Most read of the week

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


1.
Rosell wants to regulate new members

2.
Poll result: Who would you vote for?

3.
Torres not rejecting approach by Rosell

The Quotes: Godall, Ferrer, Salvat, Soriano, Rosell

"Both Ferran Soriano and Marc Ingla, who got to know agents and other people in the world of football when they were economic and sports vice-presidents, have received phone calls with suggestions and offers regarding players. We will contact Txiki and transmit him all the information we received."

Alfons Godall


"We want to collect around 10.000 signatures."

Jaume Ferrer


"We have carried out a poll in the surroundings of the Camp Nou that indicated that we would win with 42% of the votes"

Santiago Salvat


"It's ridiculous that a candidate thinks that he has more possibilities than the club to sign players."

Ferran Soriano


"Pep shouldn't have total control. He only needs the power that the coach of Barcelona should have."

Sandro Rosell

read more election quotes here

[picture] Sandro Rosell and Charly

Former Barcelona player and coach Carles Rexach, who supports Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell, took this week part in a debate at the campaign headquarters of the former sports vice-president.

Ingla: "We will change the style of government"

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


Club members are holding you at the street after you announced your candidacy?
Yes, and the outcome is very positive. When talking face to face you realize that there was a real need for a solid and capable candidacy that ensures a genuine continuity of the current success model. It is good that there is a candidate besides the offical one and the one that wants the complete rupture and is opposed to the current model.

It's a challenge that the campaign will be quite short?
It is a small challenge, but it is better like this. The member should not be thinking about policies the whole time. It is important for the club that the member participates, but it is good that there is no competition going on, so that voters can analyze well the options and make the best decision without being distracted by sports isues.

The crucial element of the candidacy is a core of experienced people who are already known by the members. What do you want to transmit by that?
That we are the candidacy of the four most influential vice-presidents in the last seven years. That we have no link with the current president and that we offer the members a project for the future. That we will give total continuity to the sporting projects, trying to strengthen them. And that we will change what needs to be changed.

What needs to be changed?
The style of government. We will clearly change it. And in addition, we will give the club a new economic boost and make Barça the most participatory club in the world.

Your slogan is "More Barça than ever", more participation than ever... Which things Barça should have less of?
Less overuse of the office of president. The board should have more common sense than ever and put the interests of the club before the ideologies of the directors. We have to make a leap forward and achieve institutional excellence, which is what we propose.

Laporta said a few days ago that people should not forget that the one who represents the continuity is Jaume Ferrer...
The member should decide on the adjectives. We want to explain our project. The project of Ferrer is a continuism that has a lack of substance. It's a good person, but he stands alone. He has not been a key person during those years of success. He has been the treasurer during most of that time. He did not take any of the decisions that have made this club big.

How many candidates will pass the cut of the signatures?
Since a month I'm saying that there will be four. I do not know exactly who they will be, but I have the feeling that there will be four.

You think there will be pacts?
It is very complicated. Once the groups have their own dynamics, it is difficult to change them. At Barça, there are no ideologies, so it's all about group's dynamics. That is positive because it allows the members to have more options. Also for the candidates, because it makes us compete and make better proposals.

Would you make a deal with Ferrer?
I think that is very complicated.

If a deal would be possible, would you be willing to give up the number one position?
No. In all modesty, I believe that our candidacy has the most power, the most experience, and ensures the model. We have helped to shape it. I myself helped to arrange the transition from Rijkaard to Guardiola. Luckily, the sport project we set up is still in place.

Are you the center project?
We are the balanced project, with the most knowledge. At one side, we have the bureaucratic officialism and on the other side, we have the constant opposition to the current model.

You're in the center and you're a team...
I am fortunate and I have the honour to wear the captain's armband. Any of the other three companions could wear it. They have decided that it would be me. But our style is that of a group. We are distancing ourselves from the superegos.

How would you define your team?
Very polyvalent and very Barca, because we go out there trying to win from the first minute, with an attractive project, and creative in attack, like the Barça of Pep. We will go forward and when we will need to defend ourselves against the attacks by other candidates, we will do that without stopping to think about how to recover the ball and go forward again. It will be the style of a team, it won't be presidential.

Are you ready for the attacks in a campaign that is expected to be dirty?
I'm not ready for a dirty campaign, I'm ready for fair play and positive ideas. Dirty games don't interest me. We will make very clear that there is a man who opposes the current model and another one who represents a continuism that I don't I believe in.

Aren't you worried about presenting a team project in a football world that is very presidential?
The model of a president-star, who lives in outer space so that nobody knows where he is, is very unrealistic. We have the current example and we have a candidate who is very much like it and who is acting as a star for almost five years. The position of president of Barça has a certain danger to it and I - as anyone else - could be affected by it, so that is why for the good government of the club things should be done as a team. And I have the best.

What will be your style as president?
Delegating a lot, giving everyone their own areas of government. And discrete, with a rather low profile, I do not like the big gestures. It is a feature of my personality, and combined with the best team, we can find a good balance.

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

[picture] Candidates take part in football game

This morning, members of several presidential candidacies, former players of FC Barcelona and representatives of the press have played a football tournament in Barcelona.

From left to right:
Agustí Benedito, Alexis Plaza, Santiago Salvat, Jaume Guixà, Carles Ayats [candidacy Jaume Ferrer] and Josep Maria Bartomeu [candidacy Sandro Rosell]

Former president Nunez will support Rosell

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that former Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez supports the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell.

Núnez, who has been silent on club matters since he left as president ten years ago, would yesterday have decided to make that support public, although the way in which that will happen is not yet clear.

Josep Lluís Núñez is a 78-year old Catalan businessman from the construction and the hotel sector. He was elected as president of FC Barcelona in 1978. Núñez was five times re-elected before resigning from his post in 2000.

Read more:
Nunez takes distance from candidate
Poll result: Best Barcelona president ever?
Former president Nunez to run with support Cruyff

[picture] Soriano visiting Brazil

Former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano travelled last week to Brazil to present the "A bola não entra por acaso", a Portuguese translation of his sports management book "La pilota no entra per atzar" (The ball doesn't go in by chance).

While he was in Brazil, Soriano also visited the Barcelona fan club of São Paulo to talk about the presidential candidacy of Marc Ingla, of which he is a member.

The Quotes: Benedito, Ferrer, Salvat, Ingla, Rosell

"One of our ideas is to introduce voting by mail."

Agustí Benedito


"If Laporta would run, I would vote for him."

Jaume Ferrer


"Unicef is a good thing but if Barça needs more revenues you will have to look at the option of finding a shirt sponsor."

Santiago Salvat


"Both Rosell and Laporta are impulsive people who like to be the star."

Marc Ingla


"The fans now feel more like a customer than like an owner of the club."

Sandro Rosell

read more election quotes here

Weekly Round-Up (23): Who will succeed Laporta?

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

The club’s board of directors has officially called the elections for Barcelona president to be held on 13 June 2010 at the Camp Nou. The board has, in the exercise of its mandate, also set the electoral calendar and agreed on the proceedings that would be followed in the conduct of the elections.

As of May 20, the confirmed candidates are Jaume Ferrer, Sandro Rosell, Marc Ingla, Agusti Benedito, Jaume Guixa, Salvador Salvat, Alexis Plaza, and Francesc Mañe.

The qualified list of candidates, or those that have satisfied the conditions for candidacy and made the signature’s cut, will be announced on 3 June, ten days before the actual vote.

>>> read the complete weekly round-up here

Rosell: "Guardiola represents our core values"

Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell gave an interview to Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.


You talk about recovering values. What do you mean by that?
I refer to sobriety, austerity, plurality, to understand that Barça is not a political option but that everybody can be part of our club.

But you are considered to be close to CiU [catalan centre-right nationalist party]. Is that going to influence Barça if you win?
No. It's true - and I'm proud of that - that my father was one of the founders of CiU, but I've never been a member of any party nor have I been to any political rally. It will have no influence at all. If we win the elections, we will be the board of all Barça members, no matter where they come from. What unites us is FC Barcelona and the values of the club, that are those I have mentioned plus our catalanism, which is at the heart of the club.

What do you think about the club being in favour of independence?
Bad. Barça has Catalan values but politics is another thing and it is not good to defend a political option through Barça.

You spoke about austerity. However, you have or have had businesses related with the world of football and it can sometimes be very difficult to separate things.
The important thing is to be honest. You can be honest or not honest while having a sports marketing business like mine or having a pizzeria, it doesn't matter. The important thing is not the sector in which you work, but your personal education. I dedicate 40 to 50% of my time to this company and what I will do is make time to lead the club properly. In addition, my company is dedicated to sports like skiing.

Barça is among the top clubs and Guardiola has been crucial in that. What does Guardiola mean to you?
Guardiola represents the core values of this club, like hard work, modesty, prudence, austerity, respect for all people, while at the same time the ambition to win by playing fair.

Do you agree that Guardiola has been the corner stone of the recent successes?
Guardiola has done a lot. He has build a bunker around the team, he has isolated them from the entourage. That has been one of the key decisions.

There are presidents who have a tendency of trying to have an influence on the sports area. You're a football fan, would you fall into that temptation?
No, I will not make that mistake. The dressing room and the team bus are of the players, those are sacred places.

You start as the favourite, there's a feeling that you will surely win the elections but the same could happen to you as to Bassat...
I want to have those feelings on Sunday the 13th at night. It's as hard to be the president of Barça than to not be it. For me, this is very clear. I know that if I win, I will know how to be president, and if I don't win I will be able to keep on being just another club member.

You have said that you agree that the club signs players now.
I hope that if Cesc and Villa are signed, that this is done for the good of the club, because Pep has decided that and that they do not pay more than they're worth.

Given the severe economic crisis, paying 40 or 50 millions for a player seems excessive.
You have to think a lot about it, you have to know the market price and know the financial situation of the club. In the cases of Cesc and Villa, you have to see if there are other clubs that would pay that amount and I think there aren't. So why hurry then? You have to think about the club, and if you can get them for 20 or 25 millions, the better.

Who will replace Txiki?
We need to talk with him. Rumour has it that he will leave. If he decides to leave, then we have a plan B. No employee of the club will lose his job, except for the general manager, who cannot spend the money of the member to investigate directors. That is immoral.

Are you against television debates?
We will go to all the debates the candidates agree to.

You say that the hours of the game should change. That has so far been impossible.
It is very difficult to do that until 2013 because there is a contract. But after that there will be a new round of negotiations. We want rational hours so children can go to the stadium.

Your proposals include the creation of a youth area in the Camp Nou.
Yes. I have met with leaders of the existing support groups to create a unified youth area.

Have you met with the boixos nois?
No. I am against violence. They have no place in this new group. But there are people who are against violence and who once were part of the boixos but are now integrated in other platforms.

From all the other candidates, with whom do you think you might end up making a deal?
With none of them. We have a team and a program. I think it's very difficult that people who have been fighting would again become friends and that this would work.

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

Read more:
Rosell wants to regulate new members
The program of Sandro Rosell
Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years

interview: dagoberto escorcia

Godall resigns as director ahead of the elections

Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall has this morning offerred his resignation as director of the club in a letter that he personally delivered to the secretary of president Joan Laporta. As Godall explains on his Facebook page, his resignation will be officially accepted during the board meeting on Monday.

Godall is part of the presidential candidacy of former Barcelona vice-president Marc Ingla and according to the statutes of the club, the directors who want to be officially part of a candidacy must resign some weeks before the elections. The other board members who will participate in the elections are expected to resign at the start of next week.

Read more:
Godall: "It's a team project against ego projects"
Ferrer gets new support from board members
Godall confirms he is part of Ingla candidacy

Txiki: "My future will depend on new president"

Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain gave an interview to the club's official media.


Your career as sports director will end on 13 June?
That will depend on the new president. There are many questions that a president should ask the sports director and vice versa. If they give him the opportunity.

Do you want to continue or you've had enough?
I don't have a burn-out. We're again at the stage of building a new squad and I am very happy doing that, independent of whether I will continue or not. I'm very happy with the job. I like it a lot, I enjoy it, even though deciding who comes and who doesn't is sometimes difficult. But always with the certainty that you know you have the support of the coach. It will depend a lot on the new president.

There are already some candidates who have expressed their intention of keeping you.
Yes, but I have many more questions to ask than I did in 2003. Because of the experience, I feel a lot more secure and I have the advantage that I can ask a lot more questions to the new president. Because this job is not easy.

Read more:
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"
Plaza considers Alexanko as sports director
Begiristain proposes Zubizarreta as his successor

interview: sandra sarmiento

Poll Voting Intentions: One Month Before

This is the final result (in percentages) of this blog's Who would you vote for in the elections for president of FC Barcelona? poll that was held exactly one month before the elections:

Sandro Rosell 30.9
Marc Ingla 23.6
Jaume Ferrer 15.5
Agusti Benedito 11.2

Don't know/Don't answer 9.4
Alexis Plaza 5.6
Santiago Salvat 2.2
Jaume Guixa 1.7

compare with the results of february, march and april here

check more voting intention poll results

[picture] The kiss of Santiago Salvat

Barcelona presidential candidate Santiago Salvat kissing his wife at the presentation of his candidacy at the Olympic and Sports museum in Barcelona.

The Quotes: Benedito, Rosell, Laporta

"As happened with Villa, Cesc will sign before the elections. These transfers have electoral motives."

Agustí Benedito


"Villa has been signed for 50 million euros when you count the transfer fee, the fees of the agents and the incentives."

Sandro Rosell


"For Barça, it would be good if we can sign and present another player before the World Cup."

Joan Laporta

read more election quotes here

Ingla wants global youth academy

The candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla has yesterday explained at a press conference their program for the sports area of the club. Some of the proposals:

No intervention by the board
There is no vice-president and the board does not propose transfers to the sports director and the coach, who are responsible for the sports area.

Blaugrana manual
Elaboration of a written and audiovisual manual that describes in detail the football philosophy of the club, including playing schemes and training schedules, and that will be used by the technical staff of the youth academy.

Modernized players database
New technologies should allow the club to follow promising players in all leagues around the world in real time and online.

Global Youth Academy
Through association agreements with clubs in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, West Africa, Eastern Europa and Scandinavia, Barcelona will set up youth academies around the world. The ultimate goal is to have a pool of 1500 youth players (instead of 300 now) and to have a first team squad with 75% of former players in 5 to 10 year.

Barça Atlètic
The squad should consist of: 10 former youth academy players, 4 juvenil players, 4 players from the global youth academy and 4 experienced players.

Read more:
Ingla plans referendums on shirts and stadium
The program of Sandro Rosell
Ingla denies he didn't want Unicef on shirt

[2003] Main Catalan bank denies link with Bassat

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

La Caixa says they are not behind any candidacy

The bank issued a statement to clarify that it does not endorse any candidate

La Caixa yesterday issued a statement to clarify that they are not behind any candidacy. The bank stated that "we do not support, in particular, none of the candidates who take part in the upcoming elections of FC Barcelona".

With this brief statement, La Caixa distanced themselves from all the candidacies and made clear that their relationship with the club is independent of the president who will be elected on 15 June.

In recent days, the financial institution has turned into a key player in the electoral process of the club after Lluís Bassat announced the addition that Salvador Alemany would join his candidacy as future president of the Foundation. The publicist said that his plan that the Foundation would control the assets of the club.

This announcement provoked reactions from other candidates, who mentioned the relationship of Alemany with La Caixa and even went so far as to accuse the bank of wanting to take control of the club.

check more 2003 election stories