The Quote: Evarist Murtra

"The bank guarantee injects the directors with the dangerous virus of wanting to be re-elected and ends up having a perverse effect. The director may be the captive of who helps him to get the guarantee, the bank, or if he can deposit it on his own, fall into the temptation of expecting to continue believing he is entitled because of having put down the guarantee."


Evarist Murtra,
former Barcelona board member (1993-1996 and 2005-2008)

read more election quotes here

What will Evarist Murtra do?

After Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola dedicated his team's victory in the World Cup for Clubs to former Barcelona director Evarist Murtra, there has been some speculation in the Catalan press about the role of Murtra in the upcoming elections.

(read the first part of this post that gives background information on the person of evarist murtra here)

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Murtra has been contacted by several pre-candidates asking him to join them. Murtra would have rejected the offers and is quoted as replying to all: "Never again will I be a director of FC Barcelona."

Murtra would want to stay totally independent to have the chance to freely express his opinion about the situation of the club and although he won't actively take part in the campaign, he could publicly say to which candidacy he feels closes when the elections come nearer.

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that there's still a chance that Murtra, who reportedly already rejected an approach by among others the candidacy of Alfons Godall, will join former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano, who would still be trying to convince Murtra to get involved.

The local press meanwhile couldn't agree on the presence of Murtra at a dinner organized earlier this month by Soriano to which he invited all the members of the Barcelona board who left the club together with him after the vote of no confidence in July 2008 (read more here).

Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia claims that Murtra certainly won't take part in the elections, Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu that he seems not willing to particpate and Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo that he plans to stay neutral in the whole process.

this is the second and last part of this post. you can read the first part here.

Read more:
Soriano dines with former board colleagues
The Board Movements (2003-2009)
Soriano to announce candidacy next month

Soriano dines with former board colleagues

Several Catalan media report that former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano has on Thursday evening held a dinner at his house in Barcelona to discuss his participation in the elections for president of FC Barcelona in June.

Catalan newspaper El Periódico claims that all seven board members who left the club together with Soriano in 2008 were present: former vice-presidents Albert Vicens and Marc Ingla, and former board members Xavier Cambra, Antoni Rovira, Clàudia Vives-Fierro, Evarist Murtra and Josep Lluís Vilaseca. Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Murtra didn't take part.

Read more:
What will the original 2003 board members do?
The Board Movements (2003-2009)
What will Evarist Murtra do?

on the picture (front row, from left to right): marc ingla, antoni rovira, ferran soriano, clàudia vives-fierro, josep lluis vilaseca, evarist murtra, xavier cambra

What will Evarist Murtra do?

After Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola dedicated his team's victory in the World Cup for Clubs to former Barcelona director Evarist Murtra, there has been some speculation in the Catalan press about the role of Murtra in the upcoming elections.

At the press confernce after the game against Estudiantes on 19 December last year, Guardiola said: "I want to dedicate this victory to Evarist Murtra, I'm sure he's very happy. He was a person who with his insistence made the board think about me when they were looking for a coach for the second team and he has taught me great values. He deserves this."

Evarist Murtra (picture) is a 60-year old Catalan textile entrepreneur who has been active in the entourage of the club for more than two decades. After having co-founded a Barcelona opposition group, Murtra supported presidential candidate Sixte Cambra in the 1989 elections.

In February 1993, he joined the board of Josep Lluís Núñez. Three years later, Murtra resigned from his post as vice-president, officially because of professional reasons that left him with too little time but Murtra admitted later that internal board problems regarding the bank guarantee presidential candidates have to put down caused his exit.

In the 1997 elections, Murtra was a possible candidate but in the end he didn't take part after having failed to find a deal with Núñez challenger Angel Fernández and returned a blank ballot paper. In 2000 and 2003, Murtra supported presidential candidate Lluís Bassat who was twice the runner-up.

In November 2005, Murtra became a member of the board of Joan Laporta (read more here). He is believed to have been one of the main supporters of wearing the Unicef logo on the team's shirt and of the appointment of Guardiola as coach of, first, the second team and, later, the first team. In July 2008, Evarist Murtra left the board after the vote of no confidence (read more here).

this was the first part of this post. read the second part here.

Read more:
Bassat rejects offers to take part in elections
The Board, 6-7 Years Later (2) : The movements
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run