Cartoon 41: President Benedito

Avi Barça:
Here we have the next president of Barça.


(click the cartoon to enlarge)


by sejo

source:
candidacy agustí benedito

check more election cartoons here

Ingla contradicts presumed season-ticket upgrade

Catalan sports paper Sport claimed yesterday that Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla and several key members of his candidacy have tried in 2005 to get an upgrade of the season-tickets of themselves and some family members and that former Barcelona vice-president Albert Vicens had organized the whole upgrade for board members.

After several denials yesterday evening and this morning, when among other things Ingla said at a press conference that he already has the same seat for over fourty years, the candidacy put out a press release with more detailed information.

In the note, it is explained that Vicens was never in charge of any relocation of season-tickets, that Ingla and Alfons Godall still have the same seats as before they joined the board in 2003 and that Vicens and Ferran Soriano changed their seats in 2008 through the normal procedure of relocation that is open to all club members.

Read more:
Ingla: "I will be a very quiet president"
Former vice-president changes Rosell for Ingla
Ingla wants to appoint club ambassadors

[2003] Jewish name causes upset in first debate

source: el mundo deportivo, monday 9 june 2003, page 4

Bassat explodes against Llaurado

The publicist expressed his profound upset because of the references to his second name

The first debate between the six candidates to preside FC Barcelona included a sad incident between Jaume Llauradó and Lluís Bassat. The publicist expressed his discomfort for the references of Llauradó about the absence of his second name on the papers used to collect signatures.

"If you want, you can call me Lluís Bassat Coen. That's how I was born and my mother felt very bad about what was said about it. It is a Jewish name and don't I have any problem to recognize that publicly. Nobody can exclude anyone because of race, religion or sex."

Llauradó defended himself claiming to be "a defender of human rights" and branded his opponent as "manipulative". After this accusation, Bassat rose from his seat and threatened to leave the television studios.

In the end he stayed, but not before revealing that a candidate a few weeks ago ordered a survey that asked whether a Jew could be president of Barça. Despite everything that happened, Bassat and Llauradó had an emotional embrace at the end of the program.

check more 2003 election stories

The first presidential debate

Barcelona presidential candidates Agustí Benedito, Jaume Ferrer, Marc Ingla and Sandro Rosell held the first presidential debate on Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio.


Sports area

Ingla (against Rosell): "You won't even call Txiki when you are appointed, so tell the people what you really want."

Rosell: "We can't reveal our plan because that would make it more expensive."

Ingla: "Why don't you explain your business in Brasil? Maybe there's nothing wrong but the member at least has the right to get informed."

Rosell: "I will sell my businesses I have related to the world of sports if I'm elected as president."

Rosell: "There haven't been enough players promoted to the first team over the last years. Only Pedro and Jeffren, who I bought with Busquets. We should work better with the youth academy."

Benedito: "Txiki won't continue, his time is over."

Rosell: "Cruyff wanted to sign the triple A of Valencia: Albelda, Aimar and Ayala."

Ingla: "This Barça is build by Cruyff, Txiki, Rijkaard and Pep. The project of Rosell will break with all that. He will bring his own people in."

Ferrer: "Ingla wasn't there when we won the six cups, so it's strange he now claims those successes."

Benedito and Rosell: "No one will change the sporting model, it's working."

Economic area

Rosell: "There are too many expenses and some aren't clear."

Ingla: "Economically, Barça is better than ever. And we want to double the budget in the next six years. We want to open embassies, we want to go out in the world."

Benedito: "We have more revenues but the expenses have also risen."

Ingla: "We're a sporting club, we shouldn't make profits."

Catalan identity and legacy of Laporta

Rosell, Ingla and Benedito: "Oliver won't continue."

Ingla: "I've included the Catalan flag in the shirt."

Ingla: "We want an open club, Rosell wants to close the club to some families."

Benedito: "Laporta has done good things but also bad things. We shouldn't have relations with the Uzbek mafia."

Ferrer: "Barça didn't have a contract with Uzbekistan, but with an Uzbek club to play a friendly game."

Rosell: "40.000 people of Siberia could become club member and decide who will be the new president. We don't want to lose the Catalan identity of the club. We need to regulate the members."

Benedito: "The club member without season-tickets should get a discount of 50% for the tickets."

Ingla: "We want an open club."

Ferrer: "The number of members should be limited. We want another system so the people can be linked to the club in another way."

Ingla: "It's sad Rosell has made photos with factions of the Boixos Nois hooligans."

Rosell: "We want zero violence at the stadium."

Benedito: "The Boixos Nois are supporting Rosell, they are shouting 'Rosell president'. In meetings of Rosell with fan groups there have been representatives of the violent groups."

Ingla: "We need youth academies all over the world."

Rosell: "We should not have own youth academies but control the players through agreements."

Ferrer: "We have our academy in Argentina and it's working."

Conclusion

Ferrer: "What is working shouldn't be touched."

Benedito: "We are the alternative."

Ingla: "We have the best project, we're the guarantee that this model will continue. We've done a lot but there's a lot of work to do."

Rosell: "We know what the member want after a lot of meetings."

[picture] The paella of Marc Ingla

Barcelona presidentual candidate Marc Ingla yesterday invited the members of his campaign team and representatives of the press for a dinner.

Benedito wants sections to have own president

Speaking at a press conference were he presented his program for the sports area of the club, Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has said that if he will be elected as president the non-football sections of the club will get their own president.

A president will be appointed at the basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal sections and those will all get an own board of directors. The boards of the sections, that will also get more financial means, will have more autonomy to make sporting and organizational decisions.

Read more:
Benedito introduces "associate" and "barcelonista"
Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer and Benedito official candidates
Benedito: "Transfer of Villa won't influence vote"

Poll: Who would you vote for?

Ferrer: "Barça is a club that unites"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.

translation: archie valparaiso

Sandro Rosell is planning to set up a travel agency with attractive prices for club members. Do you think that's a good idea?
Our idea is not to compete with travel agencies but to have more people at the club working to facilitate cheaper travel options.

Will the members who travel most have preference when it comes to distributing tickets for finals?
We'll try to come up with a system that's fair. Barça isn't like the English clubs, where the fans aren't the owners. Here, Barça's members own the club. Loyalty-building standards can be put in place but we can't discriminate against anyone here.

Do you agree with the appointment of Cruyff as honorary chairman?
It's already a done deal and I'm absolutely fine with it. I voted for the proposal. It's a big plus to have the figure of Johan Cruyff as an exclusive asset of FC Barcelona.

Who was your first choice, Mourinho or Guardiola?
There was a majority who preferred Guardiola and I was one of them.

Ingla as well?
Together with some other board members, he was in favour of bringing in a coach who'd be tougher in the changing-room. They went to see Mourinho to hire him. The facts can't be changed - they are what they are.

Is this going to be a dirty campaign?
Let's hope not.

So how do you feel about Perrín's harsh remarks?
Albert has his way of expressing himself - he says what he thinks. A campaign is dirty when people tell lies. You can tell the truth in one way or another, and the way you do it can be appropriate or not, but when you're telling the truth it's not a dirty campaign.

Who do you feel closer to, Sandro Rosell or Marc Ingla?
To Jaume Ferrer.

Will you join forces with anyone?
Everything is now a long way down the road. I think it's good for both Rosell and Ingla to put their projects before the members on the thirteenth of June. Sandro took the decision to leave the club in 2005 because he was in favour of a different model for the sports area, with the board being more directly involved and another way of doing things. It's also good for Ingla to make it [as far as the election], because he left too, in 2008, after the no-confidence vote, and he didn't believe in this project either. What I'm going to try to do is get the members to see that the project that ensures that things will continue to work the way they have so far is mine.

So Rosell and Ingla wanted to limit the coach's remit and be more hands-on?
Yes, definitely.

Do you think it's good for you for three candidates to make it through to the end?
I'm not thinking about what's good for me, but what's good for the club. For the members it's good for them to be able to choose between the different alternatives.

What do you think about the opinion polls?
Sandro comes out of them very well, although he was doing much better two months ago. It's good for me for the trend to be for Sandro to be losing votes while the others' shares are increasing. We're getting around 25 per cent at the moment, which tells us that we're making a lot of headway in terms of people's voting intentions.

What could be in danger for the future of the club if Rosell is elected chairman?
It's clear that it would be a much more hands-on sports model, with prototype coaches like Scolari, who they once tried to sell us on. It's more of a Florentino [Pérez]-like model – bringing in players as star signings. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but rather that the current model is working fine and I think that's what we should continue with. "If it ain’t broke, don't fix it," as they say.

Do you think Rosell is leading in the polls because he has the most charisma?
He is in the lead because for the last five years he's been seen as the possible chairman, as the opposition to Laporta. The members know a lot more about him than about the others.

Are the debates going to be decisive?
They suit me. People have to have a lot of cheek to lie in your face.

Are you in favour of more politics at Barça?
What I don't want to do as chairman of Barça is to be political. Barça is a club that unites, not one that divides. Although those who want to get involved in FC Barcelona have to understand that we have our values and one of them is that we are Catalans, as a perfectly normal thing, without getting hung up about it.

Are you satisfied with the performance of the sections under your leadership?
We feel proud. Also, we have four in-house coaches: the two Xavis, Pujalte, Carmona. Our idea is to continue to support the sections. The "more than a club" slogan comes from us being involved in multiple sports. We need to build a new Palau Blaugrana. That's one of the priorities, with a capacity of about 12,000. We're trying to achieve as much self-financing as we can for them. And that's where the Palau Blaugrana comes in.

Would you take Valero [former handball player and coach of barcelona] with you?
Valero is someone I admire not only because of his sporting successes but also as a person. We've talked a lot, because he's one of the club's advisers, and if we can use him to make Barça even greater, then that's what we'll do.

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

Read more:
Ferrer: "What is working should not be touched"
Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer and Benedito official candidates
Ferrer wants to personally head social area

interview: oriol domènech - sergi solé - josé luis artús

[2003] Txiki has talked with all six candidates

source: el mundo deportivo, sunday 8 june 2003, page 63

Txiki: "I don't support any candidate"

"I've met with everyone, but I won't commit myself to anyone until the day after the elections"

Txiki Begiristain has denied yesterday that he has joined one of the candidates for president of FC Barcelona. "I'm not supporting anyone," said the former player, who nevertheless has met, as he admitted, "with the six candidates and I've told the same thing to all, that at this moment I don't have the intention of reaching a deal with anyone until 16 June. If the new president then considers it appropriate to count on my services, we will talk about it."

In a statement to this paper, Txiki added that "everyone has my phone number and everyone knows my position. Do I have a preferences for someone in particular? No, and I precisely don't want to support anyone in concrete out of respect for all six."

Begiristain also said he had told Lluís Bassat, Joan Laporta, Jaume Llauradó, Jordi Majó, Josep Martínez-Rovira and Josep Maria Minguella that "I will be available, when one of them has won the election, to give them my opinion and to give them advice no matter if they want to go on with me or not."

check more 2003 election stories

Most read of the week

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


1.
Rosell has concrete plan to limit club members

2.
Xavi has a favourite candidate in the elections

3.
Plaza: "I hope to run again in 2022"

[picture] The children of Sandro Rosell

The candidacy of Sandro Rosell organized this week an event for children at their campaign headquarters.

[video] The campaign song of Jaume Ferrer

The candidacy of Jaume Ferrer presented this week their campaign song, that has as central theme "I'm happy, I don't want to change, we'll keep on winning". It's a cover of the song 'I gotta feeling' by American hip hop group Black Eyed Peas

Ingla: "I will be a very quiet president"

Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu.


As a former sports vice-president, so an expert of the sports area, which things have to be changed?
It is something the technical department should decide. When I was vice-president, the most important thing were the demands of the coach and my task was to explain them to the board.

Do you agree with transfers before the elections?
The club has to follow its own pace and if there are operations that are ready to be closed, they should be closed so that the new players can start following the rhythm of the club, the plans for the physical preparation can be drawn up, etcetera...

Signing players now is more expensive?
It depends. If the economic positions are close, you should not wait any longer and finish things. If there is a difference, I would ask them to be cautious and if you have to wait two more weeks, you wait.

Don't you think, however, that the president is eager to leave a legacy as far as players are concerned?
I don't know if that's the reason. When you're the president of Barça, you have to act in the benefit of the club. Always. If you ask yourself the question what will be best for the club, you'll always make the best decision.

You totally exclude that you will yourself announce a transfer?
Yes, although it is true that our candidacy has received many phone calls offering us players. If there is something interesting, we pass the information to the club.

You will try to convince Txiki to stay?
Yes, and I have ideas to explain to him, regarding the technical department. If he feels comfortable, I'll be delighted.

Txiki has had to deal with a lot of criticism...
He has been able to build this successful model. He was an architect of this model. Rijkaard gave us balance and Pep brought it to the highest level. He told me that the era of Rijkaard was over and that Pep was the natural choice.

Which other coaches did you have in mind, apart from Mourinho...
Ernesto Valverde and Laurent Blanc, and then later there also was Michael Laudrup. We did not talk with them because Pep was always the first option. We met with him and his enthusiasm convinced us.

Your opponents don't hesitate to say that you wanted Mourinho...
That is false and anyone who says otherwise isn't telling the truth. He wanted to coach Barça, he still has friends in Barcelona, he knew the club and the way of playing. At that time he didn't have a job and we wanted to get to know his virtues and defects. These were clear. The coach of Barça is the image of the club. And Mourinho was not the right person and that is what I told the president. I have witnesses.

He is the right person for Madrid?
I guess so, because Madrid goes from one side to another, they do not have a defined line.

What do you think about the project of Florentino?
I do not care that much about what the opponent is doing. But I think it is irresponsible to spend a seemingly unlimited budget. We have an opposite model.

Oliver will stay if you win?
Mister Oliver only joined the club in this last phase and although he has contributed to the success of this model, we are looking for another profile.

How can the club grow in terms of merchandising?
The big area of growth is the internationalization. Today we are the club with the most television viewers. People are excited about our style of play. Efforts should be made to capitalize on that in markets such as China, India, Asia, Africa, South America and the United States. If today around ten percent of the revenues of the club come from international business, that should be fourty percent in four or six years from now.

Unicef?
It's an incredible help for the image of the club. It helps us to defend a series of values.

The big teams should defend a television model similar to that of the Premier League.
The current model, negotiating the rights individually, is going very well. Changing it would be an adventure. If there is a collective model that ensures that we can stay competitive, we must look at it.

Is this the challenge of your life?
The challenge was to become sports vice-president after two years without any titles. We couldn't make mistakes. And the team ended up being the Barça of the six cups. Now I don't feel any pressure, I deal with it naturally and I feel very well surrounded.

What kind of president do you want to be?
One who accurately represents the club, a team player, with experienced people, but also picking up fresh ideas from new board members and, finally, a very quiet president.

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

Read more:
Ingla wants global youth academy
Godall resigns as director ahead of the elections
Ingla denies he didn't want Unicef on shirt

interview: ramiro martín-llanos

Benedito introduces "associate" and "barcelonista"

Speaking at a press conference, Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has explained his plans for the social area of the club, which would include introducing two new concepts - besides that of club member - of being linked with the club: the "associate" and the "barcelonista".

While the concept of "associate" would have some concrete economic and other compensations and would be something for the local fans, the concept of "barcelonista" would be specifically for foreign fans. Both new ways of feeling part of the club wouldn't include the right to vote.

Read more:
Benedito could limit number of club members
Benedito: "They paid too much for Ibrahimovic"
Benedito says others have political and media links

Weekly Round-Up (25): The Final Four

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

The collection of 2,095 signatures of support needed by the candidates to qualify them for the final vote on June 13 ended on Tuesday with four out of seven candidates beating the deadline.

Sandro Rosell delivered an impressive 13,618 signatures, followed by Marc Ingla with 4,744, Jaume Ferrer with 4.442, and Agusti Benedito with 2896. Pre-candidates Santiago Salvat, Jaume Guixa and Alexis Plaza failed to present their support slips and are considered dropped from the race.

Earlier reports indicated that Rosell completed the required 2,095 signatures days ahead of the June 1 deadline. Rosell earlier requested the board to allow him to use his nickname “Sandro” instead of his given name “Alexandre” which is printed on the support slips, but his appeal was rejected by the electoral board.

>>> read the complete weekly round-up here

The Quotes: Benedito, Ingla, Ferrer, Rosell

"50% of the voters didn't yet make a decision. And I think the vote of the other 50% could still change."

Agustí Benedito


"We've received information regarding Wayne Rooney and we've passed that through to Txiki."

Marc Ingla


"You have to stand up to the hooligans and not make pictures with them, as some have been doing."

Jaume Ferrer


"I expected some rumours or some little lies but it seems people have invested quite a bit of money in investigations. But I guess in the end it's good people talk about you, for good or for bad."

Sandro Rosell

read more election quotes here

[picture] The football table of Marc Ingla

Albert Vicens and Alfons Godall playing a game of table football at the headquarters of Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla.

[2003] Rosell and Txiki meeting with Hiddink

source: el mundo deportivo, friday 6 june 2003, page 4

Txiki met with Hiddink in Cannes

Both were planning the upcoming transfers with Sandro Rosell

Txiki Begiristain met at the Carlton hotel in Cannes with Guus Hiddink, the coach who has become champions with PSV in Holland and who led South Korea during the 2002 World Cup. Txiki, Hiddink and Rosell will form the sports management of the club if Laporta becomes president.

Rosell himself joined the meeting, arriving from Paris via Nice. The three examined the future operations of the candidacy and the next decisions to be taken. Guus Hiddink, as we have been informed, is delighted with the project they have presented to him.

check more 2003 election stories

Ferrer: "You have to consider where the club was"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.

translation: archie valparaiso

Yours is a candidacy that "continues the legacy", but are you planning on changing anything?
There's always room for improvement, particularly in the sports area. In the financial area, we need to generate more income to invest in the sports and assets project, particularly in the membership area, to make life more comfortable for the members. We need to improve access to the stadium and renovate it. We also need to have more instruments in place to make relations with members more streamlined and direct - by offering them help with travel, for example.

Do you consider David Villa's signing to be yours?
It belongs to FC Barcelona, but it's true that it's been sorted while we have been on the board of directors.

Has doing it that way been a strategy?
It's been done that way because it was possible to do it that way. In the past, most signings have taken place as soon as the competitions have finished.

Do you know what kind of contract you'd offer Guardiola yet?
Yes.

Will it be a long one or a short one?
We'll talk it over with him on the 14th of June, but I'm not very much in favour of long contracts. The idea is not to change anything in the sports area, and for him, Txiki [Begiristain] and [José Ramón] Alexanko to continue

Will you be able to convince Txiki?
After our latest conversations with him, I'm convinced that we will, yes.

Does Pep Guardiola deserve a rise?
His salary should be realistic.

Are you happy to be associated with "Laportism"?
I don't like "isms" of any kind. Over the last seven years some great things were achieved, and the chairman was Joan Laporta. And we were the ones who were there. The club has been very well managed and that must continue. The less that's messed about with, the better.

What kind of relationship do you have with the chairman?
We've had our ups and downs, but we get along fine now.

Do you feel comfortable having his support?
Yes, and I'm very grateful to him, because we've shared seven years of hard work. The results are very positive. We've made some mistakes that we've learned a lot from and we hope won't be repeated. The complete change in Barça between 2003 and 2010 is what we've achieved together.

Does having Laporta's support give you an advantage?
I don't know. It's more a plus than a setback, but what counts is that we've made it to the end still together despite having disagreed on occasion.

Have you got a managing director in mind if you win?
That's something to be discussed after the first of July. Joan Oliver and I have had some incidents that weren't very pleasant, but he's doing a good job.

Don't you think the members would like to know whether Oliver is going to continue or not?
The club's executives have functioned very well, because we've risen from thirteenth in the world, with income of 120 million, to the very top, with over 400 million. If Oliver earns my confidence, he'll continue, but it's not an issue that I'm overly worried about.

Why didn't you resign over the spying affair?
Because I was a member of the board. It's other people who should have resigned. I'm only too aware of our responsibility to the members. At that time, we were in the [Spanish] Cup Final, about to win La Liga and in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Our role is to help to keep the institution stable and I think that my decision was the right one, because we did go on to win all three trophies.

Do you include the chairman among those who should have resigned?
I'm not including anyone. That's not for me to do.

Who do you mean then?
Those who might have been involved.

Do you think Laporta knew all about it?
No. He told me he knew nothing about it, and if he says he didn't know, then he didn't know.

What mistakes has the chairman made?
I'm sure he's made some. You have to bear in mind that as chairman you're under pressure from everyone around you, a non-stop pressure that you have to be able to deal with. And Laporta has. He's been able to hold steady and make decisions, most of which have been the right ones.

Have you ever felt embarrassed by anything that Laporta has done?
What I've felt is great pleasure for the six trophies last year, over 65 trophies in all during over our term of office, the basketball Euroliga, the handball and hockey cups, how much we've grown, the international recognition... I feel very proud of Barça because of all that. I'm not concerned about anything other than that. I'm sure there are some things that could have been done differently or perhaps better, but you have to consider where the club was in 2003, where it is today and what its image is all over the world now.

Will you maintain the Foster [new Camp Nou] project?
It must stick to the improvements that we want, above all to cover all the stands and put in more lifts. It needs to be a competitive stadium to generate more income, like in the England or Germany. We want the refurbishment of the stadium not to be too extravagant but done with common sense. We can't spend 340 million euros or even half that. If Foster can do it, then that's perfect.

this was the first part of this interview. you will be able to read the second part on this blog in the coming days.

Read more:
Ferrer: "What is working should not be touched"
Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer and Benedito official candidates
Ferrer wants to personally head social area

interview: oriol domènech - sergi solé - josé luis artús

[picture] Sandro Rosell and his sofa

Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has been travelling throughout Catalonia for the past few weeks to explain his program to the club members and fans.

The Quotes: Benedito, Ferrer, Bartomeu, Ingla

"The weak point of Rosell? Let me ask you a question. What's the strong point of Rosell?"

Agustí Benedito


"It seems difficult that the campaign will be a clean one."

Jaume Ferrer


"It should be easy to sign Cesc after he has publicly said that he wants to join Barça."

Josep Maria Bartomeu


"We have a note from a Brazilian law firm that confirms that a company of Sandro Rosell is involved in a judicial investigation for possible fraud, so in this case Sandro Rosell has been and is lying."

Marc Ingla

read more election quotes here

Rosell has concrete plan to limit club members

Asked about a possible limitation of the number of club members, Jordi Cardoner [picture, on the left], head of the social area of the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell, has said in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that they have a concrete plan to put a stop to the growth of new members:

"We think that the idea of unlimited growth promoted by the board was socially not correct. It would have been terrible if we today would have had 750.000 or 1.000.000 club members as was mentioned back then. We think that we should put a stop to the growth so that the current members really could enjoy the benefits of being a member.

What we will do is announce a period of three months during which everyone who isn't yet a member can make the decision of becoming it. After that period, only two groups could become a member: family members in the first or second degree of a member, or children who would be given the chance to grow up with the club."

Read more:
Rosell wants to regulate new members
Ingla wants to appoint club ambassadors
Cardoner: "The member always has the last word"

Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer and Benedito official candidates

Barcelona board secretary Josep Cubells has this evening announced that Barcelona presidential candidates Sandro Rosell, Marc Ingla, Jaume Ferrer and Agustí Benedito have passed the cut of the 2.095 signatures of club members needed to take part in the final vote on Sunday 13 June.

These are the official numbers:
- Rosell: 12.635 validated signatures (13.620 presented - 985 invalid)
- Ingla: 4.288 validated signatures (4.744 presented - 456 invalid)
- Ferrer: 3.935 validated signatures (4.442 presented - 507 invalid)
- Benedito: 2.520 validated signatures (2.896 presented - 376 invalid)

Read more:
The final number of signatures of support
The electoral proceedings
The process of collecting the signatures

Cartoon 40: Ferrer wants to resemble Laporta more

* JANME FERRER
The best club in the world is Catalan. They can learn from it. *

Ferrer:
To compete with Alexandre Rosell, I will have to 'laportazize' a bit more...

...so don't be surprised if you see me with this mask tomorow.


(click the cartoon to enlarge)


by caye

source:
sport

check more election cartoons here

Inter hopes to sign Guardiola after elections

Italian newspaper La Repubblica claims that Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is the number one candidate to replace José Mourinho as coach of Inter Milan. The Italian club would be postponing the decision on their new manager until after the presidential elections at Barcelona.

Because of a supposed total lack of feeling between presidential candidate Sandro Rosell and Guardiola, Inter reportedly think they have a chance to sign the Catalan coach if Rosell is elected as new president on Sunday 13 June.

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Guardiola wants to meet with the new president on 14 June to learn first hand about the future of the sports area, among other things about who could become the new sports director. Guardiola would continue next season and the signing of a new contract isn't considered to be a problem.

Read more:
Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years
Poll result: Would Guardiola be a good president?
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"

Most read of the month

these were the five most read blog posts during the past month of may:


1.
The program of Sandro Rosell

2.
Daughter of Stoichkov joins Plaza candidacy

3.
Rosell wants to regulate new members

4.
Poll result: Who would you vote for?

5.
Rosell to file lawsuit against Ingla

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[picture] Marc Ingla and Alicia Keys

Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla assisted yesterday a concert by American singer Alicia Keys in Barcelona.

Rosell considers Koeman as sports director

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that former Barcelona player Ronald Koeman (47) could replace Txiki Begiristain as sports director of Barcelona if Sandro Rosell would be elected as president on Sunday 13 June.

Although no final decision has yet been made, people of the candidacy of Rosell would have been talking with Koeman, who hasn't been active as coach since he was dismissed last December by Dutch club AZ and who now regularly works as television pundit for the Dutch television.

Ronald Koeman played six seasons for Barcelona, arriving in 1989 from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and leaving in the summer of 1995 for Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam. From the summer of 1998 until the year 2000, he was the assistant coach of Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal.

With Barcelona, Koeman won four consecutive Spanish league titles from 1991 to 1994, a Spanish cup in 1990, three Spanish Super Cups in 1991, 1992 and 1994, one Champions Leauge in 1992 and one European Super Cup in 1992. As assistant, he won one league title in 1999.

Read more:
Zubizarreta main option to replace Begiristain
Txiki: "My future will depend on new president"
Former player Amor supports candidacy Rosell

The Quotes: Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer, Benedito

"We're all again starting from zero."

Sandro Rosell


"We've come out from the first minute trying to win this game and we've only played the first minutes."

Marc Ingla


"I feel that a lot of people are changing their voting intention now that they start to know all projects better."

Jaume Ferrer


"The feeling I have is that Sandro Rosell won't win these elections. The member doesn't like it that others decide in his place."

Agustí Benedito

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Cartoon 39: Rosell overpowers opponents

* Rosell shows his electoral muscles

13.618 signatures *

(click the cartoon to enlarge)


by kap

source:
el mundo deportivo

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The final number of signatures of support

These are the final numbers of signatures of club members that were collected by the pre-candidates in the elections for president of FC Barcelona:

Sandro Rosell 13.618
Marc Ingla 4.744
Jaume Ferrer 4.442
Agustí Benedito 2.896
Jaume Guixà 1.845
Alexis Plaza 1.209
Santiago Salvat ?

The signatures of the four pre-candidates with the most support among club members were brought to the club and will be checked in the coming days. To pass the cut of the signatures and to be able to take part in the final vote on 13 June, candidates should have 2.095 validated signatures.

Alexis Plaza didn't present his signatures but brought them to a notary who counted and destroyed them. Jaume Guixà and Santiago Salvat didn't present their signatures eiter. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Salvat in the end would have collected around 1.100 signatures.

Read more:
Live Coverage: End of signatures process

[picture] Sandro Rosell and member number 1

Barcelona club member number one, Jaume Descals i Sanmartí, gave on Monday morning his signature of support to the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell.

[2003] Rosell to London to close Beckham deal

source: el mundo deportivo, tuesday 3 june 2003, page 5

Final offensive for Beckham

Sandro Rosell travels today to England to try to close the last details of the contract of Beckham

The candidacy of Joan Laporta has launched the final assault to seal the transfer of David Beckham to FC Barcelona if they get elected on the 15th.

The agreement with Manchester United is a done deal, but there are some last points of the negotiations left to be sort out tonight between Sandro Rosell and executive director Peter Kenyon at a dinner that will be held in an excellent restaurant in London, where both parties already met before.

Rosell will also meet with the representatives of English star player who are grouped into the company 'sfx', based in northern England but with offices in London, and that is led by Tony Stephens, the theoretical manager of 'Becks'.

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Live Coverage: End of signatures process

We will follow live the last hours of the process of the collection of the club members and explain what has happened today. Candidates should have 2.095 validated signatures to take part in the final vote. The deadline is at 9 pm tonight. Re-fresh!

The first candidate to come out today was Sandro Rosell. At 12:30 pm he gave a press conference in which he explained that he until that moment had collected 13.491 signatures.

7:00 pm Jaume Ferrer and members of his candidacy walking to the offices of the Camp Nou with the boxes containing the signatures. Ferrer confirmed this afternoon that he has collected 4.422 signatures.

7:20 pm Sandro Rosell is on his way to the Camp Nou with his whole board team in six cars. The candidacy would in the end have collected 13.603 signatures.

7:30 pm Sandro Rosell has arrived at the Camp Nou with the boxes with in the end 13.618 signatures. The candidate is in the centre of the picture, at the left is Jordi Cardoner, who will become social vice-president if Rosell is elected as president.

7:40 pm The candidacy of Marc Ingla announces that they have collected 4.756 signatures. The former vice-president is on his way to the Camp Nou.

8:00 pm This afternoon, Alexis Plaza has announced that his candidacy has collected 1.209 signatures, that have already been destroyed by a notary so they won't affect the signatures of the other candidates nor canbe used in the future. Around 6 pm, Plaza came to the Camp Nou to formally step out of the race.

8:30 pm The board team of Marc Ingla arrives with in the end 4.744 signatures. At the left of Ingla there's Victor Font, at the right Carme Miró, behind him Ferran Soriano and Albert Vicens.

8:45 Presidential candidates Jaume Guixà and Santiago Salvat haven't passed the cut although it's not yet known how many signatures they have collected.

9:00 pm Agustí Benedito also passes the cut with 2.847 signatures.

Xavi has a favourite candidate in the elections

Asked about the upcoming elections for president of FC Barcelona, Barcelona player Xavi Hernández, who won't be able to vote because he will be on South Africa to take part in the World Cup, has said that he has a preference although he won't reveal it:

"Honestly, I have a favourite candidate and I hope that he will win. But I have to keep a bit out of all this, also because I won't even be able to vote. I would ask the new president only one thing: that he leaves Guardiola alone so he can do his job and that he assures the continuity of the current sports model."

Read more:
Abidal wants current directors to win elections
Iniesta and Xavi on the elections
Puyol: "Players will stay out of the elections"

At least three television debates next week

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that at least three television debates will be held ahead of the elections for president of FC Barcelona on Sunday 13 June, although it is not yet clear if the candidates actually willl take part in all three or if they will be represented by other members of their candidacy.

The three debates that would already be confirmed will be broadcasted by Spanish television channel TVE on Tuesday 8 June, by Catalan television channel 8tv on Thursday 10 June and by Catalan television channel TV3 on Friday 11 June. Only in the last debate the candidates to become president will certainly take part.

A series of other debates could be scheduled by Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio on Monday 7 June, by Catalan television channel Barcelona Televisió on Wednesday 9 June and by Spanish radio station Cadena SER on Thursday 10 June.

Read more:
There could be up to six electorals debates

[picture] Josep Maria Minguella at the fair

Former Barcelona presidential candidate Josep Maria Minguella, part of the candidacy of Santiago Salvat, on campaign.

The Quotes: Plaza, Benedito, Rosell, Laporta, Ferrer

"I've never believed in a pact between Ferrer and Ingla. I would think that a deal between Ferrer and Rosell is more likely."

Alexis Plaza


"I will not use private jets if I'm elected as president."

Agustí Benedito


"We cannot have agreements with a country like Uzbekistan."

Sandro Rosell


"If mister Rosell want to act in a populist way, he might start to stop his relationship with Scolari, who has been a coach in Uzbekistan."

Joan Laporta


"When in the past the outgoing president didn't take part in the elections, the favourite has never won."

Jaume Ferrer

read more election quotes here