Minguella still didn't decide on candidacy

Asked if he will again take part in the presidential elections next year (read more here), former players' agent Josep Maria Minguella has said in an interview with Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu that he didn't yet make a decision:

"I've always lived everything that relates to Barça in a very intense way, and especially the elections. I won't deny that I would like to run, but one should take into account many circumstances.

On the one hand, I am very aware that I'm now seven years older than when I ran last time. When the elections will be held, I will almost be seventy years old, and although I'm in great shape and still very active, I need to start to value a number of things.

What I nevertheless think is that we need to improve the electoral spectrum. There must be a candidacy that has nothing to do with Laporta. This campaign can't just be about laportism and anti-laportism. Therefore, I want to keep on waiting and see how everything evolves."

Minguella, 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 (out of six contenders) with 1.867 votes (3,62%). The Catalan supported last year's vote of no confidence against the board.

Read more:
Will former super-agent run for president?
Cartoon 17: Minguella offering himself
Minguella hoping for non-Laporta linked candidate

Elections will be held in April or May

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that the Barcelona board is considering two options regarding the date of the upcoming elections and that the elections will probably be held in April or May of next year.

Some board members would prefer the weekend of 3-4 April, others the weekend of 15-16 May when the last league game will be played against Valladolid. Barcelona president Joan Laporta is expected to make a decision on the election date in the coming two weeks.

All presidential candidates reportedly told the paper that they are ready to start campaigning independent of the date on which the elections will be held.

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that the initial idea of the board was to hold the elections at the end of the season but that this is now being reconsidered, among other things because of the results of a series of telephone interviews with club members over the last months (read more here).

Read more:
When will the elections be held?
Who can vote in the elections?
Elections possibly in March or April

The Pundit: Oriol Domenech on the next president

« From a club that gave the presidency to Joan Gaspart one can expect everything. »

Oriol Domènech,
El Mundo Deportivo

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Weekly Round-Up (5): A Xavi New Year

Every week an overview of the posts from this blog is published on Barcelona news site totalBarca.


First: we're on Facebook. Second: the struggle to become the continuity candidate really broke loose last Wednesday when assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer surprisingly declared on a radio show that he will be a presidential candidate: "Yes, I will run for president. I have the will and the desire to form a candidacy and to win the elections."

The vice-president, who would have the support of five other board members, reportedly wants to keep the same club model but introduce another style of governing and said he hadn't been able to find a deal with first vice-president Alfons Godall to present one unique board candidacy.

>>> read the complete weekly round-up here

Presidential candidates unhappy with renewals

Madrid sports paper As claims that presidential candidates Sandro Rosell, Agustí Benedito and Jaume Guixà are unhappy with the renewal policy of the current board of Barcelona president Joan Laporta over the last year.

The non-board candidates would agree that it would have been better to postpone the renewals and to give the new board more freedom in the composition of the squad, even more so because there weren't important offers for any of the renewed players, none of them had the wish to leave the club and key players like Iniesta and Messi already had long-term contracts.

The candidates reportedly think Laporta has been renewing the contracts of a lot of players to continue to be able to claim the team's successes in the future. In 2009, Barcelona has extended the contracts of players like Touré, Valdés, Pedro, Messi, Puyol, Abidal, Iniesta and Márquez.

Read more:
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano
Poll result: Who would you vote for?
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team

Perrin: "Laporta deserves a statue"

Barcelona institutional vice-president Albert Perrín gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu.


When you entered the board [november 2005], you said that you would leave together with Laporta. What made you change your mind?
If I don't remember it wrong, what I said was that depending on who would continue, I would leave with Jan. From my humble position, if Ferran Soriano would have continued and would have been the head of the continuity candidacy, I would not have continued.

I have nothing against him but there was no feeling between us. And these things come from both sides. He didn't have it with me either. So I said that because at that time Soriano was the one who could head the continuism. With Ferrer, however, I do have that feeling.

It has been said that Soriano could join one of the continuity candidacies.
I say this clearly. If Soriano joins the board candidacy from which I'm a part, I'll go home.

Two board candidacies would be very bad for the continuism?
It wouldn't be good. If we respect the project, and we believe the project is still under development, it would be good if there wouldn't be two candidacies. And it's clear that it will have to be one of those two candidacies who should continue the project. No one of those who left should claim these successes because they abandoned the ship. The six trophies have been won by this board.

You are one of the few directors of this board who have spoken well of Sandro Rosell.
If I start from the point that he's a person who likes the club, who wants the best for the club, I have to respect him. Making the decision to run for president of Barça is something very important.

What Joan Laporta has lived during these years has been very tough, starting with the Boixos [radical supporters] who threatened him and his sons, needing the protection of bodyguards, having problems at home... Being president is very hard, so the person who decides to become that deserves all the respect. And I think that Sandro would be a good president, yes.

Laporta deserves a triumphant exit.
Next to the statue of Kubala, they should make one of him. What he has done for this club is spectacular. You should look back at where we came from. From a bad economic situation, that is very good today. The social situation was disastrous, and today the club is loved around the world.

Unicef is an exclusive achievement of the president. There are some who aren't here anymore, who have wanted to claim it. But it's an exclusive achievement of our president. In the board there were people who had doubts about it, including myself. And now we have to congratulate him. At the sporting level, we've just won six trophies.

Should the president stay neutral in case there would be two board candidacies?
He should do what he thinks is right. And if I have something to tell him, I'll say it in private.

You think he'll actively take part in the campaign?
Passivity isn't one of his characteristics. I think that his participation will more or less depend on what is happening outside the club.

How is it to live these last days of the greatest year in the history of Barça?
Sometimes I feel like I'm on a cloud because I find it hard to believe that we won everything we have won. I tell my children not to forget that in 2009 Barça has won six titles because it difficultly will be repeated.

this is the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here. in the coming days you will be able to read the third and alst part of the interview with perrín talking - among other things - about the tears of guardiola and the future of begiristain.

Read more:
Albert Perrin appointed as new vice-president
Godall and Ferrer to meet next week
Vice-president Perrin confirms candidacy Ferrer

interview: ferran correas and dani colmena

Puyol: "Players will stay out of the elections"

Asked about how next year's presidential elections could affect the team, Barcelona central defender and captain Carles Puyol has said in an interview with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo that the players know what they can expect:

"We'll stay on the sideline and we will only be thinking about playing. We know there will be a lot of talk but we will stay out of it. It's what we have always done, focusing on the game and trying to let what is going on outside the dressingroom not affect us."

Read more:
Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections
Puyol not thinking about elections
Rosell closing in on Cesc

The five vice-presidents of Godall

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall will be a candidate in the elections and offer a vice-presidency to Joan Boix (picture), Rafael Yuste, Josep Cubells, Magda Oranich and Xavier Sala i Martín.

The second paragraph of Article 30 of the statutes of FC Barcelona states that the board of the club must have at least one and a maximum of five vice-presidents.

All five mentioned above are already board members at this moment: Boix, who would also have an offer of Jaume Ferrer (read more here), is economic vice-president and responsible for the marketing and media area, Yuste is sports vice-president, Cubells is board secretary and director responsible for the basketball section, Oranich is director of the institutional area and responsible for the foundation and Sala i Martín is treasurer and director of the economic area.

Read more:
First female vice-president for Barcelona?
Boix: "Many directors qualified to be president"
Board secretary Cubells to become vice-president

Former president Nunez to run with support Cruyff

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that former Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez will take part in the elections for president of FC Barcelona next spring.

Núñez would have been discretely preparing a candidacy and will make a public announcement during the first week of the new year. Several candidates would be considering to drop out of the race if Núñez will run again for president because of the popularity of the latter.

Former Barcelona player and manager Johan Cruyff would become sports vice-president if Núñez is elected president. Louis Van Gaal would have agreed to join as sports director and would bring Franck Ribéry with him from Bayern Munich. Guardiola could stay on as coach and former Barcelona player Jesús Angoy, the son in law of Cruyff, would act as goalkeeping coach.

Josep Lluís Núñez was the president of FC Barcelona from 1978 until 2000. The 78-year old Catalan businessman has been the longest serving president in the history of the club and the most successful president in terms of winning trophies.

Read more:
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run
Will Llaurado run for the fourth time?
Former director Millet considers being candidate

The Pundit: Cristina Cubero on Alfons Godall

« Godall is popular among the members of the fan clubs because of his populist behaviour. »

Cristina Cubero,
El Mundo Deportivo

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