31 March 2010 - He May Have Barcelona DNA, But His Heart Was All Arsenal

On 31 March 2010, Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas scored the equalizing goal against Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinal. And he did it with a broken leg.

Fàbregas, who joined Arsenal in 2003 after five years at Barcelona's youth academy, had been the subject of longstanding transfer rumors linking him with a return to his former club, adding a lot of spice to the match-up.

Barcelona, as the reigning champions, were heavy favorites, but the Gunners managed to hold them to a scoreless draw until the break. Less than one minute after the restart, however, a long pass went over the Arsenal backline to a racing Zlatan Ibrahimović, who beat keeper Manuel Almunia with a lobbed ball to the far post. He then doubled the lead in the 59th minute, after another overhead ball left him one-on-one with Almunia. But Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott narrowed the gap ten minutes later with a precise finish.

As Arsenal pushed forward for an equalizer, Barça's Carles Puyol fouled Fàbregas in the box in the 85th minute. Fàbregas stepped up to the spot and converted the ensuing penalty, then immediately afterward started limping. It appeared that he pulled a muscle, but scans later revealed that Puyol's foul had resulted in a small fracture in his right fibula.

The injury forced Fàbregas to miss the return leg, which Barcelona won 4-1. He remained with Arsenal for one more season, then transferred to Barça in August 2011 for £29 million.


Arsenal vs Barcelona 2-2 31/03/2010 Highlights by

25 February 1912 - Every Tradition Starts Somewhere (Even Barcelona's)

On 25 February 1912, 15-year old Paulino Alcántara set three club records when he scored a hat-trick for Barcelona on his debut. He eventually set a fourth as Barça's all-time leading goalscorer.

In a club renowned for its youth academy, Alcántara set the standard. Born in Iloilo City in the Philippines in 1896, the striker began his youth career in Spain with FC Galeno before joining Barcelona in 1912. He was just 15 years, 14 months, and 8 days old when he made his first appearance--against Català in the Catalonian Championship--making him the youngest player to debut with the Barcelona first team. Not content to settle for that record, he also contributed three goals in the 9-0 win, making him the club's youngest goalscorer and youngest player to net a hat-trick.

Apart from a brief break from 1916 to 1918 when he returned to the Philippines, Alcántara remained with Barcelona until his retirement in 1927. During that period, he won five Copa del Rey titles and ten Catalonian Championships (he also won two league titles with Bohemian while in the Philippines). He finished his Barça career with a record total of 357 goals in 357 games.

He became a doctor after his retirement, but went on to become a coach (he briefly managed the Spanish national team), then returned to Barcelona as a member of the club's board of directors.

14 February 2010 - No Love For The League Leaders

On 14 February 2010, Atlético Madrid did something no other La Liga team was able to do that season--beat Barcelona.

It was a result few could have anticipated. Barcelona were at the top of the league table, unbeaten on the season, while Atlético were in thirteenth, just six points above the relegation zone. When the two teams met earlier in the season at Camp Nou, Barça cruised to a 5-2 victory.

But after only eight minutes in Madrid, striker Diego Forlán (pictured) put the hosts up 1-0 after picking up a pass from José Antonio Reyes and putting it past Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. Fifteen minutes later, Atlético doubled their lead with a free kick from Simão, taken at the edge of the box.

Despite going down 2-0, Barcelona quickly regained their composure, getting a 27th-minute goal from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Later, the Swede had two opportunties for an equalizer, but was twice denied by keeper David de Gea. The young Spanish keeper also stopped a shot by Lionel Messi near the break.

Barcelona's momentum had been rising at the end of the first half, but they could not maintain it in the second and the match ended 2-1. As consolation, it was their only loss of the season which ended with the league title. Atlético, meanwhile, improved their own fortunes and finished the season in eighth place.

18 January 1971 - He Truly Does Have Barcelona DNA

On 18 January 1971, former Barcelona player and current manager Pep Guardiola was born in the Catelonian town of Santpedor.

Guardiola first joined Barcelona in 1983 as a 12-year old member of their famed La Masia youth academy. He signed a professional contract with the club in 1990 and, later that year, then-manager Johan Cruyff called him up to the first team. Playing a central role as a defensive midfielder, Guardiola proceeded to collect a number of honors, including six league titles between 1991 and 1999 and the 1992 European Cup.

In 2001, the 30-year old left Spain and spent time playing for Brescia (2001-02, 2003), Roma (2002-03), Al-Ahli (2003-05), and Dorados (2005-06). Upon his retirement in 2006, he took a year off, then returned to Barcelona in 2007 as manager of the club's B team. After only one season, the club promoted him to manager of the first team, replacing the departing Frank Rijkaard.

As manager, Guardiola emphasized the possession-based total football concept promoted by his own former manager, Cruyff. It paid immediate dividends, as Barcelona won the league in Guardiola's first season back, then proceeded to win the next two. Now in his fourth season in charge, he has won a record total of 13 trophies, including two Champions League titles and two Club World Cups. Most recently, he collected a personal highlight, winning the 2011 Ballon d'Or for Best Coach.

17 December 2006 - The Only Stat That Matters

On 17 December 2006, Barcelona dominated Internacional in the Club World Cup Final in all statistical categories but one--the score.

Playing before a crowd of 62,128 at Yokohama's International Stadium, Barcelona had better possession than the Brazilians (57% to 43%) and also outshot them 17 to 10. Meanwhile, Internacional played a cynical game, delivering more than twice as many fouls (25) as they received (10).

Only two of Internacional's shots were on goal, but it was the last one that counted. Substitute forward Luiz Adriano corralled a long pass near the midfield stripe and maneuvered around defender Carles Puyol to slide a pass toward his fellow substitute, Adriano Gabiru. Defender Rafael Márquez stepped up to challenge him, but slipped, leaving the striker one-on-one against goalkeeper Victor Valdés. Valdés did well to get a hand on Adriano Gabiru's shot, but the ball still ended up in the net for the game's only goal.

Barcelona eventually won the competition in 2009 and are preparing to face another Brazilian club, Santos, for a shot at another.

15 December 1952 - The Prince Of Denmark

On this day in 1952, Danish international striker Allan Simonsen was born in Vejle. He went on to become the first player to score in all three of the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals, and was the first Danish player to be named European Footballer of the Year.

He started his professional career in 1971 with his hometown club, Vejle BK, where he helped the club to the Danish league title in his first season. They repeated as champions in 1972, complemented with a victorious Danish Cup campaign. Simonsen's play drew the attention of defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Mönchengladbach, who signed him later that year.

Although it took his a while to acclimate to his new German surroundings, he ultimately became a key player for his new club, scoring 76 goals in 178 league appearances between 1972 and 1979. Along the way, he won three Bundesliga titles (1975, 1976, 1977), two UEFA Cups (1975, 1979), and one German Cup (1973). They also reached the final of the European Cup in 1977, but lost 3-1 to Liverpool, with Simonsen scored the Germans' lone goal. His performance in that 1976-77 season made him the 1977 European Footballer of the Year.

In 1979, after scoring the winning goal in that year's UEFA Cup Final, he moved to Barcelona. In three seasons there, he added the Copa del Rey (1981) to his silverware collection, then scored another match-winning goal in European competition to beat Standard Liège in the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup.

After a short time with Charlton Athletic (1982-83), Simonsen finished his playing career back in Vejle, winning yet another Danish league title in 1984 before retiring in 1989. He has since moved into management with Vejle (1991-94), the Faroe Islands (1994-2001), and Luxembourg (2001-04), and is currently the general manager for Danish club FC Fredericia.

13 December 2008 - When The Paradigm Shifted In Spain

On 13 December 2008, Barcelona won their first Clásico in almost three years, beating Real Madrid 2-0.

It is difficult to picture at the moment, with Barça having just won their eighth match against their Madrid rivals in twelve tries across all competitions (the lone loss came in the 2011 Copa del Rey Final), but there was a time not too distant in which Real Madrid were the dominant team. Since suffering a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on 19 November 2005, the Merengues rattled off a five-match unbeaten streak that included three wins and two draws, all in the league.

The last match of that run was the worst for Barcelona as, on 5 May 2008, Real Madrid won 4-1 at the Bernabéu with goals from Raúl (12'), Arjen Robben (20'), Gonzalo Higuaín (62'), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (77') (Barcelona's lone goal was an 86th-minute consolation strike from Thierry Henry). It was the final nail in the coffin for Barça manager Frank Rijkaard, as the club announced shortly afterward that he would be replaced at the end of the season by youth team coach Pep Guardiola. Real Madrid, meanwhile, went on to claim their second consecutive La Liga title

Guardiola duly took over the following month and immediately began to reshape the team by offloading a number of players, including two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho. After an opening day loss to Numancia, Guardiola's Barcelona went unbeaten in their next thirteen league matches, with eleven wins and two draws. They were at the top of the table on 13 December when they hosted Real Madrid for Guardiola's first Clásico as manager. It was close until the last few minutes, when goals from Samuel Eto'o (83') and Lionel Messi (90') delivered a 2-0 victory.

Since then, Barcelona have extended their unbeaten streak against Madrid to seven league matches, with six wins and one draw. They've also gone undefeated against their rivals in the Champions League and the Supercopa de España, with a win and a draw in each of those competitions.



Photo credit to Albert Olive/EPA.

6 December 2010 - Just Another Step In Their Plan For World Domination

On 6 December 2010, FIFA and France Football magazine announced the three finalists for the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or. And all three were from FC Barcelona.

The award was a combination of France Football's Ballon d'Or, started in 1956, and FIFA's World Player of the Year award, which began in 1991. In 2010, the two organizations agreed to merge their awards, calling the new honor the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

They announced their shortlist of 23 players on 27 October, then culled the list to the top three vote-getters on 6 December. The three were Barcelona's Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Lionel Messi, who had won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2009. Although Barcelona had won La Liga in 2010, the inclusion of Xavi and Iniesta was due in part to their World Cup-winning run with Spain the previous summer. But Messi went on to win the award when it was announced in January 2011.

It was not the first time that a single club took the top three spots in Ballon d'Or voting: AC Milan did it in 1988, when Marco van Basten beat out Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, then again in 1989, when van Basten won it again, that time over Rijkaard and Franco Baresi.

30 November 1983 - Bilbao Bagged By Barça

On 30 November 1983, Barcelona won their first Supercopa de España, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-2 on aggregate. They have since gone on to become the competition's most successful club.

It was only the second Supercopa, which pits the previous season's Copa del Rey winner against the reigning La Liga title holder. But a similar competition, the Copa Eva Duarte, was played from 1947 to 1953m which Barcelona won three times, the most for any club (no other club won it more than once).

Bilbao had won the league the previous season, including two defeats of Barcelona along the way, while Barcelona had taken the honors in the Copa del Rey over Real Madrid. The two teams met Bilbao's Estadio San Mamés on 26 October for the first leg of the Supercopa, with Barcelona claiming a 1-3 victory.

In the second leg, played before a crowd of 18,000 at the Camp Nou, Bilbao forward Endika (pictured) scored in just the 2nd minute to set the stage for a comeback, but it proved to be the only goal of the match as the two defenses held firm and Barcelona took the silverware with an aggregate score of 3-2.

Barça have since won the Supercopa a total of 10 times, most recently in 2011, to become the competion's most successful club. Bilbao, meanwhile, went on to win a league and Copa del Rey double in 1984, making them that year's automatic Supercopa champions. Unfortunately for them, however, that remains their last major trophy.

29 September 1988 - Real Madrid Complete Their Trophy Bingo Card

On 29 September 1988, Real Madrid won their first Supercopa de España, despite losing to Barcelona 2-1.

It was the last major domestic trophy that Real had yet to win (though they did win the tournament's predecessor, the Copa Eva Duarte, in 1947). When the Supercopa started in 1982, Real Madrid, as Copa del Rey winners, played La Liga champions Real Sociedad, but lost 1-4 on aggregate. When Real Madrid next qualified by winning the league in 1986 and 1987, the competition was not held in either year.

In 1988, they won the league for a third straight time, setting up a Supercopa meeting against Copa del Rey champions Barcelona. They got off to a great start, winning the first leg 2-0 at the Bernabéu with late goals from Míchel (71') and Hugo Sánchez (78'). That carried over into the second leg on 29 September, played at Camp Nou, when striker Emilio Butragueño put them up 0-1 in the 14th minute.

That proved to be the decisive goal, as Barcelona midfielder José Mari Bakero netted a brace (37', 77') to bring the aggregate score to 3-2. That's how it ended, with Madrid taking the honors.

Since then, they've gone on to win it a total of eight times, including 1989, when they won it automatically as winners of both the Copa del Rey and the league.

30 August 1994 - Zaragoza Got Close, But Barça Got The Cigar

On 30 August 1994, Barcelona won their fourth Supercopa de España, beating Real Zaragoza 6-5 over two legs.



Barça won the first leg at Zaragoza by the comfortable margin of 0-2. The second leg, though, was a much tighter affair. Playing before a crowd of 70,000 at Camp Nou, Zaragoza took an early lead with a 10th-minute goal from defender Alberto Belsué, who blasted the ball right over Barcelona keeper Carles Busquets (father of current Barcelona player Sergio Busquets). Neither keeper looked very impressive, as Zaragoza's Andoni Cedrún misplayed a ball three minutes later to concede a goal from Barcelona winger Txiki Begiristain.



Things got worse for Busquets as Zaragoza evened the aggregate score at 3-3 before the break with goals from striker Juan Esnáider (32') and Francisco Higuera (33'). But Barcelona pulled ahead in the second half with a brace from striker Hristo Stoichkov (pictured) (50', 69').



Higuera scored again in the 77th minute after Busquets misplayed another ball and left him with an open goal, but Cedrún committed a similar error at the other end, allowig Txiki an uncontested strike in the 87th minute. Higuera completed his hat-trick two minutes later to win the second leg 4-5, but it was small consolation as Barça took the trophy.



It was the eleventh trophy for Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff, a record haul that was surpassed only recently by Pep Guardiola, who appeared as a substitute in that match. Guardiola's twelfth trophy came in August 2011 when Barça beat Porto in the UEFA Super Cup.

27 August 1977 - Deco Is Delivered

On 27 August 1977, Anderson Luís de Souza, better known as Deco, was born in São Bernando do Campo, Brazil. A star for Porto, Barcelona, Chelsea, and the Portuguese national team, the midfielder was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2003-04 season.



He started his professional career in 1996 with Brazilian club Corinthians, but did not stay long, moving to Portugal in 1997. He signed with Benfica, but went out on loan immediately to Alverca (1997-98) and Salgueiros (1998-99) before finally settling with Porto in 1999. He stayed there for five a half seasons, winning three league titles (1999, 2003, 2004), three Portuguese Cups (2000, 2001, 2003), the 2003 UEFA Cup, and the 2004 Champions League.



His time in Portugal led him to become a citizen and play for the Portuguese national team after he was not selected for Brazil. He went on to make 75 appearances for Portugal between 2003 and 2010.



When Porto manager José Mourinho left for Chelsea in 2004, Deco was rumored to follow him, but instead signed a four-year deal with Barcelona. There, he continued his winning ways, adding two La Liga titles (2005, 2006) and another Champions League trophy to his silverware collection.



In 2008, he finally moved to Chelsea to play for new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. Although the club was successful, winning two FA Cups (2009, 2010) and the Premier League (2010), Deco was unsettled and unhappy in London. In 2010, he moved back to Brazil to play for his current club, Fluminense.

6 August 1936 - The Death of Josep Sunyol

On 6 August 1936, FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol was captured and executed by fascist troops. His death remains a grim reminder of Catalonia's oppression under the Franco regime.

Born in 1898, Sunyol first became involved with Barça in 1926 and was elected to the Board of Directors two years later. During that time, he was also active as a left-wing politician and journalist, using his newspaper La Rambla and his position in the Spanish legislature to oppose the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.

He was elected president of FC Barcelona in 1935. When the Spanish Civil War broke out soon afterward, both the club and the Catalan region were targeted by the right-wing nationalists as symbols of republican resistance. In August 1936, only one month into the conflict, Sunyol set out from Barcelona for a meeting with fellow republicans in Madrid. But as he passed through a Franco-held region in the Sierra de Guadarrama north of the Spanish capital, he was recognized by nationalist troops who apprehended him, then executed him. The nationalists' anti-Catalonian sentiments ran so deep that they ordered the name on Sunyol's gravestone to be spelled in the Castilian style as "Josep Suñol."

Sunyol's death was only a small part of the abuses the city and club of Barcelona suffered under Franco, but he is remembered as a martyr to the Catalan cause.

20 May 1992 - The Iceman Koeman

On 20 May 1992, Barcelona won their first European Cup, beating Sampdoria with an extra-time free kick from center back Ronald Koeman.

Koeman had won the Cup before with his previous club, PSV, beating Benfica on penalties in 1988 after holding them scoreless through extra time. Koeman himself had converted PSV's opening kick in the shootout. (And Barcelona's road to the 1992 Final included a draw and a win against Benfica in the third-round group stage.)

In the Final, Barcelona met Sampdoria who were looking to salvage a disappointing season. After winning Serie A in 1991, they had slumped to sixth place in 1992 and would not be returning to European competition the next season. Barcelona, meanwhile, were in the process of claiming their second consecutive league title under manager Johan Cruyff, who himself had won three European Cups as a player with Ajax.

Playing before a crowd of 70,827 at Wembley, the match was closer than anyone expected. Scoreless deep into extra time, Koeman's opportunity came in the 111th minute as Sampdoria substitute Giovanni Invernizzi fouled Barcelona winger Eusebio Sacristán just outside the box. Koeman converted the ensuing kick, blasting the ball past the keeper. Although he had contributed 16 league goals that season, the one in the Final was his first in 11 appearances in the tournament.

Barcelona proceeded to win the tournament twice more (2006, 2009) and are currently preparing to return to Wembley next week to make another appearance in the Final against Manchester United.

16 May 1979 - When The Scoring Came In Waves

On 16 May 1979, Barcelona and Düsseldorf needed extra time to decide the Cup Winners' Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland.

Playing before a crowd of 58,000 at the St. Jakob Stadium, the teams exchanged a pair of quick goals from Barcelona midfielder José Vicente Sánchez (5') and Düsseldorf striker Thomas Allofs (8'). Another pair of goals followed before the break, as Barcelona reclaimed the lead (Juan Manuel Asensi 34') and Düsseldorf again equalized (Wolfgang Seel 41'). Then the scoring dried up for a while.

After a scoreless second half, they went into extra time, where the goals began to flow once more. Barcelona forward Carles Rexach put his side ahead once more in the 104th minute, then his fellow forward Hans Krankl (pictured)--who had finished second in voting for the 1978 Ballon d'Or--extended the lead seven minutes later. Seel scored once again for Düsseldorf in the 114th minute, but the Germans could not find another equalizer and the match ended as a 4-3 win for Barcelona.

It was the first and only appearance in the Final for Düsseldorf. Barcelona, who finished as runners-up in 1969, returned to the Final four more times, winning it in 1982, 1989, and 1997.

1 May 2002 - The Clasico Is Not Always A Classic

On 1 May 2002, Real Madrid and Barcelona met in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal match-up. The game ended as a 1-1 draw, which was enough to see Madrid through to claim their ninth European Cup/Champions League trophy.

The fierce rivals had faced off twice before in the competition, with Madrid winning both legs of their semifinal meeting in the spring of 1960 and going on to win the Final. The next fall, it was Barcelona who advanced, winning 4-3 on aggregate in the first round en route to the Final, which they lost to Benfica.

By May of 2002, they had already played each other three times. Madrid won twice, including a 2-0 victory in the semifinal's first leg (the other match was a 1-1 draw in the league). Playing before a crowd of 75,000 at the Bernabéu, Barcelona pressed for the needed goals, but it was Madrid who took the lead with a left-footed shot from Raúl in the 43rd minute.

Barça were finally rewarded in the 48th minute when Madrid defender Iván Helguera deflected a cross into his own net. The visitors continued to press for chances, but wasted them as shots from Javier Saviola, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique, and Geovanni all shot wide.

The match ended 1-1 and Madrid went on to the Final in Glasgow where they beat Bayer Leverkusen, 1-2.

20 April 2010 - The Third Time's The Charm For Inter

On 20 April 2010, Inter Milan scored against Barcelona for the first time in three matches that season, winning 3-1 in the opening leg of their semi-final match-up en route to winning the trophy.

The two teams met twice in the group stage, with the first match ending as a scoreless draw in Milan and the second as a 2-0 Barcelona victory at Camp Nou. Barcelona won the group, then advanced to the semi-finals over Stuttgart and Arsenal. Inter's path, meanwhile, went over manager José Mourinho's former club Chelsea and CSKA Moscow.

Playing before a crowd of 83,000 at the San Siro, Barcelona jumped to a first-half lead with a 19th-minute goal from Pedro, but Real Madrid cast-off Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 30th minute. Then, while playing a tenacious defensive game that stymied Barça playmaker Lionel Messi, Inter pushed ahead in the 48th minute--taking the ball from Messi and sending it up the pitch to Diego Milito, who then fed it to right back Maicon (pictured) to slot home.

Milito provided the day's final goal, knocking home Sneijder's misplaced header in the 61st minute. Barcelona poured forward, but Inter keeper Julio Cesar repeatedly denied their attempts on goal to secure the 3-1 victory.

Barça won the second leg 1-0, but Inter advanced by the aggregate score of 3-2 and went on to win their first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.

13 April 1978 - Carles, The King Of Spain

On 13 April 1978, Barcelona captain and World Cup winner Carles Puyol was born in La Pobla de Segur.

After starting his career with his hometown team, Puyol joined the Barcelona youth team in 1995 and has remained with the club ever since, earning promotion to the first team in 1997 under manager Louis van Gaal. When Puyol was 19, van Gaal encouraged him to get a haircut, but Puyol declined and his long curly hair has become a trademark.

Primarily used as a center back, Puyol currently has over 500 appearances for Barça and has captained the team since 2004. Under his leadership, they have won four league titles, two Champions League trophies, and one FIFA World Club Cup.

In 2000, he made his first appearance for Spain and was a key member of their victories campaigns in Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. In the latter, he scored a rare goal to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Germany in the semi-finals, then helped hold the Netherlands scoreless as Spain won 0-1 in extra time.

16 March 1938 - The Bombing Of Barcelona

On 16 March 1938, a bomb struck the offices of FC Barcelona during a raid by Italy's Legionary Air Force.

The LAF conducted the bombing to aid Francisco Franco, whose Nationalist forces were seeking to subjugate Spain. The semi-autonomous region of Catalonia was one of the last areas in Spain to resist Franco, whose allies included Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Both Germany and Italy provided men and equipment to Franco, including the LAF who were specifically tasked to provide air support in Spain.

A few months after the raid, Catalonia fell to the Nationalist forces, who then sought to eradicate the symbols of Catalonian independence. Barça were forced to remove the Catalonian flag from their crest and also had to change their name from the English "Football Club Barcelona" to the Spanish "Club de Fútbol Barcelona." Supporters continued to sing songs in Catalan, however, and cheer against Franco's favored Real Madrid, so the club soon became itself a symbol of anti-Nationalist sentiment.

In 1974, after Franco's declining health forced him to step down as head of state, Barça restored the Catalan flag to their crest and took the name Futbol Club Barcelona.

8 March 1949 - The Coming Of Hugo

On 8 March 1949, Barcelona star and 1975 Copa America hero Hugo Sotil was born in Ica, Peru. A striker and attacking midfielder, Sotil's skill on the ball has been compared to that of George Best. Unfortunately, the comparisons don't stop there, as drinking problems led to his premature decline.

Sotil made his professional debut in 1968 with CD Municipal, where he scored 49 goals in five seasons. In 1973, he moved to Barcelona and, alongside Johann Cruyff, he helped them win the league in his first season--Barça's first league title in 14 years. His problems with alcohol surfaced in his second season and he temporarily lost his starting position to newcomer Johann Neeskens, though he reclaimed it during the 1975-76 season.

He earned 62 caps for Peru during his career, but the most significant one was the 1975 Copa America final against Colombia. Barcelona did not allow him to participate in the preliminary matches, so he flew to Caracas for the final, heading directly to the stadium from the airport and arriving there as his teammates were already warming up. Despite the lack of preparation, he scored the match's only goal in the 25th minute to give Peru the 1-0 victory.

Sotil returned to Peru in 1977 to play for Alianza Lima, winning the league in his only two seasons there. He spent two seasons with Independiente Medellín, two with CD Municipal, and one with Espartanos FC before retiring in 1984 at the age of 35.