Inter hopes to sign Guardiola after elections

Italian newspaper La Repubblica claims that Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is the number one candidate to replace José Mourinho as coach of Inter Milan. The Italian club would be postponing the decision on their new manager until after the presidential elections at Barcelona.

Because of a supposed total lack of feeling between presidential candidate Sandro Rosell and Guardiola, Inter reportedly think they have a chance to sign the Catalan coach if Rosell is elected as new president on Sunday 13 June.

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Guardiola wants to meet with the new president on 14 June to learn first hand about the future of the sports area, among other things about who could become the new sports director. Guardiola would continue next season and the signing of a new contract isn't considered to be a problem.

Read more:
Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years
Poll result: Would Guardiola be a good president?
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"

Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years

Asked about the future of Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola, Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has said in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that he would want Guardiola to stay for the full length of his mandate:

"If I'm elected as president, I would like to sign Guardiola for many years because the stability regarding the coach also gives stability to the club, as well as economic stability. Because a new coach always asks to sign several players and wants some others out which has a negative effect on the finances of the club.

I would like it a lot if he would be in charge for the next six years and that will in fact be the first thing that we will propose to him. Starting from there, you will need to sit down and talk since you should know how the other party sees it, what his demands are and how motivated he is to start a period of six years. But whatever the outcome is, I don't have any doubt we will reach very quickly a deal with Pep."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo had earlier said that Rosell would offer Guardiola a contract for the total period of the president's term in office, that would bind Barcelona for six years but that would give Guardiola the chance to renew his stay at the club year by year.

Read more:
The program of Sandro Rosell
Guardiola will sign renewal after elections
Rosell leading in university poll

Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"

Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan newspaper El Periódico.


All what has happened in the board is the main ballast of your candidacy?
I think it is the only ballast because, as for the rest, it has been proven that the club is working well with this sports and economic model we have developed and followed. Although they might be designed with good intentions, we do not know how things will go with alternative models. The only thing they can reproach us is what happened in the board. When in a group, people think and give their opinion there are debates, discussions and possible conflicts.

Godall has criticized you and announced a pact between you and Rosell because of political interests.
I do not know where he got the pact with Rosell, he must have been dreaming. It is impossible, because of the people in our teams and because both candidacies are already formed. If we wanted to make a pact, we would already have had time for it since 23 December.

Soriano could have a place in your candidacy?
I'm open for someone like Soriano to work together us. I have talked with him and he knows we would accept him. The doors are open for him, as for all those Barcelona fans who want to work for the good of the club. I want to end the divisions.

So Laporta is giving you the freedom to decide?
That should be very clear. The president does not want a puppet either. He knows that his term ends on 30 June and that the candidacy we announced on 23 December is led by me, and Laporta won't have anything to do nor will he intervene. I have been part of all the good and the bad things that happened over the past seven years. Of everything. Very good things have been done and that is our project for the future, but with the style of Jaume Ferrer.

Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable?
For me, yes. We know that Txiki wants to quit but we will try to convince him to stay. With Guardiola we have spoken more than once, we are part of the same club, but you have to let him do his job now because he is focused on the competitions and on preparing the players.

The continuity of Guardiola seems to be guaranteed with this board while it could be put in question when someone else comes to power.
He already knows how we work, he feels comfortable and that is a guarantee for his continuity.

The issue of the delegate commission stays the same after having left upon a decision of Laporta?
The statutes say it should be formed by the president, a vice-president, the secretary and the treasurer. And that is the case for over a month now. I don't want to re-enter, I shouldn't have more rights than other candidates and know more about the day-to-day of the club.

this was the second and last part of this interview. you can read the first part here.

Read more:
Ferrer invites Godall and Sala to join him
Cartoon: With dramatic affect
Ferrer: "I know how do this"

interview: david torras and joan domènech

The Quote: Josep Guardiola

"As long as we are competing for the league and the Champions League, there will be little electoral upset. It depends on us."


Josep Guardiola,
Barcelona manager

read more election quotes here

Poll result: Guardiola deal affects next president?

Do you think that the renewal agreement between Laporta and Guardiola limits the next president?

No 63%
Yes 37%

total votes: 4362
start date poll: 20 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: sport

Lillo looking back at 2003 election campaign

In an interview with Catalan newspaper El Periódico, Almería manager Juan Manuel Lillo talked about the elections campaign of 2003 when he was, together with current Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola, part of the candidacy of Lluís Bassat:

"Pep called me and invited me to work with him. I never ask him what something is about. I don't even think about it. I go wherever needed. And when he proposed me to become the coach of Barça, what was there to think about! I also knew Lluís, so everything was very simple.

It is true that we focused all our attention on what we would do when we would win the elections, so that we didn't do anything to actually win. We were only thinking about and for Barça. That's Pep, more culé than the flag pole at the Camp Nou.

We didn't mention a single name, not regarding transfers, or coaches, or anything. We wanted that if people voted for us, it would be because of an idea, a project. We did not want the elections to be a catwalk of transfers. We maintained that policy, knowing it could play against us.

In the end, you think that if that was what the member decided, it just was not the right time for us to enter the club. Besides, all the people that were part of the candidacy - Lluís, Roca, Alemany, Pep - had very busy lives so that that the next day they just went on with what they were doing. Which is the proof of the integrity of all of them."

Read more:
Lillo would have been coach under Bassat
Could Guardiola be a future president?
Bassat: "Laporta invented Beckham transfer"

Poll result: Should the sports director disappear?

Do you think that one and the same person should occupy the position of coach and sports director?

Separate the positions 65%
One and the same person 23%
Don't know/Don't answer 12%

total votes: 1000
date poll: 4 to 6 february 2010
poll method: telephone interviews with club members who have the right to vote, 95% certainty
source: gol

check more election poll results here

Poll: Guardiola was right to not yet sign?

Guardiola made the right decision by waiting for the next president to sign his renewal?

Yes 89,19%
No 10,81%

total votes: 111
start date poll: 21 january 2011
poll method: internet, free participation
source: e-notícies

check more election poll results here

Benedito: "We want to repeat the historical results"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Catalan online paper El Singular Digital.


Are you in favour of linking politics and sports?
No, not at all. The Catalan character of Barça defines Barça. Nobody can want, and in any case he won't get away with it, to reduce the Catalan identity of the club by even a millimetre. This is an integral part of the club, it's defining and it must be defended strongly, firmly.

That's what Laporta does, no?
To defend the Catalan character of Barça is one thing and getting involved in party politics is another. I respect his political ideas and I recognise his aspirations, but he should do all this once he has left the presidency of the club. Barça cannot be used for any personal interest. Laporta takes advantage of Barça and the club's Catalan character for his political career. He has made a big mistake there.

The candidates now have to deal with a club that is too politicized?
Yes. In the last months Laporta has managed to increase the instability and the tension among the fans of Barça. We must defend the club's Catalan identity without looking for any personal gain and without doing party politics.

Let's change subject. The candidate Alfons Godall wants to reach a club budget of 1.000 million euros in 2016. Is that possible?
Saying things like that can have a media impact but I find it little rigorous. A budget should be understood within a framework of a balance sheet and a profit and loss account. I'd like to know on the basis of which models they are working, but in general I would like them to use these concepts in a more solid and serious way.

It also has an impact on the bank guarantees needed in future elections, right?
If Barça has a budget of 1.000 million euros, the club member who wants to take part in future elections should put down a guarantee of 150 millions since the guarantee should represent 15% of the budget of the club. The board should not put down that guarantee, that's what the statutes say. Therefore, it would be very difficult for a non-board club member to participate.

Strangely we have talked little about sports. At this level, the current Barça can be improved?
It's impossible to improve the results of the senior football team of Barça, we have won everything. Regarding the sports structures, if we win the elections we want to talk with Josep Guardiola to explain him what our idea is and to shape things based on his opinion.

It seems that he's not ready to stay at the club for a long time.
I think he would like to continue and we will do what we can to make this happen. If he doesn't, Barça will go on as it has done in these 109 years of history before he arrived. The challenge is very big, the results are historical, but we must never give up the objective, the will and the dream to repeat it, with or without Pep.

You think he feels comfortable with the board of Laporta?
I'm not aware of the details of the personal relationship between them. But it's very clear to Guardiola that it was the current president and the current board who gave him the opportunity to become the coach of Barça. I don't have other information than that.

this was the third and last part of this interview.

Read the previous parts:
Benedito: "I shaped a reliable and solid model"
Benedito: "Board should be at same level as team"

interview: xavier march

Rosell wants to cancel sports director

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell doesn't want to appoint a new sports director if he would be elected as president of FC Barcelona in the elections later this year.

The former sports vice-president would plan to offer Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola the full responsibility of the sports area, including the transfers and the youth academy.

Rosell would take care of the business side of the sports area while current Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain, whose contract epxires at the end of this season, would have the leave and wouldn't be replaced. In case Guardiola wouldn't continue at the club, Rosell would appoint a new coach and a new sports director.

Read more:
Guardiola will sign renewal after elections
Rosell confirms that he will run for president
Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc
Txiki will leave at the end of season

The Pundit: Colmena and Martin on preference Guardiola

« Some directors who accompany Ferrer are convinced that Guardiola would feel more comfortable with them than with Sandro Rosell, a president with a more interventionist profile, and will try to play that card during the electoral campaign. »

Dani Colmena and Ramiro Martín,
El 9 Esportiu

check more pundit talk

Poll result: Should Guardiola stay no matter what?

Guardiola should continue at Barça no matter who the next president is?

Yes 91%
No 9%

total votes: 3238
start date poll: 28 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: el periódico

What will Evarist Murtra do?

After Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola dedicated his team's victory in the World Cup for Clubs to former Barcelona director Evarist Murtra, there has been some speculation in the Catalan press about the role of Murtra in the upcoming elections.

At the press confernce after the game against Estudiantes on 19 December last year, Guardiola said: "I want to dedicate this victory to Evarist Murtra, I'm sure he's very happy. He was a person who with his insistence made the board think about me when they were looking for a coach for the second team and he has taught me great values. He deserves this."

Evarist Murtra (picture) is a 60-year old Catalan textile entrepreneur who has been active in the entourage of the club for more than two decades. After having co-founded a Barcelona opposition group, Murtra supported presidential candidate Sixte Cambra in the 1989 elections.

In February 1993, he joined the board of Josep Lluís Núñez. Three years later, Murtra resigned from his post as vice-president, officially because of professional reasons that left him with too little time but Murtra admitted later that internal board problems regarding the bank guarantee presidential candidates have to put down caused his exit.

In the 1997 elections, Murtra was a possible candidate but in the end he didn't take part after having failed to find a deal with Núñez challenger Angel Fernández and returned a blank ballot paper. In 2000 and 2003, Murtra supported presidential candidate Lluís Bassat who was twice the runner-up.

In November 2005, Murtra became a member of the board of Joan Laporta (read more here). He is believed to have been one of the main supporters of wearing the Unicef logo on the team's shirt and of the appointment of Guardiola as coach of, first, the second team and, later, the first team. In July 2008, Evarist Murtra left the board after the vote of no confidence (read more here).

this was the first part of this post. read the second part here.

Read more:
Bassat rejects offers to take part in elections
The Board, 6-7 Years Later (2) : The movements
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run

Poll result: Would Guardiola be a good president?

Would Guardiola be a good Barça president?

Yes 75%
No 25%

total votes: 8453
start date poll: 22 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: sport

The Quote: Josep Guardiola

"Do I rule out becoming the president of Barça? Yes.
If I were the president, I'd throw out the coach after two games."


Josep Guardiola,
Barcelona coach

read more election quotes here

Laporta denies electoral motives behind renewal Guardiola

Asked if the agreement on the continuation of Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola had been influenced by the election process, Barcelona president has said at yesterday's press conference that he just acted as president of the club:

"The electoral process has nothing to do with all this. We had a responsibility, the club needed to have certainty about who would be the coach next season.

This deal allows us to stay very calm and if I would put myself in the shoes of the possible candidates, I think they will have the peace of mind of knowing who will be the coach and only having to worry about setting the conditions and the duration of his contract."

Read more:
Guardiola will sign renewal after elections
Godall: "Laporta is like a brother to me"
Former brother-in-law Laporta reappearing on stage

Guardiola will sign renewal after elections

Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that Barcelona manager Joseph Guardiola, whose current two-year contract expires later this year, will continue at the club next season:

"We are here to announce that Josep Guardiola will be the coach of Barça's first team next season. We had a meeting yesterday and Pep informed me about his wish to continue at least one more year. The new contract will be signed with the new president but Pep gave his word that he will stay. The next president and Guardiola will agree on the terms and the conditions of the contract."

Guardiola said at the meeting with the press that, given the circumstances, this was the best decision he could made: "I think it's a very good thing that the new president knows how I see this and that he lets me know how he sees it. The new president now already knows he has a coach and with him, I will negotiate the new contract.

If there wouldn't be 'feeling' we will analyze things but I don't see why that should be the case. If he doesn't want me, there won't be any financial compensation. I get paid to work, not for not working. We'll talk about the duration later, it could be more than one year, but I anyhow think the coach of Barcelona has to renew for short periods."

Read more:
New president should ratify renewal Guardiola
Lillo would have been coach under Bassat
Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc

Lillo would have been coach under Bassat

Speaking to Spanish newspaper Público, Almería manager Juan Manuel Lillo (picture, on the left) confirmed that he would have become the new manager of Barcelona if Lluís Bassat would have won the presidential elections in 2003.


You would have been the coach of Barça with Guardiola acting as sports director and Lluís Bassat as president. Your name was nevertheless kept hidden. Why was that?
For reasons of consistency, because the message that was trasmitted by both the candidate and Pep himself was based on not giving any names. We felt bad about others doing that, and we wanted people to accept the candidacy of Lluís Bassat because of the ideas and because of who was going to be strategically leading the club, not through putting out names. Over time they accused us of being naive, but it was an act of consistency.

Back then you were in Italy for a few weeks to prepare the candidacy with Pep. He was then already thinking about becoming a coach or not yet?
He then still didn't have the coaching degree and he was still a player, but his love for Barça and how he wanted his Barça to be was already clear to him. At that time he looked at it from a management point of view with a coach who could transmit his ideas. What we then discussed could come close to what Barça is now. Pep lived with intensity what Bassat proposed him, he liked it, but without thinking further than that.

Read more:
Bassat: "Laporta invented Beckham transfer"
Could Guardiola be a future president?
Bassat will not run a third time

New president should ratify renewal Guardiola

The two main Catalan sports papers, El Mundo Deportivo and Sport, claim today that Barcelona is finalizing a renewal a offer for Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola whose current contract expires at the end of the season.

An offer elaborated by Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain could be approved during today's limited board meeting and would then be proposed to Josep Maria Orobitg, the agent of Guardiola. Next week, Barcelona president Joan Laporta could hold a meeting with the Catalan coach.

El Mundo Deportivo claims that both the manager and the new coach will be given the chance to put an end to the contract after the elections and before the start of the coming season if the collaboration wouldn't work.

Sport on the other hand claims that the renewal offer would just include a clause that says that the next board of directors should ratify a possible new deal with Guardiola.

Read more:
Guardiola not worried about elections
Could Guardiola be a future president?
Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc

Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc

British tabloid The Daily Star claims that Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is believed to want all candidates who will run for Barcelona president this year to make Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) the central player in their transfer strategy and could even be linking his own renewal to the signing of the Catalan player.

A source close to Guardiola is quoted by the tabloid as saying: "There is no way that Guardiola will not sign a new contract and he can almost write out his own terms [...]. But he wants to make sure that [...] there is a commitment to Fabregas. It will be an important signing for them this summer and any new president will want to keep Guardiola happy."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo reports that it's clear to all presidential candidates that the transfer of Cesc, who is said to be together with Bayern Munich player Ribéry Barcelona's transfer priority for the summer, could be a decisive factor in the upcoming presidential elections.

Madrid sports tabloid Marca meanwhile claims that Cesc would be a key player in the project for next season of former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell. Madrid sports tabloid As claims that the relationship between Rosell and Cesc is so close that in case the player would leave Arsenal, that would only be to join Rosell's Barcelona.

Read more:
Godall: "I want Cesc to return home"
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano
Presidential candidates know transfer price Cesc