Candidates disapprove Laporta's party behaviour

Barcelona presidential candidates Agustí Benedito and Jaume Guixà have reacted in an interview with Catalan newspaper El Periódico to the pictures published on Tuesday by Madrid newspaper La Gaceta of Barcelona president Joan Laporta celebrating the win over Real Madrid at the Luz de Gas night club in Barcelona last Monday morning.

Benedito told the paper that Laporta "wasn't up to the mark", while Guixà said that "this was his most recent performance, but not the only one. President of Barça is something you are 24/7. He can do what he wants, but he should do it at his place." At a press conference, Guixà later added that he would have celebrated with Catalan cava instead of with champagne.

While former Barcelona director Albert Vicens, who was the first vice-president of the club from 2003 to 2008 (read more here) and could also take part in the elections, said that he "didn't recognize that Laporta", presidential candidate Sandro Rosell told La Gaceta that he preferred "not to comment and to wait until the start of the election campaign".

Former presidential candidate Josep Maria Minguella, who might again run for president next year (read more here), showed his disappointment in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser about the decision of the Catalan sports papers not to publish the images:

"The press always has to watch public figures like the president of Barça and they should report on their acts, also those that can be criticized like in this case. Maybe their decision could be linked to the fact that an important part of their revenues comes from merchandising that needs the approval of Barça."

Read more:
Laporta: "I believe in Sala i Martin"
Will former super-agent run for president?
Poll Result: Is Laporta a good president?

Rosell plans to quit football business

Speaking at a seminar on sports governance in Barcelona, former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell has suggested that he will give up his football-related business if he's chosen as president of Barcelona next year:

"I won't talk about Barcelona until the campaign starts, but if my dream of winning the elections come true, others will have to continue the project in Qatar."

Rosell's sports marketing agency Bonus Sports Marketing is currently involved in the Football Dreams project, a scouting program sponsored by the government of Qatar and Nike aimed at giving children from Africa, Asia and Latin America the opportunity to earn scholarships to study and train at a football academy in Qatar.

Spanish news agency EFE claims that Rosell has in private said that he doesn't understand why the fact that a president of FC Barcelona could be active in the sports business is seen as something negative as he personally thinks is an added value.

Read more:
Rosell appointed as adviser of Nelson Mandela
Sala: "Rosell was always on the wrong side"
Council linked with Rosell working on ethical code

Poll result: Guardiola to become sports director?

Do you think that Guardiola could become the technical director of the club, like Alex Ferguson at Manchester United?

Yes 40%
It's too early 40%
Don't know/Don't answer 15%
No 5%

total votes: 1000
date poll: 11 to 13 november 2009
poll method: telephone inteviews with club members who have the right to vote, 95% certainty
source: diari gol

check more election poll results here

More about Benedito (3): On his exit and politics

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has in the past weeks given several interviews to Catalan newspapers, radio stations and television channels. This blog will give an overview of what the Catalan businessman had to say.

As a preface you can read this blog's five-parts introduction series on Benedito and the opinion piece he published last month.


His exit
By trying to sell Mallorca, Laporta crossed a line that one cannot cross and I didn't accept that. I found out that he had tried to enrich himself by obtaining a commission of 4,2 million euros and that's why I decided to quit (read more here). I thought it was very serious and I felt disappointed when Laporta confirmed the newspaper report at a press conference.

And since I don't have to power to make the president of Barça resign, I resigned myself and left the club. After having talked with a lot of people I got to know within the club, I went to see Laporta at the club offices. Since he wasn't there, I handed my resignation letter to his secretary and since that day I haven't talk with him again.

When I was at the club, people told me many things about Laporta, but when I asked them if they had proof, they didn't. The first clear facts I had was when he admitted that his office had mediated in an attempt by Uzbeks to buy Mallorca. If I would have had clear evidence sooner, I would have left sooner.

At the start of Laporta's mandate there were already events that made clear that things wouldn’t go the way they were meant to go. For example when he closed a deal with Gaspart at the Majestic hotel that no veils would be lifted.

But you think that if you leave, that won't help the change that was meant to take place. So you continue thinking that it's for the good cause. I thought the easy thing was to leave and with a function in the club you have at least some power to change something. It's like the voter of a political party who doesn't vote for the opposition when he sees that there's something in his own party he doesn't like.

Chief executive Joan Oliver
I don't know Joan Oliver very well. I didn't deal with him a lot since he arrived in July 2008, replacing Anna Xicoy, and I left the club in February 2009. But as far as I know, his profile and his way of acting is not at all compatible with what we think about the function of chief executive.

Politics
The fact that Barça is connected to the world of politics is a consequence of the immense fame the club has, abroad but certainly at home. It can therefore be interesting for politicians to be linked to the club but I think the latest acts by the presidents are going to far.

The catalanism of the club is clear, it's essential for the club, it's part of the roots of the club but it shouldn't be linked to concrete politics or party politics. That might have been necesary in the past, but now the club shouldn't get involved in political matters. If I will be the next president, that's how things will be.

Salary president
There are some examples in Spanish football of presidents who are paid for the job but those involve clubs that are joint stock companies. In any case, I don't think that the president of Barça should get a salary.

this is the third part of a four-parts serie. you will be able to read the last parts in the coming days with benedito giving his opinion, among other things, on the continuation of sports director txiki begiristain and on the plan to remodel the camp nou.

Read the previous parts of this series:
More about Benedito (1): His reason for running
More about Benedito (2): On Laporta and Guardiola

sources:
el 9 esportiu, catalunya ràdio, com ràdio, ona fm, tv cugat, tv3

Begiristian could leave for Premier League

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain, whose current contract expires at the end of this season, is considering to leave the club independent of the result of next year's elections and of who will be the next president of the club (read more here).

Begiristain would have rejected the offer made by Barcelona president Joan Laporta to all employees of the club to renew for an extra year and several English clubs are said to be interested to sign the Basque sports director once his contract with Barcelona ends in the summer of 2010.

Read more:
Laporta thought about Begiristain as his successor
Txiki Begiristain to quit after the elections

Most read this month

these were the five most read blog posts during the past month of november:


1.
Respected journalist to run for president?

2.
Could Guardiola be a future president?

3.
The Quote: Carles Puyol

4.
Rosell sounding out Fernando Torres

5.
Jaume Guixa will run for president

Laporta not reacting to poll results

Asked about the poll that was published on Wednesday about the voting intentions of the club members of FC Barcelona in next year's presidential elections (read more here), Barcelona president Joan Laporta didn't want to enter the issue when talking to journalists later that day:

"I will not at all comment on the issue of the elections until I believe the moment has come to take part in the debate, because this is not the right moment to focus on that matter. At the moment only two persons have made public that they will run for president and it's not yet clear who else will take part."

check the three polls so far on club members' voting intentions here