Laporta: "We need someone who's able to resist"

Speaking at two meetings with the press on Wednesday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta talked about the upcoming elections:

"The electoral race is taking off. I'll try to stay neutral. I want to ask all the candidates to act in a responsible way.

I hope there will be a constructive debate, a confrontation of models. We need people for whom it's very clear that Barça is above any personal interest.

I will show respect for everyone because I respect the will of all those who, with sense of responsibility, take part in the elections. That there might be two board candidates? That shows that there are several highly skilled people in the board.

To be president or director of Barça one has to love the club a lot. We have shown our respect for the club. It is a fact, real and undeniable. We have had to suffer a lot - too much - to get to live the best moments in the history of Barça, which was a privilege. I guess it's just the way it is.

To be the president of Barça, one must be able to resist the criticism of the media and the competing interests of those outside the board. This ability to resist allows one to isolate oneself and to make the decisions you think are best for Barça.

The club should be lead by responsible people, so we don't need immature or spoiled people, people who are not able to resist in difficult times. And we don't need those who hide behind presumed democratic dignity to flee during the hardest moments either. Maybe those can be good in other areas of life but not to preside Barça.

If you want to lead this club, you have to able to deal with the pressure. We need strong, courageous people, who can resist, who are aware that the club is the most important thing and goes before every other interest.

I will hand the new president a better club than the one I found when arriving. I think the current model, which in my opinion is the best for this club, can be improved and the ones most capable of doing that are the current board members who have been part of this project."

Read more:
Laporta opens election campaign
Godall: "Laporta and I were a tandem"
Laporta: "Whoever comes after will find a better club"

The Pundit: Jose Luis Artus on the campaign

Here and there, there are already people who openly say that it will be a dirty campaign, full of slander.

José Luis Artús,
El Mundo Deportivo

Godall and Ferrer to meet next week

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona vice-presidents Alfons Godall (picture, on the left) and Jaume Ferrer (picture, on the right), who announced on Wednesday that he will run for president (read more here), will meet next week to continue talking about their respective electoral projects.

Although the differences between the two are said to be very big, both are reportedly aware that a continuity candidate would have a lot more chance to do well in the elections if there would be only one united board candidacy.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who is believed to be supporting Godall, would have held long talks with Godall over the last days to convince him that if he wants one board candidacy, he will then have to close a deal with Ferrer on the composition of a possible next board.

First vice-president Godall would so far have been refusing to include in his candidacy several board members that support Ferrer, namely institutional vice-president Albert Perrín and directors Jacint Borrás and Josep Anton Colomer.

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo meanwhile claims that Barcelona board member and treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín will take part in the upcoming meeting during which Godall and Ferrer will try to form one continuity candidacy.

Read more:
Ferrer confirms that he will run for president
Godall to announce candidacy in two weeks
Ferrer still hoping for one board candidacy

Poll result: Who would you vote for?

Who would you vote for?

Agustí Benedito 53%
Alfons Godall 37%
Sandro Rosell 4%
Ferran Soriano 3%
Jaume Guixà 3%

total votes: 5217
start date poll: 22 december 2009
poll method: internet, free participation
source: e-notícies

check more election poll results here

Elections possibly in March or April

Asked when the upcoming presidential elections will be held, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that the date, which should be between 15 March and 15 June (read more here), is not yet decided upon:

"The club statutes say it's the president who has to call the elections. I will see what the best moment is for the club and at that time I will call them. At first sight, the best moment would be at the end of the season, because we're still competing for all trophies.

But I also take into account that it maybe would be good to know who will be the next president of Barça before we enter the last phase of the competition. We'll have to look at it a little more but of course we'll do what's best for the club."

Spanish news agency EFE claims that it is believed in the entourage of the club that Laporta could bring the elections forward as much as possible after the team won the Clubs’ World Cyp last weekend and could already organize them in the second half of March. Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that bringing the elections forward could mean they will be held in April.

The paper claims that Laporta will keep in mind two other factors when deciding on the date of the elections. If Catalan president José Montilla would bring forward the date of the Catalan parliamentary elections, who are in principle planned for the autumn of 2010, Laporta could be forced to call the presidential elections earlier to allow him to fully focus on a possible political career afterwards.

The second factor could be the poll results, both those regarding Laporta's political future as those regarding the continuity candidate's chances in the elections for president of FC Barcelona. Depending on these results, Laporta could decide to call the elections earlier or later.

All non-board candidates would meanwhile prefer to have elections as soon as possible. Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that Barcelona assets vice-presidents Jaume Ferrer thinks the elections should be organized in March or April, while first vice-president Alfons Godall prefers to hold elections at the end of the season.

Read more:
When will the elections be held?
Pre-candidates need to collect signatures
Who is eligible as president?

Will Llaurado run for the fourth time?

One of the people rumoured to be a possible candidate in next year's elections for president of FC Barcelona is Jaume Llauradó, a 65-year old Catalan businessman who has already been involved in several presidential elections.

Llauradó was a pre-candidate in the elections of 1997 and 2000, when he ended up joining the candidacy of the later president Joan Gaspart, in whose board Llauradó was a vice-president from 2000 until he resigned after one year because he didn't agree with the way the club was governed.

In 2003, he was a presidential candidate but finished 6th and last in the elections won by Joan Laporta. He obtained 987 votes (1,91%), which was considerably lower than the number of signatures he had been able to collect (read more here). Llauradó is also the president of FC Barcelona think tank Fòrum Samitier.

Catalan sports paper Sport claimed in September that Llauradó was seriously considering to run again for president, while Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claimed around the same time that he seemed ready to give it another try on his own.

Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu meanwhile claims that Llauradó, who could have been one of the people former players' agent and former presidential candidate Josep Maria Minguella has been holding talks with to try to form a candidacy (read more here), might soon announce that he wants to run, mainly to avoid a win of someone who has been part of the team of Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that Llauradó would be willing to take part if Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín would be a candidate, with Llauradó being rumoured to have said: "If he will run, I will run too, so I'll have the chance to say everything I want to say."

Llauradó may also be part of or support another candidacy that would in no case be the one supported by current president Laporta, because the former vice-president reportedly doesn't agree with the way Laporta would have introduced politics into the club.

Several people involved in the election campaign that were contacted by this blog said that they are unaware of a possible candidacy of Llauradó.

Read more:
Will former super-agent run for president?
Bassat will not run a third time
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run

Godall: "I hope Begiristain will continue"

Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall gave an interview to Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.


If the general director is worth 900.000 euros, how much is Pep worth then?
None of us could expect the results Pep Guardiola has given us. Pep deserves the best, because we are talking about the best coach around. Pep is satisfied with his salary and his professional situation, and we take care of him always being satisfied with his working conditions, from all points of view.

Can you guarantee that Pep will continue?
I believe that Pep Guardiola will always need to feel supported by people who have confidence in the model. It wouldn't be a good thing if someone would want to use him for electoral purposes. Pep feels comfortable with a board that supports him, believes in him and doesn't get nervous when the bad results come, which will happen sooner or later.

Txiki will also continue if you would be elected president?
Txiki has done a job we value highly. He has been discussed a lot by people acting in a self-interested way and with some bad faith. The important thing is to have a sports director who can give continuity and a medium-term perspective to the current way of working. Txiki has done a good job. Will he continue? That will depend on the elections. As far as I'm concerned, I hope he will.

Will you continue the collaboration with Unicef?
This is essential. We are talking about the continuity of the model of success after 2010. This model is based on the sporting and economic success. We avoided a bloodbath in 2003, there was a zero deficit in the first year, and in the next six years we have accumulated over 100 million euros of profits.

From the social point of view, apart from having more fans' clubs and club members than ever, the distinguishing fact has been that Barça changed from being more than a club to being more than a club in the world. We want to continue the strategic alliance with Unicef because it has given a major emotional and economic value to the Barça brand.

Does the Barça board looks down on Espanyol?
We have always been very respectful. Barça, as a club, respects and even sympathizes with Espanyol. We are two century-old clubs that have turned our rivalry in something special and even affectionate. We have open arms towards the board of Espanyol. I'm serious, we would be delighted to resume normal relationships. Part of the responsibility of leaders is to give a good example, and I think we are not doing that in this case.

Do you think you are capable and prepared to become the president of Barça?
I think my experience is important. I've been here since the first moment until the last, in good times and bad times, so I know the club very well. Said that, I do hope that Barça continues this successful model and soon it will be the right moment to make a decision.

this is the third and last part of this interview.

Read the previous parts of this interview:
Godall: "Laporta and I were a tandem"
Godall: "I have also been spied upon"

interview: m.d. garcía and dagoberto escorcia