[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.

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[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."

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[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.

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[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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[2003] The collection of the signatures has ended

source: el mundo deportivo, sunday 1 june 2003, page 1

First round for Bassat

Extraordinary Barcelona atmosphere throughout the day of the delivery of the signatures

Llauradó is in a solid second place and Laporta is the real revelation

Martínez Rovira and Minguella will try to achieve a great result at the polls

Medina and Casas didn't pass the cut


Bassat 9.894 signatures

Llauradó 6.057 signatures

Laporta 5.725 signatures

Martínez Rovira 2.827 signatures

Minguella 2.286 signatures

Majó 1.852 signatures

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[2003] Klaus Toppmöller, the coach of Medina

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

Toppmöller, the coach of Medina

Together with the German, two to four players of his confidence will join, while the candidate is already close to deals with four players

Klaus Toppmöller, who led Bayer Leverkusen to be the runner-up in the Champions League, the league and the cup in 2002, has reached an almost total agreement with Jordi Medina to take place on the bench if the candidate wins the election.

The president of the platform 'A Crit Valent' confirmed yesterday that "on Thursday or Friday, at the latest, I will close the deal with him in Barcelona. We have had several conversations and I have his permission to confirm this".

Medina explained that the German "has other very interesting offers but he already knows our project and he likes it". The candidate added that 'Toppi' "would not come alone. He will bring two to four players he knows". The presidential candidate said that contacts with Toppmöller, the best coach of 2002 in Germany, came after the 'transfer' of Johan Neeskens didn't go through.

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[2003] Llaurado has deal with Iker Casillas

source: el mundo deportivo, saturday 24 may 2003, page 1

The star signing of Llauradó is Casillas

Iker has a serious deal with the presidential candidate, although he didn't yet sign

The news that was brought out by this paper shook up the Madrid entourage

Guardiola says 'yes' to Bassat

Pep has accepted the offer of the publicist, he will retire as a player and return to Barcelona

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[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.

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[2003] Poll: Bassat almost 50%, Laporta 0%

source: el mundo deportivo, monday 19 may 2003, page 63

Bassat takes a clear lead

He has a big advantage on the other candidates, according to a survey of RAC1

Lluís Bassat is the candidate for the presidency of Barça who has the most chances of being elected. At least that is what comes out of the survey that was carried out yesterday by the 'Café Baviera' program of RAC1, in which the publisher takes a significant lead over the second, Jaume Llauradó, and the rest of the candidates on the question: "What candidate do you intend to vote for?". The survey was conducted among 500 club members of Barcelona at the Camp Nou before the game against Mallorca.

While 48% of the people said they would vote for Bassat, Llauradó got only 7%, with the curiosity that 29% still doesn't have clear who they want to give their vote to regarding the future of Barça. Curiously, neither Jordi Medina nor Joan Laporta were voted for by those 500 members.

Bassat 48%
Don't know 29%
Llauradó 7%
Casas 6%
Majó 5%
Minguella 2%
Martínez-Rovira 2%
Won't vote 1%
Medina 0%
Laporta 0%

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[2003] Bassat adds big names to his project

source: el mundo deportivo, friday 16 may 2003, pages 1 and 16

BLOW OF BASSAT

He presents his candidacy today with the incorporation of Alemany and Roca Junyent as people responsible for the Foundation

The publicist wants a change in the statutes that would allow the foundation to have the economic control of Barça


Bassat presents his candidacy today and adds Salvador Alemany and Miquel Roca

The publicist appears on stage today and proposes a change of the statutes that would give the foundation economic and assets control of the club

Lluís Bassat finally presents his candidacy today, at noon, and Salvador Alemany will be on the picture. The publicist has also managed to include in his project Miquel Roca i Junyent, who will be the second man of Alemany at the foundation. In the project that will be proposed, this institution would take the economic control of Barça, which would take a new change of the statutes.

Alemany, who is still the president of the basketball section, has in the end decided to accept the offer of Bassat - and not the one of other candidates like Josep Martínez-Rovira and Jaume Llauradó - after a series of meetings, although Bassat had to accept a number of conditions, including the changes of the statutes that will give great importance to the Foundation.

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[2003] The battle for the signatures has started

source: el mundo deportivo, tuesday 13 may 2003, page 22

Rovira, Bassat and Llauradó want to make an impact with the signatures

They will ask 200.000, 170.000 and 120.000 slips; none of the other candidates will ask more than 15.000

The battle for the 1.529 signatures needed to become an official candidate in the presidential elections has started. The club already knows the exact number of slips that each of the candidates (except Joan Laporta) intends to ask.

The statutes of FC Barcelona state that the club puts at the disposal of the candidates for free a number of slips that doubles the number of signatures that are required. Apart from those 3.058 papers, each candidate can get an additional number for which he has to pay six euro cents each.

Based upon the requests of the eight candidates, we can see a clear gap between Josep Martínez-Rovira, Lluís Bassat and Jaume Llauradó, and the remaining five.

The first has asked for 200.000 slips, 30.000 more than Bassat, while Llauradó wants 120.000 slips. The reason for those high numbers is that all three candidates want to use the mailing service offered by FC Barcelona to send their project to the club members.

Far behind them are the requests of the others, which do not exceed 15.000 slips. That figure is what was asked by Josep Maria Minguella. Jordi Majó has asked 7.000, while Jordi Casas and Jordi Medina want 6.000. The legal advisers of Laporta were last night still in the process of making a decision on the number.

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[2003] Guardiola considering offer of candidate

source: el mundo deportivo, wednesday 7 may 2003, page 8

Pep Guardiola. The current player of Brescia, former 'symbol' of Barca, has again been contacted by a very important candidate for president of Barça. The offer remains the same: to lead the sports area as general director. Pep, who already had said that he wanted tokeep on playing for another year, has requested time to respond because of the importance of the offer.

Sandro Rosell. The candidacy of Joan Laporta might surprise everyone during its presentation. After publicly announcing the people who are with them (like Albert Vicens, son of the owner of the Vicens Vives publishing house), Sandro Rosell will present the sports side of the project. It is not excluded that they will immediately announce who will be their coach and that they will present two real star players. There's already a deal with them and they will cause a lot of talk.

Martinez-Rovira met Koeman on Monday. Candidate Josep Martínez-Rovira met on Monday in Amsterdam with Ronald Koeman. The Ajax coach again said "no thanks" to the vice-president of Media Planning. It was the second time he rejected the offer of the businessman. He said the same, by telephone, to Lluís Bassat, who also unsuccessfully tried to sign the 'hero of Wembley'.

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[2003] Former agent Cruyff runs for president

source: el mundo deportivo, monday 4 may 2003, page 16

Michel Basilevitch will set up his election office today

He rules out a possible deal with Jaume Llauradó

Michel Basilevitch, back in the days the agent of Johan Cruyff, will today set up his election office in Barcelona. As advanced by this paper, Basilevitch believes to have enough appeal to get to the final vote and, as he has himself pointed out, he will under no circumstances make a deal with Jaume Llauradó.

After Josep Maria Minguella, Michel Basilevitch is the second football agent and intermediary who is trying to become the president of the club. His headquarters will be located in the office of a well-known lawyer.

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[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."

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[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.

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[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".

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[2003] Majo talking with Van Nistelrooy

source: el mundo deportivo, saturday 26 april 2003, page 55

Jordi Majó contacts Van Nistelrooy

Sergi Bruguera, his sports director, revealed that he met with the agent but made clear that "there is no agreement"

Ruud van Nistelrooy is the first bomb in the pre-election campaign. Former tennis player Sergi Bruguera, who would be sports director of Barça in case Jordi Majó wins the election on 22 June, revealed yesterday on Cadena SER that he met this week with Rodger Linse, representative of the Dutch striker of Manchester United, but denied there was a principle agreement for a future transfer to the Catalan club.

"He came to the Juventus game and I had dinner with him two times. We have not reached any agreement but it was a first contact to know what philosophy the player has and what he thinks about Barcelona. At the same time I explained what would be our way of working," acknowledged Bruguera, who confirmed the strong interest in Van Nistelrooy: "He shares our way of seeing football and because of his way of seeing it and of how he works, he is one of those we like most."

Bruguera said the agent of the Dutch star player "knows him very well since he is 17 years old and they are friends, and he told me he would like to play in Spain some day. At first he was skeptical about meeting us but everything went well." The former tennis player wanted to clarify that "this is the only thing that has happened. There is nothing more."

At a personal level, Bruguera said that "I'm a fan of Van Nistelrooy for his character and his involvement. Besides, he is the only one at ManU who stays after the training to work with weights in the gym." Van Nistelrooy has a contract until 2006 and he arrived at United in 2001 from PSV, that received 30 million euros.

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[2003] The board of directors resigns

source: el mundo deportivo, thursday 24 april 2003, pages 1 and 5

THEY RESIGN

5 May: The board of Barça announced that they will resign together the day of the assembly

ELECTION TIME

The management commission will take charge of the club and call the elections

The first possible date for the vote is Sunday 8 June


The countdown begins

The candidates are preparing for an imminent election campaign

The countdown has begun for those who have expressed their intention to stand for election. The European elimination against Juventus has made any attempt of Enric Reyna to continue impossible. The possible candidates are already starting to get ready for a campaign that could be imminent, after the board yesterday announced their resignation during the Assembly of 5 May.

Until now, six potential candidates have announced their wish to run. Three of them have already presented their candidacy: Josep Martínez-Rovira, Jordi Medina and Jordi Majó, in chronological order. Three others have shown their intention to take part in the elections: Lluís Bassat, Jaume Llauradó and Josep Maria Minguella.

No one doubts that there still have to change things before the actual start of the campaign. Various 'hidden candidates' may appear, like Joan Laporta or even Iván Carrillo. But the key to the election process could be Salvador Alemany [former vice-president], who remains in the background while a group tries to convince him to make a step forward.

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[2003] Bassat wants Xabi Alonso and Joaquin

source: el mundo deportivo, wednesday 23 april 2003, page 59

Joaquín and Xabi Alonso in the agenda of Bassat

Cadena COPE unveiled the plans of the future presidential candidate

Lluís Bassat, one of the people who has already announced that he will take part in the elections at FC Barcelona, wants to do that with two aces up his sleeve to attract the votes when the elections are called: the right winger of Betis and the Spanish national team Joaquín, and the midfielder and the motor of the splendid season of Real Sociedad Xabi Alonso, as was explained yesterday afternoon in the 'Tiempo de juego' program of Cadena COPE.

According to this report, Bassat has planned a meeting with the representatives of both players for next weekend to discuss the contract situation of the players and, if possible, to reach a pre-agreement to enable him to present them as transfers in his election program.

There has already been talk about the interest of Barça in Xabi Alonso on several occasions, given the fact that it's a player whose style is liked a lot in Barcelona, but no potential candidate had yet put him on his list.

On the other hand, that the name of Joaquín is mentioned is more surprising because, while it is true that Barça could use a player with his qualities in that position, the club that has been linked the most with signing him was Real Madrid.

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[2003] Assembly will decide on election date

source: la vanguardia, friday 18 april 2003, page 45

The members of Barça will decide the 5th of May on the election calendar

Reyna calls a general assembly to clarify the future of the club

Tired of the speculation, the rumours and the fact that his word and his own legitimacy as president has been called into question, Enric Reyna decided yesterday to counter-attack and put the ball in the court of the delegates of FC Barcelona, who should clarify the future of the governance of the club.

That will happen on the 5th of May, the date chosen by the board of directors to hold an extraordinary general assembly in which the calendar of the upcoming elections for the presidency will be discussed.

Reyna leaves the decision on whether to have elections and when is the best time to have them in the hands of the club members, although yesterday he expressed his hope that they will take place "at the latest in the month of July," and repeated his commitment to maintain "a scrupulous neutrality in the electoral process, in which I will not take part."

All this provided that the assembly decides that there must be elections before the end of the season because Reyna did not reject or shut the door for the possibility that the delegate opt for the continuity of the current board that he heads until the end of the mandate - in July 2005 - or that the elections would be delayed for a few months.

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