Benedito: "They paid too much for Ibrahimovic"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Spanish football site Mercafutbol.

translation: jakob zsambok

Let's go back to the subject of David Villa If you win the elections and he is already signed, what will you do with Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
This will be another problem that will have to be handled by the sports department.

Do you think the criticism he recently received is justified?
I again can only give you my opinion as a fan. I think they paid too much for him, the price of the transfer didn't reflect his market value. Nevertheless I think he can offer a lot more than he has shown so far.

The players who are not subject to criticism are the homegrown players. What plans do you have for the youth academy.
We are talking here about the uniqueness of our club, it's something we have to sustain and to improve. That's why when the time comes we will talk about the sporting structure of the club, but only about some of the issues. About the others, we will first talk to Pep Guardiola.

Will you continue to work with José Ramón Alexanco?
No neither with him, nor with Txiki Begiristain as sports director.

Let's focus on your philosophy. What will be your arguments to convince the members to vote for you?
The assets policy for example. We have a way to look at those things, which is different to the other candidates.We also have different ideas about the relationship with the members. We want Barça to be more involved in the society. We are talking about the stance the institution can take in the fight against inequality in our society. We will be different in the issues of globalization and internationalization. We want to change the way our fans relate to the club. Also about the issues of assets policy, we want to construct a new Palau and rebuild the stadium. All of those things will be handled with the level of excellence a club like ours deserves, with total transparency and our feet on the ground, with common sense and doing things the "catalan" way.

Do you think Sandro Rosell is the favourite to win the elections?
It depends on the area in Barcelona you go to and which newspapers you read. In some of them it seems like Rosell doesn't have a rival. However this perception is contrasted by my experience when talking with the members. My perception in contrast to the estimations is that 80% of the voters are still undecided. I think this election will be a very open one.

Do you think that the "war" between Rosell and the continuity candidacy will benefit you?
The only thing I can tell you is that I would like to have clean elections in which we can talk about our plans with education. I'm only interested in communicating my plans to the members with the same chances as the others. We don't know what the others will do but we certainly won't enter this game because that wouldn't go in hand with the Barça we want.

Do you agree with the appointment of Johan Cruyff as honorary president of Barcelona?
I think if the club makes the decision to have an honorary president for the first time in its 110 years of history, it should be a consensus decision. Therefore we should have had the opportunity to decide, first if we even want an honorary president, and if we want to have one, it should be a person who represents everyone. In any case to erase any doubts we will consult the members about the decision to appoint Cruyff, if the majority is ok with it, I will be too.

Will you continue with Txiki Begiristain and Tito Vilanova?
As I already said before, I won’t continue with Tixi, because I think a new presidency should have a new technical director since it's a post of confidence. About Tito we would have to talk with Pep, but I'm certain that he will want to continue working with him, and therefore he will stay.

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

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Benedito: "Our secret weapon are the people"
[pictures] Presidential candidates in Paris
Benedito says others have political and media links

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[video] The remodelling plan of Sandro Rosell

This is the project of the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell to remodel the Camp Nou and the surroundings of the stadium.

[picture] Ingla and his PlayStation

Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla playing a game of football on PlayStation during a tournament organized at his headquarters.

Rosell to file lawsuit against Ingla

Asked about a corruption case in Brasil he is involved in, Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has said to journalists before a meeting with Barcelona supporters this evening that he does not want to talk about the issue and that he plans to file a claim against Marc Ingla, who also runs for president:

"Well, we're disppointed. I have not been officially accused. This is slander. This offends my honour so we need to act. Marc Ingla has crossed the line so tomorrow we will take legal action against him. This needs to stop, we demand for a clean campaign.

We should talk about Barça and the projects we have for the club because the member is not interested in all this. I ask all candidates to stop talking about the subject and I certainly will not talk about it anymore from now on."

Asked about the case, Ingla had said this morning in an interview with Catalan television channel TV3 that it seems Rosell had been charged. When the presenter corrected him and said that we were actually so far only in the stage of investigation, Ingla rectified saying that he's not familiar with legal terminology.

This evening, Ingla repeated in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that he used the wrong legal term and apologized for any misunderstandings that this coudl have cause. He also asked that Rosell would give further explanation about the case.

Read more:
Rosell: "Guardiola represents our core values"
There could be up to six electorals debates
Ingla: "We will change the style of government"

[2003] Klaus Toppmöller, the coach of Medina

source: el mundo deportivo, thursday 22 may 2003, page 10

Toppmöller, the coach of Medina

Together with the German, two to four players of his confidence will join, while the candidate is already close to deals with four players

Klaus Toppmöller, who led Bayer Leverkusen to be the runner-up in the Champions League, the league and the cup in 2002, has reached an almost total agreement with Jordi Medina to take place on the bench if the candidate wins the election.

The president of the platform 'A Crit Valent' confirmed yesterday that "on Thursday or Friday, at the latest, I will close the deal with him in Barcelona. We have had several conversations and I have his permission to confirm this".

Medina explained that the German "has other very interesting offers but he already knows our project and he likes it". The candidate added that 'Toppi' "would not come alone. He will bring two to four players he knows". The presidential candidate said that contacts with Toppmöller, the best coach of 2002 in Germany, came after the 'transfer' of Johan Neeskens didn't go through.

check more 2003 election stories

Seven board members continue until 30 June

The resignations of Barcelona vice-presidents Alfons Godall, Jaume Ferrer [picture, on the right], Joan Boix and Albert Perrín, and of Barcelona directors Jordi Torrent, Alfonso Castro, Patrick Auset, Magda Oranich, Josep Ignasi Macià and Xavier Bagués have yesterday been accepted during a meeting of the Barcelona board.

The ten members of the board were forced to resign because they will be officially part of a candidacy in the presidential elections on Sunday 13 June. Apart from Godall, who supports former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla, all other directors who left are part of the candidacy of Jaume Ferrer.

A board of seven people will now govern the club until 30 June, with president Joan Laporta sports vice-president Rafael Yuste [picture, on the left], secretary Josep Cubells, treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín, and directors Jacint Borràs, Josep Anton Colomer and Maria Elena Fort staying in office. Sala i Martín is expected to leave the club at the end of this term, while the other six support the candidacy of Jaume Ferrer.

Read more:
Sala i Martin to leave the club in July
Ferrer gets new support from board members
Godall resigns as director ahead of the elections

Ayats: "We have a model and experience"

Carles Ayats, a member of the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer, gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu.


Ferrer uses to say that he wants to continue with the current management model, but changing the style of governing...
Yes, we want a president who appears less in the media, because we believe that the spotlights should be on the players and the coaches.

You announced quite soon that you would take part, but it has not been easy so far. First you disagreed with Laporta, now you have his support, there was the famous spying case... The members could penalize these changes of opinion?
No, Jaume has come out of these events stronger since his leadership has been recognized. He has always managed to deal with the pressure and to stay committed to the club, not like other directors who chose to leave. It was not easy to form a consensus candidacy, and the member will value that.

Ferrer has enough charisma and popularity to win the elections?
Without any doubt. The members surely appreciate the fact that Jaume has been a director since 2003 and that he has not appeared in the media until now. This shows that he has always focused on managing the club well.

But some polls suggest Sandro Rosell is the favorite. Do you believe them?
What I think is that it is clear to the member that to continue winning our project is more secure, because we have a model and the experience of the past years. The polls show a positive trend for Jaume, and we are optimistic.

Which of his virtues would you highlight?
It's a great candidate who has always wanted to be president of Barça. I would highlight his experience, commitment, teamwork, leadership, mental strength at delicate times...

As a member of the current board, Ferrer will certainly be ask for explanations on some of the latest decisions of the board. What do you think about the appointment of Johan Cruyff as honorary president?
We think it's positive, although we also think it should have been done earlier because he already deserved it for a long time.

There's also a lot of talk about pacts. Can you confirm that you won't do it?
We want to get to the final vote alone because we have a strong project. For the moment, we are not considering anything else and if they offer us a pact one day, that should always be with Jaume as leader of the candidacy.

And what would your contribution to the candidacy be?
As an economist and an administrator, I believe I can bring, first of all, a fresh view on things. I am 39 years old, the same as Jaume when he arrived at the club, and I hope to add enthusiasm, ability to think and hard work.

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

Read more:
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"
Ferrer presenting three new team members
Ferrer wants to personally head social area

interview: dani colmena