands. As of January may do one more, Afellay, the nineteenth member of this large club. The position and touch football that has often characterized the Catalan has found a source of aspiration Dutch for many years, that has brought titles.


With Cruyff started a relationship between the club and the Netherlands which brought the League of 1973-74 (of the 0-5 in the Bernabeu) and was maintained with Johan Neeskens-Rijkaard-second later and the Cup Winners' Cup Basel 1978. With the end of the eighties, precisely Cruyff become Rijkaard came the time of the "Dream Team 'with Ronald Koeman as one of the cornerstones of that team. With him came four consecutive league titles and European Cup at Wembley, among other titles. At the team also participated Richard Witschge and, later times, the son of Johan, Jordi Cruyff, born in Barcelona but for Holland and contributed to increase the payroll 'oranje' until he left the organization in 1996. With the arrival of Bobby Robson technician in the campaign 1996-97, the club turned to run out of Dutch, a fact which was resolved when Louis van Gaal moved into the Barca bench. The 'Bosman' opened the market and the arrival of Dutch, mostly from the Ajax-to late nineties was significant. Michael Reiziger, Winston Bogarde, Patrick Kluivert and brothers Ronald and Frank De Boer landed at the Camp Nou in the first leg of Van Gaal and Marc Overmars, the most expensive signing in club history, come later. From here, input 'oranje' has been more timely. The latest to arrive came with Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Mark Van Bommel and Gio van Bronckhorst. After three seasons and average of 1,283 days without Dutch, the signing of Ibrahim Afellay picks up the story.