Cartoon 36: Joan Laporta

(click the cartoon to enlarge)


source:
público

check more election cartoons here

Official election calendar announced

During a board meeting this morning, the Barcelona board of directors has made a decision on the final electoral calendar ahead of the elections that will be held on Sunday 13 June. The timetable in the end looks like this:

Monday 10 May
Publication of the call of elections

Friday 14 May
Draw for the designation of the members of the Electoral Board and Table

Sunday 16 May
Act of constitution of the Electoral Board and Table

Monday 17 - Friday 21 May
Display of the Electoral Roll and claims against the Electoral Roll

Monday 24 May
Resolution of claims by the Board of Directors and passing of the definitive Roll

Tuesday 25 May - Tuesday 1 June
Presentation of candidates

Thursday 3 June
Proclamation of candidates

Friday 4 - Friday 11 June
Electoral campaign

Saturday 12 June
Day of reflection

Sunday 13 June
Election day, count and proclamation of the winners

Read more:
Number of voters and signatures announced
Elections will be held on Sunday 13 June
How much will the elections cost?

You have a question for Alexis Plaza?

This blog has agreed an interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Alexis Plaza and we want to give you the chance to ask him what you want to know about his person, his program or the future of the club.

You can put your question as a comment under this post or send it to us at "barcaelections2010 ... yahoo ... com".

to know more about alexis plaza, you can read a report of his first press conference here and the key points of his election program here

Benedito could limit number of club members

In a video response to a question by this blog through microblogging service Twitter about his supposed plan to limit the number of club members (read more here), Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has confirmed that he doesn't exclude a limitation and that he wants to introduce the new concept of associate:

"I think that we should define the final model we want for our supporters. In the end, we haven chosen for the new concept of the 'associate', which would be the Barcelona fan who feels the need to be part of the club and who could get benefits and would be rewarded for his efforts and his condition of member of FC Barcelona. This wouldn't exactly be the same of the concept of 'club member' as we know it.

I think we all should try to find an agreement and ask ourselves if we want a model of an unlimited growth of the number of club members, which could lead to having 100.000, 200.000, 300.000 or 500.000 club members, or if we need to introduce other concepts, like the one proposed by us: the concept of associate, where one could really feel a member of the Barcelona community and family.

In any case, we should decide this all together. A lot of club members are worried because the initial model of unlimited growth of club members could lead to an internal conflict and I think it would be good to analyze everything in a calm way and with consensus and make a final decision: do we introduce the concept of the associate or do we maintain the model of the club members without limitations?"

Read more:
Benedito: "Our secret weapon are the people"
Guixa and Benedito want members to ratify Cruyff
Benedito introduces campaign fundraising

The Number: 150

150

the number of pages of the election program of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell

Former collaborator Majo part of Ferrer board

Catalan businessman Pere Castellsagué [picture, on the left] will be part of the board team of Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer. On Monday 3 May, Castellsagué and Ferrer will present the program of the candidate during a meeting in Les Franqueses del Vallès, a Catalan town near the French border.

Pere Castellsagué has been active for many years in the world of football in Catalonia. He has among other things been player, coach and president of local Catalan football club Llerona. In 2003, Castellsagué was a member of the board team of Barcelona presidential candidate Jordi Majó.

Read more:
French director Auset part of Ferrer candidacy
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"
Castells denies talks with Ferrer and Ingla

University analyzing media coverage elections

The Catalan University of Vic has last week announced that they will create an observatory 'Barça Elections 2010' that will follow the media coverage during the campaign of the elections for president of FC Barcelona.

Twenty students will help to analyze how the media - mainly the Catalan print media - treat the candidates and which support those are getting on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The study will also try to indicate which are the key themes during the campaign.

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
The Pundit: Pep Lloveras on media support Rosell
Ferrer has biggest media impact

Salvat talking with ex-players Stoichkov and Ferrer

Barcelona site Eleccions FCB claims that Barcelona presidential candidate Santiago Salvat is holding talks with several former Barcelona players about joining his candidacy. Hristo Stoichkov [picture] and Albert Ferrer would be two of the players with whom the candidacy is talking.

Hristo Stoichkov (44) joined Barcelona in the summer of 1990, arriving from CSKA Sofia. Five years later, the Bulgarian striker moved to Italian club Parma but came back the next season. In 1998, he returned to CSKA Sofia. After his retirement, Stoichkov started a coaching career. In March of this year, he quit South-African club Mamelodi Sundowns

Albert Ferrer (39) came through the Barcelona youth ranks, joining the first team in 1990. The Catalan right back defender played eight years for Barcelona before leaving for English Premier League club Chelsea. Ferrer is currently a media pundit working for television, radio and print media.

Read more:
Former player Belletti gives support to Rosell
Three 'Dream Team' players in candidacy Guixa
Former player Archibald linked with elections

The Decalogue of Jaume Guixa (1)

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Guixà has published a "decalogue" in which he explains the ten key points of his election program.


1. With Jaume Guixà, Barça will again be of the members

The club member, the true owner of Barça, will again be listened to and respected. For a more democratic and participatory Barça
• We are a members' club since 110 years and we will continue to be so. The assembly of delegates is our parliament. The delegate will execute his task.

Member, your years of membership will count
• The members with more years of membership of the club will receive preferential treatment.
• The senators will have a more important role.

More benefits for the members
• A draw will allow members to watch the matches from the VIP lounges of the Camp Nou.
• We will make sure no more games will be played at 10 pm on weekdays.

Members without a seat, closer than ever to the Camp Nou
• There will be a strict control of the waiting lists and we will inform the member without a seat of their place on the list.
• Members without a seat will have more possibilities to watch games at the Camp Nou thanks to a draw of tickets.

2. With Jaume Guixà, we will work with transparency

Less self-centredness and more efficiency and transparency.
• FC Barcelona is a sports club. The main actors are the players and the coaches, not the directors.
• The board of the directors will get a new structure, a more effective working model and an ethical code of conduct.

A board of directors that is closer to and communicates more with the member
• The board of directors will inform the members in a clear way and at the right time about the management regarding all areas (sports, economic, social and cultural).

An honest presidency without privileges
• The board of directors shall loyally serve the club and will not get any benefits or privileges. No more lies.
• No to the internet voting. The election of the board of directors should be at a polling station. The participation will be made easier through several polling stations in the country.

More identification with the neighbours
• For an open and respectful dialogue with the neighbours of the Camp Nou, especially regarding the issues that affect the quality of life of the neighbourhood.

3. With Jaume Guixà, a renewed Camp Nou with more seats

No to the Foster project. The Camp Nou, rated 5 stars, needs to be renewed
• The Camp Nou will be expanded with a maximum of 15.000 seats, that will be more comfortable.
• The access to the stadium, the quality of the services (restaurants, toilets) and the lighting will be improved and the security systems and other facilities will be enhanced and modernized.
• Members and supporters with disabilities will have adequate access to enable them to attend and see the games properly.

4. With Jaume Guixà, no to the sale of the Mini Estadi

The best club in the world with two stadiums.
• We will keep the Mini, because it's needed for Barça Atlètic and the youth academy.
• The Mini Estadi will be used more as a multifunctional venue.

this was the first part of this decalogue. you will be able to read the following parts in the coming days.

Read more:
Guixa not considering pact with other candidacies
Three candidates take part in radio show
Guixa: "We want to help other Catalan clubs"

Godall and Soriano will be vice-presidents Ingla

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall will support the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla and will become a vice-president if the latter is elected as president.

Former Barcelona vice-presidents Ferran Soriano and Albert Vicens, who left the board together with Ingla after the vote of no confidence in 2008, will also become vice-presidents if Ingla will be the next president.

Read more:
Soriano, Vicens and maybe Godall in Ingla team
Ingla confirms that he will run for president
Talks between Ingla and Godall

The Pic: Benedito and the rose

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito in Barcelona last Friday, when the Catalans celebrated Sant Jordi, a holiday - similar to Valentine's Day - when the girl receives a rose and the boy receives a book.

[2003] Antic convinced of staying after elections

source: el mundo deportivo, wednesday 30 april 2003, page 6

"If he who wins seeks the best for the club, he will count on me"

A confident Antic said that he "would not understand that the president elected by the members would do the opposite"

Radomir Antic is not beside himself with joy. Despite the fact that the renewal he signed on Monday, is conditional upon the approval of the board that wins the elections, the Serbian coach considers himself to be already fully renewed.

Such is his conviction that he is the most suitable candidate for the role, that he yesterday said that it was not even crossing his mind that the successor of Enric Reyna would not ratify the decision of the current president, as he told yesterday in interviews with several radio stations.

"The next president will count on me. For the good of the club, I would not understand that the president who will be elected by the members would do otherwise. I think it would be weird that whoever comes out of the vote would not want to count on me, because I have proven my skills and the members are satisfied with my work", he said.

The Serbian coach emphasized that if the next president decides not to count on him "I won't get paid anything, there's no discussion about that, I will assume the risk."

check more 2003 election stories

Medina will be vice-president Salvat

Asked what his role will be if Barcelona presidential candidate Santiago Salvat is elected as president of FC Barcelona, Catalan lawyer and former presidential candidate Jordi Medina has said in an interview with Catalan local television station Teletaxi TV that he would become one of the vice-presidents:

"I'm part of the candidacy, I helped to organize it and just like other people who are supporting the candidate, I would become vice-president. That's clear. Why didn't I want to head the project myself? Because at this moment, I'm very busy in my job and running for president requires a lot of time and effort."

Read more:
Santiago Salvat is Minguella-Medina candidate
Medina continues to work on candidacy
Majo, Minguella and Medina working on candidacy

Plaza wants shirt sponsor and internet voting

On the offical website of his candidacy, Barcelona presidential candidate Alexis Plaza explains some of the key points of his group's election program:

Youth Goal
We want to bring together all the groups that animate the team during the games at the Camp Nou in a zone behind one of the goals to unite all the energy we have for Barça. We will also offer schools and universities the chance to come to the stadium and take place in these zones.

More seats for the members
We will make more seats available for club members without a season ticket. Those seats will be part of a yearly rotating system so that all members will have the same right to assist the games.

Shirt sponsor
We need to optimize the performances of our club and we cannot reject a revenue of between 18 and 20 million euros that an official first team sponsor would give us. We will nonetheless continue to support Unicef because they are doing a very important job around the world.

Mini Estadi
The sale of assets will first have to be approved by the members, just like every other important decision. In case they vote in favour of a sale of the Mini Estadi, we will use the money to pay part of our debts, renew the Camp Nou and improve both the Palau and the ice rink.

More than a club
We want to continue to be much more than a club and that's why we want to integrate new sections for people with a physical or intellectual handicap.

Reform of the statutes
Internet voting should be a right for all members. We will raise the period during which you need to have been a club member to be able to be a candidate for president of the club from the current one year to six years.

Read more:
Alexis Plaza presents his candidacy for president
Three candidates take part in radio show
Young Barcelona fans setting up candidacy

Barcelona - Inter 2. Semifinale

I kveld kolkken 20.45 på Camp Nou, spilles årets kamp til nå for FC Barcelona. Mourinhos Inter står på den andre banehalvdelen, og etter deres 3-1 seier i Milano forrige uke kan dette bli tøft. Det finnes ikke et ledig sete igjen på stadion, og klubben har bedt supporterne om å lage et h*****e på tribunen i kveld, for noe større for Barcelona enn å vinne Champions League på Real Madrid sin hjemmebane... hva kan det være? Ja kanskje på sin egen hjemmebane. Når sant skal sies er nok ikke Bayern noen walk-over heller, men først skal nå kveldens kamp spilles. Hvis ikke Pep finner på noe helt merkelig blir laget dette; Valdes, Alves, Pique, Milito, Abidal, Xavi, Sergio, Keita, Messi, Zlatan og Pedro.

Ingla confirms that he will run for president

Speaking to Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio, former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla has confirmed the rumours that he will take part in the elections for president of FC Barcelona:

"My intention is to present a candidacy. This hasn't been just an individual decision, but a joint decision of a group of colleagues and friends.

I will run for president because I love the club, because I'm passionate about Barça, about football and about sports in general. But also because we think we can add things that are different and another point of view.

I don't want to enter discussions between Barcelona fans and groups. I want to offer the member a model with the maximum credibility that guarantees exits, not only on a sporting level but also on a social and economic level. I have a good feeling about this, I'm getting the support of a lot of members."

Read more:
Ingla has decided to run for president
Soriano, Vicens and maybe Godall in Ingla team
Ingla preparing his election campaign

The Quote: Sandro Rosell

"We will be 'catalanistas' and 'barcelonistas'. On Saturdays, my father let me listen to the disk of the Declaration of the Republic by Francesc Macià. And he instilled it into me. And I copied it and my friends came to our home to listen to it. And on Sundays, we went to the Camp Nou to see Barça."


Sandro Rosell,
Barcelona presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

Weekly Round-Up (20): Villa could be presented

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

Catalan media are abuzz with speculations that significant signings could take place ahead of the June 13 elections for Barcelona president.

More specifically, sources have claimed that Valencia star striker David Villa could be presented before the end of Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s term in June and that reportedly, a principal agreement (with a 30 million euro price tag) has been reached between Barcelona and Valencia representatives during a meeting held last week.

The move to get Villa (and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas) to ink a deal before election day has been linked in recent weeks to Laporta’s alleged plan to block presidential candidate Sandro Rosell from announcing signings to boost his candidacy.

Rosell and bitter rival Laporta are also currently tangled up in controversy over former Barcelona player Ronaldinho after Laporta claimed in a recently published book that Rosell tried to convince him to sell the twice named World Player of the Year to English side Chelsea so they could cash in on a 10% commission that reportedly came with the 100 million deal. Both Rosell and Chelsea have denied the claims and are said to be preparing legal action against Laporta.

>>> read the complete weekly round-up here

Miquel Pou retires and gives support to Rosell

Through a note on the Facebook page of his candidacy, Majorcan university employee Miquel Pou has announced that he withdraws his candidacy for president of FC Barcelona and that he gives his support to presidential candidate and former sports vice-president Sandro Rosell:

"A few weeks ago, I went to listen to the candidate Sandro Rosell in the Majorcan town of Inca. His program was 100% the same as ours. This past weekend, I went to Barcelona and I could hear him again, and I was able to check first hand that what he says is the same everywhere.

Given that there is a serious danger that the continuism stays in power, I want to let you know that I have decided to withdraw my candidacy and to support Sandro Rosell as the next president of FC Barcelona.

I want to clarify that I did not talk with him and that he nor anyone from his team has ofered me something. So to all the people, organizations and fan clubs that have supported me until today, I ask all of you from now on to help Sandro Rosell to become president of FC Barcelona."

Read more:
Majorcan Miquel Pou running for president
Francesc Mane will run for president
Presentation video of candidate Miquel Pou

Guixa: "We want to help other Catalan clubs"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Guixà gave an interview to Catalan local television station Teletaxi TV.


What has been the contribution of Laporta to the recent sporting successes of Barça?
Laporta should be congratulated for the courage he had when he promoted a coach of the third division to first team coach. But said that, it should be clear that Guardiola and his staff have been able to shield the players from the problems created by the board of directors. This board was the most voted in history in 2003, and will also go down in history for the Barça of the 6 Cups and for the 2-6 which I consider to be one more cup. But on the other hand, 16 directors resigned, four vice-presidents investigated by a security company, problems with two presidents of autonomous communities, one being the one of Extremadura, a member of the Barcelona fan club for a long time. All these clashes are unnecessary in my opinion and that is why I say that we are presenting ourselves as an alternative, thanking him for the good things he has done, but obviously willing to do everything he hasn't done.

What do you think of the club's current general director, mister Oliver? Who will you propose to take his place?
The day the affair with the security audits became public, the four vice-president should have resigned or Joan Oliver should have been dismissed. As clear as that. We don't count on the sport director, Txiki Berigistain, nor on the current general director of the club, who is someone we don't trust. What we want is to restructure the sports area by strengthening the youth academy, finishing the training centre and keeping the Miniestadi which should be the home of Barça Athlètic in the Spanish second division. Therefore, there will be a sports director for the youth, one for the B team and one for the first team. As I have already said in other meetings, we also want to help Lleida, Girona and Nastic de Tarragona by loaning players to them and make the other Catalan clubs stronger.

What do you think of the other candidates? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
I do not know some of them, electorally speaking, so I do not know what strengths and weaknesses they have. One has not yet presented himself so I will be friendly with him. Jaume Ferrer probably doesn't like walking because when we were doing the parade at the meeting of fan club's from all around the world in Murcia, he only joined in for the last 50 metres. I met Benedito at the gala of "The Catalan of the Year" and I did not know that he lives in Bellaterra, which very close to my hometown Sant Cugat, but I didn't discuss a lot with him.

Will you lift the veils?
I will not do what the 'Elefant Blau' did, which is promising many things and then not fulfil any of them. That's why we want to act very serious. We will do some audits, internal and external ones, to see where we stand, what the debts are, and how the budget of the club is being spent. It is something very important. We will make the audits public because it is part of the transparency we want.

Before you already spoke about Núñez. As the only candidate that has nothing to do with Laporta, could you inherit the votes of the nuñistas?
If I was a member who used to vote for Núñez, I would think twice before I voted for someone related to the 'Elefant Blau'. I am happy to say the figure of José Luis Núñez is for me a benchmark figure as president of Barça.

Were you surprised by the accusation Laporta made in his book about an offer by Rosell to split a commission for the sale of Ronaldinho to Chelsea?
I do not know what happens inside the club, but what this suggests is that a lot of things happened within the club that have not been clarified. When I say that I am an alternative to the laportism that is also because I want to clarify all these events.

In 2006, when you took part in the elections, you failed to pass the cut of the signatures, but the day they you had to present them you said you had them but that you were waiting for a plane to arrive from the Canary Islands. That plane has already arrived?
What happened in 2006 is that we said that we never again wanted to have an election campaign for the presidency of Barcelona in August. At that time, we had to collect 1.804 signatures to make the cut and we had 1.603. We did not try to appear with our picture in the media with the signatures as did another pre-candidate who didn’t make it.

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

Read more:
Guixa wants clarification on Ronaldinho commission
Guixa not considering pact with other candidacies
Guixa wants representative fan clubs in board

Soriano, Vicens and maybe Godall in Ingla team

Catalan television station TV3 claims that former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla will head a list that will include two former vice-presidents who left the club with him in 2008 after the vote of no confidence: Ferran Soriano and Albert Vicens.

Vicens, who reportedly thought at the start to stay out of the elections process (read more here), would have confirmed to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo that he is already actively taking part in the preparation of the campaign of Ingla. During a meeting on Sunday afternoon at the house of Ingla, some last details about the campaign would have been discussed.

Besides the two ex-directors, Ingla could also get the support of current vice-president Alfons Godall, who withdrew his own candidacy last month (read more here). Godall and Ingla would currently be holding talks on a collaboration and it might soon be officially announced that Godall will be part of the project.

Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu says that it's certain that Godall will join the candidacy of Ingla. Asked about the reports in the media, Godall nevertheless denied on his Facebook page that there would already be a deal: "At this moment, nothing has been confirmed... We will see how everything will evolve!"

Read more:
Talks between Ingla and Godall
Ingla preparing his election campaign
Soriano confirms support for Ingla

on the picture (from left to right): ferran soriano, albert vicens, marc ingla, alfons godall

[2003] Candidate meets with Saviola and Sorin

source: el mundo deportivo, tuesday 29 april 2003, page 12

"Hi, I'm your next president"

This is how Josep Martínez-Rovira presented himself to Sorín and Saviola, whom he met yesterday at the El Prat airport

"Hello, I am your next president." With these optimistic words Josep Martínez-Rovira presented himself yesterday to Saviola and Sorín, whom he met at the El Prat airport, where the two Barça players, together with Juan Román Riquelme, took a flight to Rome to join the Argentinean national team, that will tomorrow play against Libya in Tripoli.

Martínez-Rovira explained them that he will take part in the elections and expressed confidence in winning them. The continuity of Sorín, who is on loan from Cruzeiro, will be one of the first decisions to be taken by Martínez-Rovira if he is elected as president.

After discussing some of the plays of the match against Real Sociedad, including the goal of 'The Little Kid', the candidate, who travelled to Paris for business reasons (he is vice-chairman of the Media Planning-Group), said goodbye wishing them good luck for the rest of the league season.

check more 2003 election stories

The Quote: Alexis Plaza

"I won't make a deal with any other candidate, not when we collect 10 signatures, not when we collect the 2.095 signatures needed to take part in the final vote."


Alexis Plaza,
Barcelona presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

Rosell meeting with Espanyol coach Pochettino

Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell met last week with Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino at the Godó tennis tournament in Barcelona.

Presidential candidates Jaume Ferrer, Jaume Guixà, Santiago Salvat and Alexis Plaza also visited the tournament, as did rumoured candidate Marc Ingla.

Castells denies talks with Ferrer and Ingla

Asked about the rumours that he has been holding talks with Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer and possible candidate Marc Ingla (read more here), former Barcelona vice-president Joan Castells has explicitly denied the contacts in an interview with Spanish news agency EFE:

"It's absolutely false that I have been talking with them. If they want to know something about me, they know where they can find me. I'm open for talks with whoever wants that. Later, I will analyze everything. Setting up a candidacy myself? That's difficult now."

EFE claims that Castells has been talking with other club members who want to take part in the elections, while at the same time thinking about leading an own candidacy. After weeks of reflection, he would now have excluded the latter.

Read more:
Former director Castells considering election role
Joan Castells unlikely candidate
Former vice-presidents Ingla and Castells talking

Salvat presents basic ideas of election program

Through a document that was published on his campaign website, Barcelona presidential candidate Santiago Salvat, who didn't yet officially present his candidacy for the presidency of FC Barcelona, has already revealed the key points of his project:

We want a Barça that avoids social division
"I lead a great and plural group of club members, that is representative of all ways of thinking."

We will give stability to the sports area
"We will strengthen the successes of the first team and the sections, but with a better management and a better institutional image of Barça."

"We will create an international network that allows us to be able to find and to form the new Messi of the next decade."

The members will have a voice
"As a new and inclusive alternative we will carry out the democratization of Barça, which didn't yet take place."

"The general assembly of delegates will represent the plurality of the members, will participate more and will have real decision-making power."

We will put in place mechanisms of discipline and control in the economic area
"We will analyze the real situation of the club but we have to stop the sale of assets."

"The club has to organize solidary actions in Catalonia."

Read more:
Salvat starts campaign and unveils slogan
Surgeon Miquel Llobet part of Salvat candidacy
Salvat confirms that he will run for president

Former player Archibald linked with elections

Asked if he has received a proposal to join a candidacy that will take part in the presidential elections, former Barcelona player Steve Archibald didn't want to enter the issue in an interview with Spanish television station TVE:

"Oh man, you know you cannot ask those things. Certainly not when we're live on air. You could ask me after the show. While we're drinking a beer."

Steve Archibald played for Barcelona from 1984 to 1988, winning a Spanish league title in 1985. The former striker is currently a player's agent and lives in Barcelona. The 53-year old Scotsman is also a radio and television pundit at Barcelona's official media and regularly takes part in games played by the club's retired footballers.

Read more:
Former player Belletti gives support to Rosell
Three 'Dream Team' players in candidacy Guixa
Rexach confirms his support for Rosell

[2003] Alemany will not run for president

source: el mundo deportivo, monday 28 april 2003, page 63

Alemany won't be a candidate

He will only to join the new board depending on who will be chosen at the polls

Salvador Alemany, the president of the basketball section of FC Barcelona and one of the most pursued people by all the candidates for president of the club, revealed that "I have not thought about being a candidate.

Being president of Barça is a something very demanding, just as being the major of a big city, and I think that it is not compatible with my work rate. But I feel useful for Barça and what I don't rule out is to continue at the basketball section, but that will depend on the president who will be elected."

Speaking to 'btv', he added that "the group that is elected should have a very clear concept about working as a team. And that will not be easy because lately the club has been very presidential".

check more 2003 election stories

Rosell worried about transfers of Cesc and Villa

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims, based upon statements made during a meeting with Barcelona fan club members last week, that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell is worried about the transfer policy of the current board in the weeks that are left before the elections.

Rosell reportedly thinks that the club could speed up some transfer negotiations and close deals regarding players like Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas and Valencia forward David Villa before the elections, which could benefit the board candidacy. This might lead to Barcelona paying transfer fees that are above the market price.

The former sports vice-president would have said it's possible that Barcelona would spend up to 100 million euros in transfers, which could also limit the actions of the new board that will take office on 1 July. Regarding the transfer of Villa, Rosell is quoted as saying that a correct transfer fee would be between 25 and 30 million euros.

Read more:
Villa to be presented before the elections
Laporta blocks transfer plans Rosell
Torres confirms good relationship with Rosell

French director Auset part of Ferrer candidacy

Barcelona board member Patrick Auset is actively taking part in the campaign of Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer. Auset, who yesterday assisted a meeting of Ferrer with fan club representatives, was part of the candidacy of Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall but is now supporting Ferrer.

Patrick Auset is a 52-year old Frenchman who is the general director of cleaning company Auset that is based in the French-Catalan city of Perpignan. He is a member of the board of regional employer's organization UPE 66. Auset is the founder and the former president of the local Barcelona fan club.

In 2000, Auset supported the presidential candidacy of Lluís Bassat and three years later that of Joan Laporta. When Laporta was elected as president, Auset became part of the club's social commission. In August 2008 (read more here), he was appointed as member of the board of directors. Auset is one of the board members responsible for the social area of the club.

Read more:
Laporta confirms board support for Ferrer
The new board of directors
Godall withdraws his campaign for the presidency

Guixa: "You cannot trust the polls"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Guixà gave an interview to Catalan local television station Teletaxi TV.


Which reports do you have on the economic situation of the club? There isn't a lot of talk about this topic...
Others may not talk a lot, but we do talk about it. One of the events we organized was at a business school and we had a seminar with a professor at the University of Barcelona where we discussed the issue. At this moment I don't know which are the real accounts of FC Barcelona or what the real deficit is. We think that when Ferran Soriano was still on the board, the members who vote at the general assembly received the information early and had enough time to analyze things before the assembly. Today, some of the members receive the information the day before or the same day of the assembly. This already generates some doubts and shows that this closeness to the members that the 'Elefant Blau' wanted is not happening. We are very concerned with the possible economic situation of the club and one of the first things we will do is to find out what the numbers are, because we do not believe the current ones.

Can you assure that you won't join any other candidate if you would get a proposal?
We have made this clear from the beginning. We are a clear alternative for the laportism and that is our seal of guarantee. We have a project for a different Barça that brings the club closer to the member who should in a way be involved in the decisions. We open our arms to anyone who wants to join our candidacy but always with the condition that the candidacy is led by Jaume Guixà.

Some think you are looking for a position in the club taking into account the few options that you seem to have.
I don't know where you get that I would have few options because in the poll that came out on 2 December, the day I officially presented my candidacy, Jaume Ferrer not even appeared while he has been part of the board of directors since 2003. We have the example of 2003 where a candidate had 80% of the votes in the polls and in the end he did not win the presidency, so you cannot trust the polls too much. We are working in a serious way, with modesty and close to the member, and that gives us the possibility to pass the cut of the signatures and then to fully be able to show our project.

What type of social, political and economic support does Jaume Guixà get from the Catalan civil society?
Firstly, this is a personal desire of a Barcelona fan, who has the club in his blood. I like Barça, I am president of a fan club that organizes social, solidary and artistic events. But there is more. I have the support of the granddaughter of the founder, Emma Gamper, who has Barça blood because of her origins. She had confidence in me and I asked her to be part of my candidacy. She thought I was reliable and she joined us. I have a former member of the board of José Luis Núñez, Jaume Sobrequés, the former director of the Museum of History of Catalonia and the Museum of Barça. I was asking him advice and later I asked him to join the candidacy and he did so. I have also in my team the writer and historian who has written more books about the club than anyone, Mercé Morales, and the boy who came out with the team in the first match played at the Camp Nou, Joan Segarra, the son of the 'Great Captain'. With those people, plus others that were already with me in 2006, we can build a project that makes the member enthusiast because he can feel involved and participate.

What political party could be interested in Jaume Guixà becoming the president of FC Barcelona?
Barça should not get involved in politics. I have already publicly stated that the president of Barça should not do politics, and in that sense I sent a letter to Laporta when he launched his website saying that if he wanted to get into politics that I encouraged him and that he had every right in the world to do so, but that the citizen Laporta should be separated from the president of Barça. I'm not a member of nor have I ever been a member of any political party, but of course I have my way of thinking about the society which decides who I vote for in the elections.

Is it an indiscretion to ask you who you are voting for?
Yes, because there's no need to know for which party the president of Barça is voting. The presidency of Barça is open to all kinds of ideologies, which seems to be difficult currently. What I want is that the president of Barça represents the institution and welcomes everyone because that is what our club is about.

Which budget do you have to try to become the president of Barça?
Our candidacy will adapt to the planning of the elections. There are a number of uncertainties but with the experience that I have after the camapign of 2006 we are able to adapt our budget, to which the people of our candidacy make a contribution.

Will you be able to deposit the bank guarantee if you pass the cut of the signatures?
Obviously. That was already clear to us in 2006. What we have done is to continue working with the project of 2006 and with everything we've learned, and one of those issues is the bank guarantee. Said that, I think it would be worthwile to change the condition of the guarantees because I don't think it's democratic that a great number of members of Barcelona cannot take part in the elections because they are limited by the bank guarantee. That is impoverishing the electoral process itself. I think there are many great Barcelona fans which could contribute with their presence in the election campaign but the guarantee is blocking them. If I get elected as president we will lower the bar for the members to participate in the democratic process of the elections.

If you are elected as president will you let the general assembly ratify the appointment of Johan Cruyff as honorary president of the club?
First I would like to say that this shouldn't be an issue right now. Nobody questions the value and the qualities of Johan Cruyff as a player and as coach, but there's no need to take such decisions two months before the elections. I think the assembly has to approve it so there's no more discussion about the timing of his appointment.

What do you know about the possible candidacy formed by a group of Barcelona supporters among which is José María Minguella?
I know that there was a brief report in a sports paper recently. I know that they first would be led by a former director of the newspaper 'Avui', then by a lawyer and now they speak of a businessman.

Why do you think all this happens?
That's obvious. Unlike Real Madrid where there is no electoral process and a judge is taking care of bags full of ballot papers, here we are democratic. What we do is to give chances to any candidate so the club would be more democratic. That doesn't worry me.

Were you a supporter of Núñez at the time?
Yes. A large part of the club assets, which are now been used badly and sold, is ours thanks to the vision for the future of president Núñez.

What do you think about the possibility of a debate between the four current candidates?
If the media feel the need to organize a debate I will be glad to participate in the discussion, but that question needs to be answered by all the candidates.

But you can ask for it...
If we can debate, that would be good for the democracy of the club. But our concern now is not trying to set up a debate to have more exit through the media. What matters to us is to work hard, to talk to the member and to convince him of our project. That is the main task we have at the moment.

But the best way for you to reach the member is to defeat your opponents in a debate and to make the club member reconsider his vote.
That is another argument but it is not definitive. I refer to 2003 when the polls said one thing and the president was someone else.

this was the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here. you will be able to read the following part on this blog in the coming days with guixa talking among other things about barcelona president joan laporta and barcelona sports director txiki begiristain.

Read more:
Guixa wants clarification on Ronaldinho commission
Guixa not considering pact with other candidacies
Guixa wants representative fan clubs in board

Benedito to inaugurate campaign bus

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has announced that he will use a bus during the last weeks of his campaign ahead of the presidential elections on 13 June. The campaign bus, that will be available from next week on, will travel through Catalonia and serve as mobile advertisement and as mobile office.

Read more:
Benedito introduces campaign fundraising
Guixa and Benedito want members to ratify Cruyff
Benedito: "I will win the elections"

Most read of the week

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


1.
Villa to be presented before the elections

2.
New developments regarding Ronaldinho commission

3.
Rosell and Laporta attend funeral Samaranch

Talks between Ingla and Godall

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall, who withdrew his candidacy for the presidency of FC Barcelona last month, could join the project of former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla.

During a visit at a tennis tournament in Barcelona, Ingla would yesterday have confirmed to people that it's almost certain that he will run for president in the upcoming elections. Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that Ingla has already made the desicion to take part in the election and that he will make a public announcement in the coming weeks.

Ingla and Godall would have had intensified contacts over the past days, they would have a good relationship and the two - who were together vice-presidents in the board of Joan Laporta from 2003 until Ingla left with seven other directors after the vote of no confidence in July 2008 - could team up ahead of the elections.

Read more:
Ingla has decided to run for president
Godall doesn't believe in Ferrer-Rosell duel
Former vice-presidents Ingla and Castells talking

Surgeon Miquel Llobet part of Salvat candidacy

Speaking to Catalan radio station COM Ràdio, Catalan doctor Miquel Llobet has confirmed that he is part of the project that was set up by former Barcelona presidential candidates Josep Maria Minguella and Jordi Medina and that will be headed by Catalan businessman Santiago Salvat (read more here).

Miquel Llobet is an orthopedic surgeon, specialized in arthroscopy, at the Teknon medical centre in Barcelona. In 1995, Llobet was part of the medical team that operated the right knee of then Barcelona player Jordi Cruyff against the advice of the medical services of the club but with the approval of then Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff.

In 2003, Llobet was a member of the board team of Barcelona presidential candidate Lluís Bassat. Since the beginning 2006, he was rumoured to be trying to set up a presidential candidacy together with notary Mario Romeo. In 2008, Llobet supported the vote of no confidence against the board of Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Read more:
Salvat confirms that he will run for president
Minguella and Medina behind Rexach candidacy
Santiago Salvat is Minguella-Medina candidate

Benedito: "Our secret weapon are the people"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Catalan online newspaper El Debat.


It could damage you that you have been linked with Laporta?
I have had opportunity to know Barça in detail as well as some of the mechanisms around the club. I won't be penalized for that, on the contrary. I think that they cannot label me as continuity candidate, since I have cut relations with Laporta and I'm now clearly situated on the opposite side. Anyway, I am proud to have participated in that project of 2003. I think that if it's renewed and upgraded it is still perfectly valid, and most members would agree with that. The problem is that there has been a moment where president Laporta drops out and forgets about the project.

How do you rate his time as president?
As I have already said before, he might not be the best president in the history of Barça, but he is the president of the best Barça in history. Therefore Laporta has done many good things, but then there are also some things he had said he would do and that he didn't do. And even worse, he said he would do some things in a certain way while he has done the opposite.

Where did he fail?
We wanted transparency in the communication, concepts such as participation of the members, raising the level of representation, defending principles such as integration and integrity, and more specifically the issue of the club assets. And in all these matters, that are essential for the club, Joan Laporta deserves to be suspensed. We also must add the political use and his politicization of Barça, one of the worst errors he has made.

How do you value the nomination of Johan Cruyff as honorary president?
Appointing someone that way, with a agreement in the board at the end of the presidency and without consulting the members, I think it's another mistake and one more electoral move of this board.

Do you have a star signing in the pipeline?
I think these elections will be the first ones in which the sports issue won't be so important. The fact that we have the best coach we can have, and I'm not even talking about the results, makes everyone think that we should continue on this path. That is why we will try to convince Guardiola to continue for many years. I anyway do not rule out that in the end a famous player will be used to attract votes, and the current board could be the first to act.

Finally, there are two months left to the elections. Who supports you?
I think that we will easily meet the requirement to get the 2.095 signatures to become a candidate and that our secret weapon are the people. Our candidacy is that of this land's entrepreneurial spirit and comes from the bottom and from all around the pitch not just from the main stands nor is it designed in offices. It is based on the idea that the club is of everyone and not for the private businesses of a few people and this is what drives us. I want to emphasize that 80% of members have not yet decided their vote. In 2003, Joan Laporta was given 0.5% of the voting intentions by the papers just three weeks before the elections, while Lluís Bassat got 72%, and we all know what happened. It is unpredictable, the elections are luckily very open and in the next two months we will continue to work hard.

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

Read more:
Benedito introduces campaign fundraising
Guixa and Benedito want members to ratify Cruyff
Benedito: "I will win the elections"

interview: gemma vialcanet