Plaza: "I hope to run again in 2022"

This blog had an exclusive interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Alexis Plaza.


We're less than 48 hours before the end of the collecting of the signatures. How many signatures do you have in your hands at this moment?
We have around half of them. We still need to collect more the coming day and a half. What I can assure is that we will work until the last minute.

When did you first think about running for president of FC Barcelona?
It has been in my mind for many years and I believed it shouldn't just stay a dream. I thought this was the best moment to act and that I can give many good things to the club.

When did you actually start working on the campaign for the 2010 elections?
A group of us started talking about the details in August of last year and we continued growing until today.

John Benjamin Toshack is your stepfather. Are there any players from the Welsh national team that have the qualities to play at Barça?
I have many respect for all Welsh players, but I believe there is at this moment none that could meet the profile to play in Barça.

You want to attract a shirt sponsor because of the 20 millions the club could get. Isn't that a short-term view? Won't the club lose - or attract less - fans which will make us lose more than those 20 millions in for example merchandising and television rights?
If we win games, we will always have good television rights. We have always said that we will continue helping UNICEF but we need an extra income that could come from a second sponsor. This could be achieved by sharing the shirt or putting another sponsor on the training outfit.

What do you think about the campaign so far?
It's dirty and that's not good for the club and the members. And I think it will get worse.

You have said that Sandro Rosell has been talking several times with the Boixos Nois. Are you sure of that? When and where did they meet?
We have been informed by people from other groups that they all sat together to talk. This is not necesarily a bad thing as there are people that identify themselves as Boixos Nois but are against violence.

Your campaign budget is around 3.200 euros. How much do you have left and how did you spend it?
It's in the end 3.400-3.500 euros. As soon as the process of the signatures ends, we will publish all of our costs.

You have given up your job for this campaign while Spain is going through a the biggest economic crisis of recent times. Some people see that as a proof that you are a rich kid for whom running for president is just another game.
The credit crunch is does not only affets Spain, it's something worldwide. I have always demonstrated that whatever I have been involved in, I have done it my own way. We are demonstrating that in these difficult times we must optimize all resources and that's why we are only spending a small budget. I would be more worried about those spending millions in their campaign.

What do you want to do regarding the globalization of the club? Do you agree that this should be the number one priority of the club right now?
The priority is to pay the debt we have and to continue having a good team. This will give us a good position for all the rest.

Do you plan to continue with the "Somni blaugrana" project after the elections and for example prepare the elections of 2016?
I hope that if I will get another chance to give my best for the club, this will be in 2022. I will always wish that the next president can serve his maximum term because that would mean a lot of wins and trophies for Barça. It is not an easy decision to run again in the future. We will have to see if we can offer a good project to the member.

Which question you have heard the most during this campaign and you're sick of answering?
Do you have the bank guarantee?

Which question didn't you hear one time during this campaign, while you would have liked to answer it?
Do you think you can be the best Barça president in history?

Who will you vote for if you don't pass the cut of the signatures?
I will vote for no one. I will keep on believing that our project is the best over all.

Many thanks for this interview and good luck in the final hours of the collection of the signatures.

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
Cardoner: "The member always has the last word"
Guixa: "I reaffirm that the club is almost bankrupt"

Cardoner: "The member always has the last word"

This blog had an interview with Jordi Cardoner, who will be a member of the board team proposed by Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell.


TRANSPARENCY AND CONTROL In recent decades the club has seen some cases where there were doubts about members of the board doing business using the club or favouring people of their entourage. The Consell Sènior Blaugrana, a council linked to the candidacy of Sandro Rosell, has been working on an ethical code that would regulate what directors can and can not do. A first draft had been submitted in November of last year but since then nothing has been heard about the project nor has any text been published allowing the fans to evaluate the proposals. Dou you still intend to adopt an ethical code and include it in the statutes of the club?
The Consell Sènior, with the help of more than 250 club members of Barça, has done a very positive job. Incorporating a ethcical code that can serve as a guideline for the rulers of the club would be very useful, but in any case it will be the member who will assess and decide this. We must not forget that in FC Barcelona the member, its owner, always has the last word.

Will the members of the board of Sandro Rosell make public their personal assets, something that has been promised by the candidate Agustí Benedito?
No, that would undermine the basic principles of law. Honesty is a responsibility of every individual member of the board of directors of the club, and that of the whole is the responsibility of the president. Unfortunately in our society, and for obvious reasons because of things that have happened and happen too often, people have lost confidence in others, but mechanisms like this would dehumanize and reduce the values of the institution.

There are rumours that say that some candidates are trying to manipulate the Barcelona fans using supposedly neutral Facebook groups or pages, for example groups that spread news about the election or groups of young fans. You can confirm that people who are part of the candidacy of Sandro Rosell haven't created Facebook groups or pages without mentioning their link with the candidacy?
The member of Barça is a lot more intelligent than many imagine, he is analytical person and doesn't let himself be influenced by simple comments on the web. You cannot manipulate the member of Barça through the internet. We really like direct contact, frank dialogue, without masks. The web can make people hide, it should be an additional means, but never replace real contact.

NUMBER OF CLUB MEMBERS In Catalonia, there is some fear among the season ticket holders of FC Barcelona that the club members without a season ticket might "take over" the club. It seems that it's also because of this that some candidates (like Agustí Benedito) seem to be looking for ways to limit the number of club members. The candidacy of Sandro Rosell wants to limit the number of club members or make the process of becoming a member more difficult?
Today it's very easy to become a member of Barça. Any person anywhere in the world can become a member through the internet. It is an issue that we will take to the general assembly, all the club members should decide on this.

PRESIDENT JOAN LAPORTA In the elections of 2003, you gave your support to the candidacy of Joan Laporta. Why?
Yes. I did that because of the friendship I had and still have with Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.

What do you think about the work regarding the social area by the Barcelona board from 2003 until now?
Insufficient, the club member has been distanced from the decision-making process of his club. The club member should not be seen as a client, but as a part of the club.

HONORARY PRESIDENT You think that members should have the chance to vote on the appointment of Johan Cruyff as honorary president of FC Barcelona, through the general assembly of delegates (proposed by the candidate Jaume Guixà) or through a referendum (proposed by the candidate Agustí Benedito)?
Who has to decide is the member, the general assembly is a sovereign body.

CAMPAIGN Based on the statutes of the club - that for sure do not limit the electoral debate in time - or the alleged risk for the stability of the football team, the candidacy of Sandro Rosell will apparently not come out before May, which may limit the time to discuss your ideas to about a month. As there is only an election every six years, the members and the fans don't have the right to have a longer campaign, where you can discuss calmly and thoroughly the future of the club?
Our candidacy wants to respect the dates that the statutes indicate as the electoral period.

In your interviews, you have said that the candidacy of Sandro Rosell wants a clean campaign and you have always been very respectful towards the board and the current president. In part of the Barcelona entourage, people nevertheless have the feeling that there are several media - some of them have (correctly or incorrectly) been linked in some way with Sandro Rosell - who are doing the "dirty work" for your candidacy, praising Sandro Rosell and attacking other candidates or the president of the club, giving you the opportunity not to "stain your hands" in public and to maintain a good image of not wanting to divide the Barcelona fans. What do you think about that feeling? And more generally: what should be in your opinion the role of media in the elections: they must try to inform the fans as neutral as possible or they can - openly or in secret - chose the side of a candidate?
Your question upsets me because it assumes "dirty tricks" on our part. If one really thinks that, I would ask him not to vote for us.

BLOG Since September of last year you started the blog "The best fans of the world" where you publish articles on the club and the campaign. As far as I can tell, you have a style of writing that is pleasant for the reader. You have always liked writing?
I've always liked not to create or cause misunderstandings, and you can avoid those by writing in an understandable way, in my language we say "clar i català" [clear and catalan], in other words calling things by their name.

You will continue with the blog after 13 June if Sandro Rosell wins? And if he does not win the elections?
I didn't consider putting an end to my blog. I think it's necessary to have open lines of communication with the members, and as long as my readers allow me, I will continue to write.

BARCELONA FANS ABROAD You share the analysis that Barça cannot grow a lot anymore in Catalonia or Spain while at the same time there's an almost unlimited potential of fans abroad and that this is why the club (apart from of course take care of the roots) should focus more than ever on the rest of the world?
Barça is a Catalan club and a club from Catalonia, that has at the same time a huge potential for growth outside of the country. I think that in Catalonia and in Spain we can continue to grow, Barça will always grow.

If you win the election, José Maria Barnils could be appointed as "ambassador" of the club abroad. What will his function exactly be?
José Maria Barnils would be the person of the social commission responsible of the fan clubs abroad. José Maria, a member since his birth (number 6.000), knows what one feels and how it feels like to be a Barcelona fan more than 2.000 kilometres from the stadium. He lives in Denmark for more than 15 years and his love for the club continues to grow. He's a great Barcelona fan and a better friend.

The most fundamental right of a club member is the right to vote. If Sandro Rosell is elected as president, what will you do to encourage the participation in the elections of the members who live far from the Camp Nou? Will you introduce internet voting, voting by mail and/or voting by delegation?
We need to make it easier to vote for those who are unable to do so or for whom it's too expensive because of the distance. We hope that in six years the internet voting will offer all security guarantees so we can make the participation in the elections easier for the member.

Many thanks for the interview and good luck in the campaign.

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

Read more:
Team member Rosell talking about their project
Rosell leading in university poll
Rosell plans embassador for foreign fan clubs

Cardoner: "Fan clubs should get executive power"

This blog had an interview with Jordi Cardoner, who will be a member of the board team proposed by Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell.


PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES What is your profession?
General director of the Spanish branch of a German manufacturer of insulating foams.

Your job could create conflicts of interest in case you would be a member of the board of FC Barcelona from 1 July on?
None.

FAMILY Your grandfather, Nicolau Casaus, has been vice-president of the club and responsable for the social area for more than twenty years and his name is still an almost mythical name in the world of the Barcelona fan clubs. How do you explain that? What has been missing since your grandfather has left the club? And in which way will the work of your grandfather be an example for your own work in the club?
My grandfather understood what it means to be part of Barça, and he always respected the club member, that is why he got respect from the members. Undoubtedly he has been, is and will always be a reference for me and for all those who love the club. To approach the club member is to understand him, and to understand him, first you have to listen to him.

Your sister, Elisabet Cardoner, has been a member of the board for almost six years - from 1997 until 2003 - under the presidencies of Josep Lluís Núñez, Joan Gaspart and Enric Reyna. Have you talked with your sister about what it means to be a director of FC Barcelona? She has given you advice based on her own experience?
Yes, to respect all of those who make Barça great and to only commit to what you can fulfil.

SANDRO ROSELL Since when do you know Sandro Rosell? What has been your relationship over the years? And when has Sandro Rosell asked you to help to set up his candidacy and to be part of his team of future directors?
We know each other for over 15 years, it was Josep Maria Bartomeu [another member of the candidacy of sandro rosell] who introduced us. Today I can say that we are friends. Two years ago, he offered me to be part of his team. After consulting with my family, I thanked him for the offer and confirmed my desire to serve my beloved club, Barça.

In recent months, you have shared many hours with Sandro Rosell during meetings, meals and trips. What kind of person is he? You have discovered new facets of his personality? You can tell us some anecdote?
Sandro is a 'normal' person, close, natural, a friend of his friends and consistent with his principles and values. Throughout our travels and visits around the country, what makes us proud the most is when people approach us and congratulate us because we are 'normal'.

SOCIAL AREA What is the basic philosophy of the candidacy of Sandro Rosell's regarding the social area of FC Barcelona?
To bring the club closer to its owners, who have made it the best club in the world, to return them all what they have given and keep on giving to Barça. To make a more participatory Barça, a meeting point for Barcelona supporters, for the catalanism, with an enormous respect and gratitude to all those outside of Catalonia who feel and love Barça just like the people from here.

FAN CLUBS Your keyword when talking about the penyes, the fan clubs, is "self-management". The candidacy of Sandro Rosell has also approved in its entirety the 'XXI century' project prepared by representatives of the fan clubs. Since the club's interests don't always coincide with the interests of the fan clubs, which mechanisms will you put in place to control the fan clubs?
I do not share the view that the interest of the club doesn't always coincide with the interest of the fan clubs. The fan clubs have no reason of being without the club and the club needs the fan clubs. The fan clubs are, without any doubt, the only identified group that represented the club across the world. I have the utmost respect for them, they are part of our social base. More than 20.000 members of Barça and 200.000 people are involved in the fan clubs. They are our grassroots members.

Are you in favour of appointing a representative of the fan clubs as member of the board of the club, something that has been proposed by the candidate Jaume Guixà?
The fan clubs have their own governing body, the Advisory Council. Today this has no statutory recognition, we want it to be recognized in our statutes, we want to give it executive (and not only advisory) power, we want them to participate in the decision-making process regarding the issues that affect them directly, we want to turn the Advisory Council into the Council of the Fan Clubs. At the same time, we will propose to the general assembly that the Council of the Fan Clubs will be represented in the assembly itself, meaning that the 35 regional delegates are part of the assembly and that this is recognized by the statutes.

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

Read more:
Team member Rosell talking about their project
Rosell leading in university poll
Rosell plans embassador for foreign fan clubs

Update on Ferrer-Benedito joint candidacy

I think it's time to tell you

that the reliable source inside the Benedito candidacy

who told this blog everything (but really everything...) about

the joint candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidates Jaume Ferrer and Agustí Benedito

was in fact...

this guy:

Ferrer and Benedito to form one candidacy

This blog can reveal that Barcelona presidential candidates Jaume Ferrer and Agustí Benedito have last weekend reached a principal agreement to join their candidacies ahead of the elections in June. The news was confirmed to us by a reliable source inside the Benedito candidacy.

The two candidates would have started talking after polls of the Ferrer candidacy showed that a Ferrer-Benedito project would clearly defeat the current favourite in the elections, former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell, if there wasn't a third serious candidacy showing up.

Benedito and Ferrer know each other from the time Benedito was a member of the club's sports and social commissions. At a certain moment, Ferrer was the director responsible for the non-football sections of the club while Benedito was involved with the basketball team. Since then, the two have a close relationship.

After the basic deal on a co-operation, Ferrer and Benedito will now have to finalize a joint program and find an agreement on who will be part of the board. The joint candidacy will clearly distance themselves from Barcelona president Joan Laporta, which would include the dismissal of current Barcelona chief executive Joan Oliver. The positon of sports director Txiki Begiristain would still be under discussion.

Ferrer would lead the project and would be the candidate to become president. His right-hand man, current Barcelona director Jordi Torrent, would be first vice-president, while Benedito would be second vice-president and have a lot of freedom to implement his ideas on the social area of the club.

Benedito would have asked to insert a clause in the deal that Ferrer wouldn't stand for re-election if the candidacy wins in June, which would allow Benedito to run himself for president in 2016. Although there's not yet an agreement on the issue, Ferrer doesn't exclude the option, since he would at that time have been a member of the board for thirteen years, since 2003.

If everything goes as planned, Ferrer and Benedito could call a press conference in the second week of April. If the negotiations between the two parties would take longer, a public announcement could be postponed until the end of April of the beginning of May and depend on the performances of the team.

Read more:
Ferrer won't accept conditions Laporta
Benedito wants to be the third way
Director Torrent will be right-hand man Ferrer

Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"

This blog had an exclusive interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito.


BUDGET You have said that you have a maximum budget of 500.000 euros for the campaign. As transparency is one of your key points: how many do you have left?
Enough to get to the finish.

What are the biggest costs for a candidate?
I'm going to explain you and I can also advance that when we will have launched our new website, we will start to implement the policy of transparency by publishing our accounts on there. The first challenge for a candidate is to break into the media because that is the main place where the electoral battle is being decided. They are crucial channels through which you can explain your project to the social mass of the club. We will have more difficulties than Sandro Rosell or the continuity candidates because the media already have their policies and interests in favour of this or that candidate. The first major expense is the collection of signatures because you have to build a very powerful organization capable of collecting around 2.000 signatures in two weeks. In addition, you have to add some costs in case you win the elections, namely the bank guarantees of all board members. That leads to a democratic deficit at the club because being president is not possible for every club member, and even less if, as is stated by other candidates, they want to create a one billion Barça. In any case, setting up a campaign like this one costs a lot. But that doesn't worry us. Many of us believe in a Barça that is close to and the heir to the best traditions of the club, and everyone who believes in this project is ready to collaborate in whatever way.

OWNERS OF THE CLUB You say that the more than 170.000 members are the owners of the club. Isn't that a limited - and an electoral - view and aren't you excluding millions of Barcelona fans that maybe aren't legal owners but nevertheless are moral owners?
On the contrary, we will propose different formulas to be linked with the club so that every person, anywhere in the world, can make a choice according to his needs. It is estimated that worldwide there are millions of fans of FC Barcelona. There is talk about the more than 176.000 members, but nobody talks about the 10.000 who don't renew their membership each year. That means that we need new ways to experience the club. Everybody has his place in the Barcelona family and we have to propose ways that allow everyone to join in.

CATALAN IDENTITY You want Catalonia to be independent?
I have my personal opinion, but as president of Barça, that opinion would have no value at all, just because I think the position should not be used to do politics. And do not get me wrong, nobody can diminish, not even with an inch, the Catalan character of FC Barcelona, which is part of the essence of the club, but in the Barcelona family all opinions have a place. In fact, my team is a reflection of this heterogeneity of the social mass of the club. Regardless of individual political ideas, I want to be the president of all Barcelona fans.

PACTS You have said that you will not close a deal with anyone and that you are convinced that you will pass the signatures' cut. What would you do if in the end you don't obtain the necessary signatures and all other candidates (Ferrer, Godall, Guixà, Rosell) offer you a compromise? To whom do you feel closest, in terms of personality and/or club model?
I am convinced that we will get enough signatures, so I don't even consider to strike a deal, nor do I feel close to any of the other candidacies. I think we have a project that is different from the others, which has a significant support and which we want to share with the rest of the Barcelona fans.

PARTCIPATION IN THE ELECTIONS The participation of club members is a cornerstone of your project. Do you want to introduce online voting, voting by mail and/or voting by delegation?
Any instrument that increases the participation is positive for us, if you comply with all democratic guarantees. Voting by mail or through the internet is already used for years and without any problem by professional organizations and other institutions. A key element of our project is the involvement of the club member. We for example believe that the Assembly of Delegates must have a real and effective representativeness. We also offer tools to increase the responsibility of the members.

SPORTS AREA You do not want to continue with Txiki Begiristain as sports director. Why?
Txiki Begiristain has his share of responsibility in the team's sporting successes, but as is the case with the president, I think he has come to the end of a cycle and we will not count on him if we would win.

You have also suggested that you want to remodel the current structure (sports vice-president – sports director – coach) a bit but that you are going to discuss your plan with the current coach, Josep Guardiola. At the press conference after his verbal renewal, Guardiola has said that he does not want more power and that he would like Txiki Begiristain to continue. What if Guardiola opposes your restructuring plans or if there's no 'feeling' between him and the people responsible of the sports area of your candidacy? Or if Guardiola simply asks to continue with the current structure, including Begiristain, and to only change the sports vice-president?
We have an idea about the sports structure that includes some differences from the current model, but like the other candidates, we first want to talk with Guardiola. I'm sure we will reach an agreement with him regarding the sports structure.

INTERNATIONALIZATION You share the analysis that Barça can not grow a lot anymore in Catalonia or Spain while at the same time in other parts of the world there's an almost unlimited potential of fans and that this is why the club - apart of course from taking care of the roots - needs to have a more global focus? You have a plan to make Barça grow abroad?
Barca can grow, there's no doubt about that. Barça is the most feared team on the pitch, and should become the most loved club in the world. The key is to facilitate the relationship of the Barcelona fans with the club, according to their needs. Moreover, we need to recover traditional supports we had in Spain and that we are losing because of the actions of the current board.

Many thanks for this interview and good luck in the campaign.

this was the second and last part of this interview. you can read the first part here. you can read an exclusive interview with barcelona presidential candidate jaume guixà here.

Read more:
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency
Ferrer has biggest media impact
Benedito: "I don't plan to announce transfers"

Benedito: "I feel heir to the 2003 project"

This blog had an exclusive interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito.


PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES You are a business consultant. That is a somewhat vague concept. Can you make that a bit more concrete, give some examples of the work you do?
After having worked for 20 years in the family business [note: the benedito family has been for decades car dealers in barcelona], I decided to get involved in other professional projects that keep an eye on the future. They are long term projects in which I try to implement my management skills and my knowledge of business strategies. Although in recent months I have decided to move this to the background and to focus on our project for FC Barcelona.

Your job could create incompatibilities when you would be elected as president?
My professional activities are fully compatible with the presidency of FC Barcelona, as also the majority of the presidents in the history of the club have continued with their respective careers. Moreover, in my case, there won't be any conflicts of interest, unlike what has happened with the current board or what could happen with the professional activities of Sandro Rosell. And besides that, we are committed to a policy of full transparency and we will make public the personal estates of all members of our board.

DECISION TO TAKE PART IN THE ELECTIONS Do you remember when the idea to run for president of Barça first crossed your mind?
It's not about one moment, the idea starts to grow and develops through discussions with many Barcelona fans, and even by listening to the people next to me in the stands of the Camp Nou. We are a group of more than 200 people who share a same vision of a club, the same concerns, and we have found each other. And we're leading a much broader movement.

You already thought about it before you left the club on 26 February last year?
When I left the club, I had no intention at all of being a candidate. We seriously began to consider the idea several months later.

JOAN LAPORTA You know Joan Laporta, the current president of FC Barcelona, since 1996. What were your first impressions after having met Laporta back then? What kind of person was he at that time?
It has been seven years of working for Barcelona outside the club, to start with in the elections of 1997 and later as founders of the 'Elefant Blau'. When I met Laporta, we were Barcelona fans who shared the same ideals for the club: youth, renewal, honesty, transparency and participation of the club members. I feel heir to those ideals and to the 2003 project, that won the elections with a strong support from the club members and has proved to be successful. I continue to think that that project, when it is renewed and revised, is the best one for the club.

Could you already predict in the 1990s what has happened since then? Joan Laporta has surprised you, both in a positive and a negative way?
I could not imagine what would happen. I am not a fortune-teller. Joan Laporta has undergone a process of growing vanity, an evolution towards personalism and megalomania, which has seriously damaged that winning project of 2003.

DIRECTOR Why have you never been appointed as a member of the board of directors of Barça, not in 2003 - when there maybe weren't enough places to fulfil the demands of the different factions - nor in later years when many directors left the club and the president seemed to replace them with people from his closest entourage, where you have been part of.
I have never linked my commitment towards Barcelona to the chance of holding some position. Only once, at the beginning of the mandate in 2003, Laporta raised the possibility of me being a director, but my personal situation prevented me from accepting it. During the next six years, the clashes with Laporta became more and more frequent, but I continued to work for the club, trying to defend the original project and ideals. I believed that I could have more influence from within the club, and not with confrontations in public, through the media. And so I stayed until what is known as the 'Uzbekistan case', when president Laporta tried to make a profit from the sale of Mallorca, acting as intermediary with a commercial partner of FC Barcelona.

COMMISSIONS You've been a member of the social commission and the sports commission of the club. Those tasks are little known by many Barcelona fans. What were you concretely doing during those years, from 2003 to 2009?
I had no power of decision because I was never part of the board, but they were six years of intense work in the day-to-day of the club, both at the social commission and at the sports commissions that deals with all professional sports sections of the club. For example, during my collaboration with the basketball section, I am particularly proud to have defended before the board of directors the risky choice of Xavi Pascual [current coach of the basketball team], as the substitute of Dusko Ivanovic. We are now seeing the results of that.

BEING A LEADER You have always been in the second - or third - row, while since a few months now you give interview after interview, you lead a project, you have meetings with fan clubs and journalists, and so on. How was the transition to this new role? Was it something natural or are you still adapting?
It is not the first time that I lead a project because I did the same as chief executive of the group of family businesses, and in recent years I have also stimulated other projects. I'm used to coordinate teams and to make decisions. But in the end, the most important thing is that I am the visible face of the group of people behind the project.

2016 Some people say that your real goal is not the elections on 13 June but the next elections, that in theory will be held in 2016, just as the goal of Laporta's candidacy in 2003 was perhaps not the 2003 elections but the next ones. Are you a patient person?
We cannot think about 2016 because the 2010 elections are crucial for the club and that's why we have been working for five months. It is nevertheless true that if we don't win and no one implements our ideas, I do not exclude to continue defending our project because behind me there are many active people, who have a same way of understanding the club and whose commitment goes beyond one election process. And I have been working for the club for 13 years, so you can imagine that I'm patient. First seven hard years outside of the club, where we were even accused of being anti-Barcelona during the time of the 'Elefant Blau'. And then six years inside the club doing ground work, that does not have any media impact but which is fundamental for the club.

this was the first part of this interview. you can read the second part here. you can read an exclusive interview with barcelona presidential candidate jaume guixà here.

Read more:
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency
Ferrer has biggest media impact
Benedito: "I don't plan to announce transfers"

Guixa: "I reaffirm that the club is almost bankrupt"

This blog had an exclusive interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Guixà.


PLAYERS You plan to contact players or their entourage trying to close pre-agreements or you won't enter the game of putting out names and transfers?
It's too early to talk about signings, although in the future we will announce what our intentions are regarding this issue.

Would you be willing to pay between 40 and 50 million euros for the return of Cesc Fàbregas?
Cesc wants to come back and we want him to come back, but as I said before: it is very early to talk about transfers. Either way, what is clear is that we will have to sign the players wanted by Guardiola and we will negotiate to pay the right price taking into account the circumstances of the market and the qualities of the player.

ECONOMY You have said in an interview with 'El 9 Esportiu' that the club is on the verge of bankruptcy. You can assure that this was not just a strategic statement in the built-up to the elections and that you have concrete and reliable indications that the financial situation of the club is disastrous?
I reaffirm my statement. We believe that the club member should be worried about the economic situation of the club. I do not believe the offical numbers.

What will be your plan to clean up the economic situation of the club? You have in your candidacy experienced people who are capable of doing this?
In our candidacy we have a person specialized in economics, who has a fantastic curriculum, is linked to this sector and is amply prepared to take charge of the economic area.

SHIRT Do you want to continue the collaboration with Unicef?
Of course. It is a good initiative that also perfectly matches with the value that Barça is "More than a club".

You consider a return to a "virgin" shirt in the future? A shirt with a commercial brand can be an option for you or this is totally excluded?
We want to maintain the design with the Unicef logo.

HOOLIGANS Do you agree with the policy of president Joan Laporta against the Boixos Nois, the radical fans, and do you want to continue to not give them any privileges?
Without any doubt we need to keep the violent people away from the stadiums. People are going to a football game to have fun and not to worry about their safety.

ELECTION DATE Do you agree with the choice of the date on which the elections will be held? Did you prefer another day?
We were prepared for any date that the board thought was the right one. We have been working for a long time and we are ready to lead an interesting candidacy that can persuade the Barcelona fans. 13 June seems a good date to us, because it won't affect the performances of the team and because they have listened to the opinion of the players.

SIGNATURES You need around 2100 signatures of members to be able to participate in the upcoming elections. You hope to reach this number? You in some way already have "secured" a certain number of signatures?
I fully believe in our possibilities. Moreover, we have a team of volunteers in place who, when the time is there, will work to make it happen.

In 2006, you said you got 1694 signatures (when 1804 were needed) but you never submitted them to the competent commission so it was not possible to check them. Some have criticized this decision by saying that you didn't act right towards the members who had given you their signature. You understand this criticism? And can you explain again why you decided not to submit the signatures in August 2006?
At that time I said that I would only submit the signatures if I would reach the number of 1804. Back then, I thanked the people who supported me for their help and I want to repeat that now.

BARCA IN THE WORLD You share the analysis that Barça can not grow a lot anymore in Catalonia or Spain while at the same time in other parts of the world there's an almost unlimited potential of fans and that this is why the club (apart of course from taking care of their roots) needs to have a more global focus? You have a plan to make Barça grow abroad?
We believe that internationalization is important - and I have experienced that in person during my recent trip to the United Arab Emirates because of the World Cup for Clubs - and we have prepared a great marketing plan that will allow us to coherently work on the issue. Either way, we will not forget the Catalan and the Spanish fans.

Many thanks for this interview and good luck in the campaign.

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

Read more:
More about Guixa
Three 'Dream Team' players in candidacy Guixa
Guixa: "The financial situation worries me"

Guixa: "The trophies have hidden the instability"

This blog had an exclusive interview with Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Guixà.


PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND You are a professor of business management at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, an architect and a lawyer. Three jobs that seem very different. Is there a link between the three that we don't see?
Throughout my life, my intellectual interests have led me to get involved in different areas. Apart from my studies and professional activities, I am also a painter in my spare time.

REASONS TO TAKE PART IN THE ELECTIONS Why are you running for president of FC Barcelona? All observers are talking about Sandro Rosell and Alfons Godall, with Ferran Soriano and Jaume Ferrer as possible outsiders, and no one really thinks you have a chance to become the next president. You participate to make people hear another voice? Out of vanity? Out of love for the club? You expect someone from the other candidates to give you a seat in the board or in a commission?
We present our candidacy because we want to guarantee the dignity, the prestige of the club, the respect for the professional job done by the players and the coach and the protection of the club member, because the member is the true owner of the club and we want to give the club back to its owner.

As for the 'pools' that are out there, I think it is too early to know who will be the strongest candidate and the experience of past elections shows that the early predictions are unreliable. In the year 2003, Lluís Bassat started with a big advantage and with a ‘dream team’ and in the end it was Joan Laporta and his ‘Elefant Blau', who won the election starting from scratch.

I participate because I believe that during the mandate of Joan Laporta, the club has lost many things at the institutional level that need to be recovered by an institution with the fame of FC Barcelona.

I expect nothing from the other candidates. Ours is an independent candidacy and we are proving that we have ideas, a team and resources that will allow us to get to the final vote. If any good Barcelona fan shares our ideas and wants to join our project, he will be welcomes.

YOUR TEAM You have already confirmed ex-vice president Jaume Sobrequés as a member of your team. Other ex-directors of Barca will join you?
Jaume Sobrequés, Emma Gamper and Joan Segarra will be there with us and in the near future other big names linked to Barcelona will be made public.

ANTI-LAPORTISM You present yourself as the real alternative for the "laportism", as the only candidate (so far) who has not been linked with current president Joan Laporta. You also say that all board members have to leave. Why do you take this radical position? The term of Laporta has been a total failure for you, with the exception of the team's results? The problem is not just a problem of public image, of the personality of the president, but a management problem that affects all areas and the entire board?
I don't think it's a radical position, I just want to make my position clear. The board of Mister Laporta will go down in the history of the club as the most unstable one ever. Fortunately, the sporting successes have hidden all this, but it's a fact that there are only four or five directors left of those who started six years ago.

We have witnessed a little opera of resignations, of escapes, of firings and of spying that harms the prestige of the club. Moreover, the statements of Mister Laporta and his links to the world of politics have caused a division among the Barça fans. I think it's fine he wants to do politics, but then he should leave the club.

OTHER CANDIDATES You have said that you have no intention at all of making a deal with another candidate. However, if you would have to choose, to whom do you feel the closest in terms of personality and/or club model: Jaume Ferrer, Alfons Godall, Sandro Rosell or Ferran Soriano?
At this moment few details are known about the programs or proposals of the club members who have presented themselves as pre-candidates, but I do not identify with any of them.

Did you hold talks with other potential presidential candidates like Josep Maria Minguella, Jordi Majò, Jaume Llaurado or Jordi Medina to try to form a joint candidacy?
No.

SPORTS DIRECTOR Why are you so hard for Txiki Begiristain? Can't he be considered as one of the main architects of a squad that has triumphed under both Frank Rijkaard and Josep Guardiola?
I think that we have to take our hats off for the work done by Pep Guardiola, his staff and the players, and that's why I say that they have all my confidence and support, but from Guardiola up I don't want anybody to stay.

If Txiki does not satisfy you, what is the profile a sports director should have in your opinion? And who will be the new sports director if you would be elected president? Would you choose to give more powers to the coach, Josep Guardiola, and to eliminate the function of sports director?
The position of sports director is important because he is the link between, on the one hand, the squad and the coach and, on the other hand, the board, which is why I think it's difficult to do without the position.

Our technical department will be divided in three sections, one for the first team, one for the second team and a third one for the other youth categories, all of which will be headed by members of the 'Dream Team'.

COACH Do you have a B plan in case Guardiola will not accept to renew his contract if you're elected?
In principle Pep has already given his word that he will renew and for us, the word of Pep is more than enough, so we count on him for next season.

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

Read more:
More about Guixa
Three 'Dream Team' players in candidacy Guixa
Guixa: "The financial situation worries me"

Will former super-agent run for president?

One of the people rumoured to be a possible candidate in next year's elections for president of FC Barcelona is Josep Maria Minguella, a former 68-year-old player's agent who represented, among many others, Barcelona players like Maradona, Romario, Guardiola, Stoichkov, Rivaldo and Messi.

Minguella, who now mainly acts as a Barcelona pundit for a number of radio and television shows, took part in the 2003 elections, when he ended fifth (out of six contenders) with 1.867 votes (3,62%). The Catalan is a fierce critic of current Barcelona president Joan Laporta and supported last year's vote of no confidence against the board.

Although Catalan sports paper Sport claimed in April of this year that Minguella had back then already decided to take part in the upcoming elections, the former candidate didn't yet confirm that he will run.

Speaking to Catalan radio station RAC 1 last week, Minguella said that he will make a decision at the beginning of next year: "I would be delighted to take part, but I didn't decide anything yet. It will depend on personal issues. I will make a decision in January."

Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that Minguella has been holding talks with a few other possible pre-candidates - as could be Jaume Llauradó, Jordi Majó or Jordi Medina – to sound them out on a possible joint candidacy.

Minguella has said several times over the past weeks that talks with other people are indeed ongoing and it has been confirmed to this blog that a partnership with Jordi Majó, who finished third in the 2003 elections, seems at this moment the most likely option.

Read more:
Bassat will not run a third time

Who will be the next president of FC Barcelona?
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run

Jaume Guixa will run for president

Catalan university professor Jaume Guixà (51) will take part in next year's elections for president of FC Barcelona.

It has been confirmed to this blog that Guixà has in the past weeks and months been in contact with Barcelona club members in order to prepare his candidacy. University professor of economics Jordi Vilajosana would become the right-hand man of Guixà, who has been hinting at his candidacy on his personal blog a few days ago.

Guixà would have been preparing his candidacy for several years now. Spanish news site El Confidencial already claimed last year that Guixà had contracted a public relations agency that has been working on a campaign strategy and that Guixà was holding meetings to form his team and to raise money to finance his campaign.

Former Barcelona vice-president Jaume Sobrequés, who is believed to be collaborating with Guixa, suggested last month at Catalan television channel Barcelona TV that Guixà is preparing a candidacy: "It won't just be the candidate of Laporta against Rosell. There will be others. There are other people who are working on a candidacy, discretely but in a very serious way. Like university professor Jaume Guixà. It's still premature to talk about it, but things will be made public at the right time."

Jaume Guixà, who would not be willing to team up with other candidates unless he would head the joint candidacy, was a pre-candidate in the elections of 2006 but wasn't able to collect enough signatures of club members to take part in the elections (read more here). He's an architect and lawyer and founded the Penya Mil·lenni, a Barcelona fan club of which he is still the president.

Read more:
Agusti Benedito to run for president
Who will be the next president of FC Barcelona?