Soriano scoring in Japan with management book

Several Catalan papers report today that a management book written by former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano has been launched with great success in Japan.

"Goruwa gusen no sumbutsu dewanai", a translation of his book "La pilota no entra per atzar" (The ball doesn't go in by chance) that was published in April of this year, was released last week in Japan and is at this moment the sixth most sold non-fiction book in the Asian country.

The sports management book, that is also for sale in Mexico, Czechia, South Corea and Brazil, tells the experience of Soriano as vice-president of Barcelona and explains the model that was introduced in the club since Joan Laporta became president in 2003.

Soriano, who is currently the chairman of Spanish airline Spanair and is still thinking about his involvement in next year's elections for president of Barcelona (read more here), was last weekend in Japan and gave fifteen interviews to local papers and magazines. On Friday, a one-page publicity announcement will be published in Japan's main newspapers.

Read more:
Soriano: "I will take part in the electoral debate"
Rosell writing second book
Soriano meeting with Godall and Sala

sources: el periódico, el mundo deportivo, sport

Poll result: Is Laporta a good president?

Do you think that Joan Laporta is a good president?

Yes 63,8 %
No 33,6 %
Don't know/Don't answer 2,7 %

total votes: 800
date poll: 29 november 2009
poll method: interviews with club members who have the right to vote by polling agency Gesop in the surroundings of the Camp Nou around the time of the league game against Real Madrid, 95% certainty, 3,5% margin of error
source: el periódico

check more election poll results here

Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates

Spanish sports paper Marca claims that several people who will take part in the elections for president, one of them being former Barcelona vice-president Sandro Rosell, have contacted the entourage of Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22), who reportedly reacted positively to the question if he wants to join Barcelona next summer.

Cesc would have decided to almost certainly leave Arsenal at the end this season and he could have the permission from Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger to look for another club if Arsenal receives a transfer fee of at least 50 million euros. Real Madrid would be alerted by the latest events and would soon decide if they will enter the race for the Catalan midifielder.

Read more:
Laporta wants Cesc before end of his term
Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections
Rosell sounding out Fernando Torres

More about Guixa: Anti-Laportism

As this blog had revealed a few weeks earlier, Jauma Guixà, a 51-year old Catalan university professor, has announced that he will take part in next year's elections for president of FC Barcelona.

This blog will publish some of the statements made by Guixà at a press conference last week. Guixà is the president of a Barcelona fan club and was already a pre-candidate in 2006 when he wasn't able to collect the signatures needed (read more here).


Alternative for "laportism"
I'm a clear alternative for the laportism and that's why I'm very happy and excited to present myself today as candidate in the coming elections at FC Barcelona. The laportism has to end with Laporta. The club has done well in some areas, but the president didn't fulfil any of the promises he made when he was the leader of the opposition through the Elefant Blau group between 1998 and 2000.

He is regularly causing instability on the institutional level, something we don't deserve. It seems he has forgotten everything he has said and done with the Elefant Blau and his board now goes against the principles that made him become president.

The image of the club has never been this bad, due to fifteen board members leaving, Laporta's publicly expressed political ideals and his fights with the regional presidents of Extremadura and Cantabria.

The model of Laporta should end. At this moment Barcelona is only upheld by the sporting results, not by the management of the club. When Laporta leaves the club, all board members have to leave with him at the end of his mandate and none of them should run for president. Things need to be cleaned up. We don't want imitations or followers.

His key principles
We propose seriousness, stability and effectiveness.

Club members
I will listen to the socis, who are the true owners of the club and who should be involved more.

His team
I cannot yet give you any names but I will be able to count on a remodelled, corrected and enlarged team compared to the one of 2006.

this is the first part of a three-parts serie. you will be able to read the next parts in the coming days with guixà giving his opinion, among other things, on the continuation of manager josep guardiola and sports director txiki begiristain and on the plan to remodel the camp nou.

Read more:
Jaume Guixa will run for president
Candidates disapprove Laporta's party behaviour

Barcelona carrying out own election polls

Barcelona opposition site Pelikano reports that Barcelona is these days carrying out a poll through telephone interviews with club members. Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo confirms the news.

Although the interview is announced as a general inquiry into the satisfaction of the members, there are a lot of questions that could be inspired by the upcoming presidential elections next year. The club members are among other things asked about their voting behaviour in the 2003 elections and the 2008 vote of no confidence and are asked to evaluate people by giving them a score from 0 to 10.

The people included in the poll are the most important current directors of the club like Joan Laporta, Alfons Godall, Joan Boix, Jaume Ferrer, Rafael Yuste, Albert Perrín and Xavier Sala Martín, and former board members like Sandro Rosell and Ferran Soriano, but also former Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez and former Barcelona player and manager Johan Cruyff.

Opposition site Pelikano claims that the main intention of the interviews ordered by the club is to learn more about the profile and the ideas of the approximately 40.000 club members who will next year for the first time have the right to cast their vote in the presidential elections.

Read more:
Poll result: Who would you vote for today?
Poll result: Who should be the board candidate?

Benedito optimistic about passing signatures cut

In a comment on social networking website Facebook, Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has suggested that he's already sure of more than half of the 2095 signatures the candidates have to collect if they want to take part in next year's board elections:

"We already have 1200 club members and we hope to double the number of signatures needed (2100). We've also already taken care of the bank guarantee for weeks now. As far as the votes, I have no idea."

Read more:
Pre-candidates need to collect signatures

Most read this week

these were the three most read blog posts of the past week:


1.
Laporta thought about Begiristain as his successor

2.
Rosell wants three women in his board

3.
Poll result: Who would you vote for today?