The Pundit: Dagoberto Escorcia on Rosell-Soriano duel

« It would be good that Soriano would participate in these elections, especially because if there's anyone in the Barcelona entourage Rosell is allergic to it's precisely the president of Spanair. Rosell-Soriano would be a Champions League duel. »

Dagoberto Escorcia,
La Vanguardia

check more pundit talk

Poll result: Elections on non-match day?

What do you think about the fact that the elections aren't held on a match day?

Very bad 42%
Bad 27%
Good 9%
Very good 6%
Indifferent 4%
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

Could Soriano lead Godall candidacy?

Asked about a possible partnership with former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano (picture) ahead of the presidential elections in June (read more here), Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall didn't exclude in an interview with Spanish television channel TVE that Soriano could lead a joint candidacy:

"I've never denied and I will never deny that Ferran Soriano and other colleagues that left with him [in july 2008, after the vote of no confidence] have done an excellent job, especially in the economic area but also regarding the organization of the club and so on.

I think that it would be very positive for the club to recover Ferran Soriano and people of the group that supported him. I have a good personal relationship with Ferran, with Marc [Ingla, former vice-president] and every now and then we talk.

Should I be the number one if we team up? That's an issue that is totally open for discussion. From now until 13 June, there are a lot of days left, although my position is in principle clear. I've presented myself as pre-candidate and I want to be candidate and president."

Read more:
Soriano: "I don't rule out anything"
Godall: "I'm not the puppet of Laporta"
Poll result: What should Ferran Soriano do?

Marketing expert: "It will be an Obama-type campaign"

Carles Torrecilla, marketing professor at ESADE in Barcelona, gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.


The number of club members has grown.
Not only the number of voters has grown a lot, they've also got more heterogeneous. If there are 50.000 members, it's possible they're all very alike, but if you have 100.000 you in fact have a very heterogeneous group.

But classifiable?
If there are few, you can divide them by age, social class, by purchasing power. But when we speak about those kinds of quantities, you have to classify them based on socio-demographic characteristics.

What does that mean?
Well, we have for example a meaningful number of Barcelona fans who are immigrants, not Spaniards but foreigners. That is an aspect that in the US is taken into account a lot when signing players. The NBA teams recommend their scouts to focus on this or that country because they have a lot of fans from that area.

What should be the basic electoral strategy?
In the elections for president of Barça, candidates used to focus on one theme, I am the Catalan, or I am the one who supports the fan clubs... This won't do it any longer. This will be a campaign that is no longer focused on the mass media, but that will spread to the internet, it will be an Obama-type campaign, so to speak.

Explain yourself.
The candidates will need to have their facebook account, their mail account, their twitter account, they will have to send mobile messages, they will have to organize events at bars and clubs and things like that. Not because the voters have changed in terms of age, that would be the most instinctive reflection. Nor just because they are younger. The point is that there are different groups with different expectations. It will therefore be necessary to offer different messages.

Isn't there a risk that these messages contradict each other?
That's why the campaign shouldn't be about people but about teams. Until now, the board was formed by the president and people known by the president but not by the public. During this last term you could already see that some directors became more important. In the future, the rest of the board will embody different concerns, as in politics.

The logistics side has an influence?
Yes, because of only having one place where people can vote. This wasn't a problem until now because many members lived very close the stadium. But from now on, if the elections are not on a match day, voters belonging to one majority segment, as well as many other people, will not be represented. That will lead to conflicts. Barça being more than a club, it doesn't make sense that the elections are not held on a match day because if that's the case, the members who live the farthest won't come out to vote. On the other hand, more and more members are living further away, members who also do not usually come to watch the games. There is a risk, like in politics, that the participation drops and that the board becomes an organ that is separated from the social dynamics of the club and that could be dangerous.

Read more:
How many people will be able to vote?
Laporta meets with Obama campaign advisers
Plan for internet voting rejected

interview: f. perearnau

Ferrer: "I started thinking about this a year ago"

Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu.


A little more than a month ago you announced that you would run for president of Barça. What are your feelings now?
In fact, things were clear to me a whole time before. But since the announcement, I think people are more aware of it, I feel a lot of enthusiasm and I'm very motivated to make it to the final vote and to win the elections.

You said that you were considering this for a while. When did you think for the first time about the possibility of leading a continuity project?
I didn't think about it until a year ago. It was clear to me that this project still had something to give and that it needed some renewal to go ahead. I also was motivated to do this myself and the support of my board colleagues in the end convinced me.

I suppose that you then hoped to lead a single candidacy and to be the heir of Laporta.
More than being the heir of Laporta, what I thought was that there would be one list coming from this board, which would have been the most recommendable thing to do. However, for everyone who wants that it is legitimate to run, so that's fine.

You totally exclude a deal with Alfons Godall?
It is very difficult. I don't like to close any door, but the deal should have happened a lot earlier. For several reasons it wasn't to be and now it is almost impossible.

During the talks with Godall, he took a very tough stand regarding accepting people like Albert Perrín Jacint Borràs to be part of his candidacy?
I would say that he had some very clear ideas about his candidacy and there were people from the current board that he did not want by his side. And that's no problem, it's his choice. But I did believe that we had to count on them, and this is one of the points where we couldn't reach an agreement.

So the differences were more about people than about the project.
Yes, the project is the one we have build and used since 2003. As for the sports area, we believe in the same structure: a sports director, a strong coach, a lot of investments in the youth academy... And regarding the economic area, we both agree on the global expansion of the club, on the search for new revenues in order to be able to pay the squad... We certainly agree on all this, whereas in the social area, I possibly would like to change some things, bringing us a bit come closer to the club member.

Xavier Sala i Martín explained a few days ago that during all the difficult moments the club has lived since 2003, Alfons Godall has always been in favour of what appeared to be the right decision. What was your position at those moments?
We've all supported the good and the bad decisions, because this is a board where everything is decided by common consent. We all have had the same responsibility regarding the management of these past seven years, Alfons, myself and the other directors, both those who are there now and those who aren't here anymore.

It bothers you that Laporta supports Godall?
I shouldn't have an opinion on that. He is free to do so. I understand it because they are lifelong friends and, in fact, this is one of the things that differentiate me from Alfons. He has a much stronger personal bond with Laporta.

At some times over the last years, Laporta made you think that he would support you as a leader of a single candidacy?
Frankly, we did never talk in those terms.

You were invited to assist the presentation of the candidacy of Godall?
I don't think so. I think they invited people by mobile phone messages and I didn't receive one. But I find it normal because such an event is not about inviting all pre-candidates.

From the directors who have not yet made a decision, you think one of them will end up supporting you?
The doors are open for them since they are all part of the many successes of recent years.

And we suppose people from outside the club will also be added to your list.
Yes, we believe that it is very important to bring in new people, who can give us renewed energy. There are people from various fields who are motivated to serve Barça.

this was the first part of this interview. in the coming days you will be able to read the next parts with ferrer, among other things, talking about the continuation of txiki begiristain and a possible deal with sandro rosell.

Read more:
Ferrer: "Efficiency, discretion and renewal"
Boix will not choose between Godall and Ferrer
A first look at the project of Ferrer

interview : ferran correas and dani colmena

Majo, Minguella and Medina working on candidacy

Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that former presidential candidates Jordi Majó, Jordi Medina and Josep Maria Minguella (picture, from left to right) are continuing to hold talks trying to form a joint candidacy and take part in the elections for president of FC Barcelona in June (read more here).

All three the former candidates would be willing to team up but no final decision has yet been made. After the Barcelona board decided to only hold the elections after the end of the season, on 13 June, Majó, Minguella and Medina would not be in a hurry to take a stand on their participation in the elections.

Jordi Majó is a 60-year old agricultural businessman who finished third, out of six candidates, in the 2003 elections. Behind Joan Laporta and Lluís Bassat, Majó obtained 2.490 votes (4,82%). In 2006, he considered to be a candidate but he ended up giving his support to Jaume Guixà.

Josep Maria Minguella, a 68-year old former player's agent who now mainly acts as a Barcelona pundit for a number of radio and television shows, took part in the 2003 elections, when he ended fifth with 1.867 votes (3,62%). The Catalan supported the 2008 vote of no confidence against the board.

Jordi Medina is a 45-year old Catalan lawyer who was a pre-candidate in the 2003 and 2006 elections but failed twice to collect enough signatures of club members to take part in the final vote. Medina is the chairman of 'Un Crit Valent', an FC Barcelona platform.

Read more:
Minguella confirms talks with Medina and Majo
Majo considering to participate in the elections
Medina confirms he's working on a candidacy

The Quote: Xavier Sala i Martin

"The one to beat is Alfons Godall, not Sandro Rosell."


Xavier Sala i Martín,
Barcelona treasurer

read more election quotes here

Benedito: "Board should be at same level as team"

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


You were part of that project that won the 2003 elections. What went wrong that you now present an alternative candidacy?
Our idea is to recover that project, update it and renew it, because today it still is perfectly valid. The problem has been that Laporta and his board of directors have at a certain moment abandoned the road.

In what sense?
That model was based on the very clear idea that the club is owned by the club members and that leads to a high necessity of transparency, honesty, representation, ethical behaviour, integration and diversity. Laporta has distanced himself, and a lot, from these proposals during his mandate...

Go on...
Our first football team is at a unique level, unsurpassable. We must achieve that the board and the rest of the club is at the same level as the team.

Over the last years that wasn't the case?
No.

When did the decline start?
Over the last period, especially the last two or three years, when it became clear in an explicit way that the board and Laporta himself have taken an other, totally different road.

Cases of espionage, an attempt to intervene in the sale of Mallorca, compromising pictures at a Barcelona night club. But do those things matter in the world of football when the results are good?
With other sports results, the perception of the mandate of Laporta would certainly have been different. We must remember that not so long ago, in the vote of no confidence of 2008, 60,27% of the club members asked him to leave. Laporta has had some episodes where he fell short of representing an entity that is so important for this country.

Some link those attitudes to an exaggerated ego. What do you think?
He has undergone a change. The Laporta I knew when all this started is very different from the one I know today. It is difficult to know the reasons. It's surely related to personal and more intimate issues, but I am unable to puzzle them out. The only thing I can verify is that this is a different Laporta than the one I have worked with for so many years.

Personal attitudes are enough to judge his management?
In the end, it is concepts like the lack of transparency and honesty, that really show that there has been a lack of representation during his time. Just as I said that he clearly passed the test regarding the overall management of the club, in this aspect he deserves a clear fail. He hasn't been up to the mark after the support he got from the voters in 2003.

this was the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here. you will be able to read the third and last part on the blog in the coming days with benedito talking, among other things, about the upcoming elections.

Read more:
Benedito signs ex-campaign director Laporta
Introducing Benedito
Benedito: "Rosell has a different model"

interview: xavier march

Poll result: Who will you vote for?

Who do you plan to vote for in the elections on 13 June?

Sandro Rosell 33%
Ferran Soriano 11%
Alfons Godall 7%
Jaume Ferrer 4%
Jaume Llauradó 2%

Don't know 36%
Won't vote 4%
Other candidates 3%

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 vote intention polls here
check more election poll results here

Godall: "I'm giving up my private life"

Barcelona first vice-president and presidential candidate Alfons Godall gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu.


When did you decide to present your candidacy for president of the club?
I had reached a point where it was clear to me that I wanted to run and I thought it was necessary to end this state of uncertainty and speculation about whether I would do it or not.

There had been written and said things that were not true, and I wanted to make my position clear.

But when did you make the decision.
At the end of the month of November, before the holidays.

Someone from the board convinced you to make a step forward or everything was already clear to you?
It is true that both Joan Laporta as other board colleagues had asked me already for some time to consider it, but it was clear to me that I first had to think about it. Later, some changes in my personal life, like having a partner and expecting a baby, helped me because now I have a perspective of a more stable life.

Taking everything in account, it was finally my heart that decided. As the end of the mandate of Joan came closer, it got clear to me that it is worthwhile to run trying to continue this period of successes in all areas.

You didn't have doubts after seeing some bad personal experiences Laporta had to go through?
I've had doubts because the position is incompatible with having a quiet private life. Although I must also say that it is not necessary to have the public exposure that president Laporta has had.

But it is true that, although I'm looking forward to it, I'm making a step that includes entering a highly mediatized world and losing the privacy and peace of mind that a normal club member has when going to the stadium and behaving as he wants. In this position you are always in the public eye, you have to deal with a lot. This is a great club, a big company that produces and makes something very special: emotions.

You've already noticed many changes after the presentation of your candidacy two weeks ago?
I felt relieved, because I hadn't made my position public yet while on the other hand things became more and more clear to me. So making the step forward brought me peace of mind.

Some people think that now that you have made this step forward, announcing that you are indeed a pre-candidate, that you should resign from your post as vice-president of the club...
Well, I don't agree. The statutes of the club indicate very clearly the steps that need to be taken from now on. The electoral calendar will show when I should resign from my position and that depends on the date of the elections.

The directors who were at your presentation will be making up most of your candidacy?
Those who attended, were there in the first place as friends. Now, not everyone who was there will be on the list, some because they still have to think about it. I count with each and every one of them, minus Joan Laporta, who can not take part. I would love to be able to count on all of them, but I guess some will start other journeys.

So you're still not closing the door to a single candidacy coming from this board of directors then? Could Jaume Ferrer end up on your list?
I've always said that, when he wishes, I want to talk with Jaume Ferrer to try to form a project together, as long as it is led by me and I have guarantees that I can lead the club comfortably. The good government of the club is at stake. I do not want to be a prisoner of my board, I want them to stand by me. If Jaume understands and respects this, he can join us.

You would have liked Jaume Ferrer and other executives close to him to be there your presentation?
I can only say that if Jaume in the end runs and will present his candidacy at an event, I will be glad to attend if he invites me. I would be delighted to go there.

It might be a surprise that a person you know for so many years and who has been so important for you and for Joan Laporta as is Albert Perrín is now part of the pre-candidacy of James Ferrer. What happened between you?
I don't like to talk about individuals. I prefer talking about general situations. I want to have people in my list that allow me to govern the club in a calm and stable way. And I think that there are people with a more appropriate profile than others. There's nothing more to it.

Albert Perrín said in a recent interview that you are a sectarian person...
Frankly, I don't think so. I am a person with an open mind, although I have clear ideas. Also about who my fellow travellers should be.

You're afraid of a tough electoral process with low blows?
No. I know the people involved and although there may be conflicting feelings, we mutually respect each other. It will be a clean process.

this was the first part if this interview. in the coming days you will be able to read the next parts on this blog with godall talking, among other things, abour ferran soriano and sandro rosell.

Read more:
Godall: "I'm not the puppet of Laporta"
Business partner Laporta in candidacy Godall
Godall chosing campaign songs

interview: ferran correas and toni padilla

The Pundit: Miguel Rico on chances Guixa and Llaurado

« The chances of Jaume Llauradó and Jaume Guixà are the same as last time. None. Regulars in the line-up, they do not lose their dreams or hopes. Only time and money. »

Miguel Rico,
El Mundo Deportivo

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Former vice-president Franquesa to support Ferrer

Asked about the rumours that former Barcelona vice-president Joan Franquesa (picture) would join his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections (read more here), Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that Franquesa is willing to support him:

"Mister Franquesa left the board because he had some personal and professional problems to resolve. We have a great relationship and he knows the doors are open for him, and I know he wishes to join us."

Read more:
The resignation letter of vice-president Franquesa
A first look at the project of Ferrer
Former vice-president Franquesa to join Ferrer

Laporta and Rosell contacted Cesc

Spanish television channel Antena 3 claims that Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) has decided that, because of the lack of trophies won, he wants to leave the English Premier League club at the end of the season and join Barcelona.

Both Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell would already have contacted the entourage of Cesc, but the player reportedly doesn't want to be linked with any candidacy and would first try to convince Arsenal to let him go in the summer.

Catalan sports papers Sport, El Mundo Deportivo and El 9 Esportiu all claimed this week that Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before the end of the mandate of Laporta, who will leave the club on 30 June after seven years in office (read more here).

Asked about a possible return, Cesc meanwhile suggested in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that he could be willing to come back to Barcelona, the club he left as a youth player in the summer of 2003:

"I've never hidden that one day I would like to return to Barça. Since I was nine months old, I went to the Camp Nou. I spend my whole youth wearing those colours, but because of a series of circumstances I had to leave. You never know what can happen in the future, but during the coming four months I want to focus on my job at Arsenal."

Read more:
Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc
Transfer battle between board and Rosell
Rooney could become electoral transfer target

Most read of the week

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


1.
Cruyff will support Godall

2.
Guixa: "The trophies have hidden the instability"

3.
Godall chosing campaign songs

Laporta: "The personal attacks made me stronger"

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave an interview to Catalan newspaper Avui.


The external pressure has been high along the years, but after the vote of no confidence the big story has been the investigation of the vice-presidents (read more here). And both the investigations as the publication were caused by internal problems...
We already spoke about it and I don't plan to comment again on this issue. Everything has totally been clarified and I support everything that has been done from within the club. I know how it started and I don't want to stir things up again.

You have said things like "I had to play dead to survive" or "At a personal level, I haven't been rewarded for all this". Good god...
You have to understand the true meaning of the phrases, not the literal one. The point is that the groups that have attacked me were powerful groups, and that they wanted to harm, to destroy, all this with very bad intentions. It wasn't only about the club model but also about my person.

In the end, they have made me stronger. All this has made me mature a lot. I have always looked forward. I don't need a feeling of revenge to motivate me. I'm motivated by ideals, dreams, that's where I find reasons to go on. Not by those misfortunes.

You've had to defend Txiki Begiristain and the position of sports director. Depending on who wins the election, do you think that some aspect of the current sports model is at risk?
I defend a sports structure with a sports vice-president, a sports director and a first team coach who all have a lot of power. Especially the last two. The sports vice-president has to support and stay in touch with the sports director because it's his task to inform the board. It should stay that way, because it has functioned well for us.

You also have to find the right people, and that is not easy. The sports director needs to speak the same language as the coach and they should be on the same wavelength. This is very difficult but we succeeded. It is essential that those positions are well-defined within the structure. If not, you could end up in situations that are dangerous for the club.

Are you saying that you think that the separation between the board and the sports executives is in danger in these elections?
In fact, I do not know it, because I have not heard any proposal besides that of Alfons Godall, who wants to continue with the current model. You must execute it well, but objectively it is a good model. It would be a big mistake to change the model, which has led us to be the best club in the world and to have the best year in history.

Many try to convince people that all this happened by accident. But nothing in life happens by accident. Of course you need moments of luck and we had them, but there was a lot of work behind it all.

In general, when you work hard, the results will come. It's important to emphasize that. The model works because the right decisions were made, because there were people who believed in it and continued it, taking risks, with a lot courage.

In all areas, we've worked hard and we have dedicated the best years of our lives to Barça and to reach the best moment in the history of the club. This structure works and I think it should be shared by all candidates. I defend it with arguments, facts and results.

In the first internet polls, Sandro Rosell had a big advantage on the other candidates, but now Godall is coming closer. That reminds you of something?
Every electoral process has its own circumstances. In 2003 we were at a bad moment, there was a turmoil and chaos at the club. People voted a real change, ours, and we started a revolution that still continues. We had to be strong, not show weakness, and adapt the project along the way. They were moments of high intensity.

Now on the other hand, Barça has rewon the prestige it deserves, because of the sports results and because of how the club is managed. We need a person who represents a quiet force. And this person is Alfons Godall.

The remaining candidates must put forward alternative sports and economic models, explain what they want to do with the foundation and so on. But I only see silence, they're not saying anything. I think that every alternative model is an uncertain adventure.

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

Read more:
Laporta: "We need someone who's able to resist"
Poll result: Can Laporta openly support Godall?
Godall: "I have a great feeling of relief"

interview: xavi xirgo and jordi cortada

Catalan journalist rejects offer to run for president

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims, confirming an earlier report by Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio, that Catalan journalist Xavier Bosch (picture) has rejected an offer to head a candidacy in the elections for president of FC Barcelona later this year.

A group of people that were linked to the presidential candidacy of Catalan business man Lluís Bassat in 2003 would be trying to set up a project. The group, that would have the financial resources needed and only want to come out at the very last moment, had offered Bosch to lead the candidacy.

Xavier Bosch is a 42-year old journalist who currently hosts a talkshow on Catalan television channel TV3 and also acts as football pundit for Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo and Catalan radio station RAC 1. The journalist, who has also been linked to presidential candidate Sandro Rosell, reportedly refused the offer because of family reasons.

The above-mentioned group would meanwhile also have been talking with former Barcelona player and manager Carles Rexach and the group of Barcelona club members that had offered him earlier to run for president (read more here). The two groups would now want to join forces to present to the voters an alternative project.

Read more:
Respected journalist to run for president?
Bassat rejects offers to take part in elections
Minguella and Medina behind Rexach candidacy