Joan Segarra

Joan Segarra Iracheta (15 November 1927 – 3 September 2008) was a Spanish footballer, captain of the "Barça of the Five Trophies", one of the best teams that FC Barcelona have had in their history. He played in the first team as a defender for 16 seasons for the club, between 1950 and 1964, in which he played 299 matches in La Liga.

Contents

• Reportatge de el9nou sobre l homenatge de taradell a l hist ric jugador del bar a joan segarra
• Homenatge a Joan Segarra wwwtaradellcom
• Honours
• References

He is ranked fifth among all players, by number of starts, in the history of FC Barcelona.

Segarra was renowned for his nobility and grace when playing on the field, which won him the admiration of fans all over the world. His charisma earned him the nickname of "the Great Captain". He was a true gentleman on the pitch, and his noble attitude earned the respect of the most bitter of opponents. He was a predecessor of the "total footballer", which would later be epitomized by Johan Cruyff (who was, not coincidentally, a great admirer of Segarra), but was played mostly at left- and center-back. He was brave and totally dedicated to the team, never ceasing to yell encouragement to his team when they were down and pushing them when they were ahead. He was an excellent marker who was rock-solid. Though he was a defender, he was a courageous player who would push forward and had a stunning shot; he scored several decisive goals. However, he missed what was perhaps his best opportunity to show his skills to the continent during the 1960–61 European Cup final, when Barça lost to S.L. Benfica 3-2; Segarra was sidelined with an eye injury.

After retirement, he stayed on as a youth team coach, eventually becoming first team assistant coach to Helenio Herrera.

Honours

FC Barcelona

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1955–58, 1958–60

Latin Cup: 1952

Spanish League: 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60

Spanish Cup: 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1962–63

Eva Duarte Cup: 1952, 1953