Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
You recently said about mister Sala i Martin that he was the reason of the division in the board, because mister Laporta changed his preferences in choosing his successor. What happened?
Xavier Sala became part of the board of directors because president Joan Laporta asked this to us and it's true that after his entrance there were some disagreements in the board. Mainly about how we should deal with the 2010 elections. But I accept it as something normal, everyone should do what they think is best for Barça. So I guess I have nothing more to say, I think I've already talked enough about this subject.
What do you think about Rosell and this attitude of hiding and avoiding to make statements?
Everybody knows mister Rosell and we all know that he intends to stand for election so there's no need for him to say anything until the elections are officially called. He must know for himself how he wants to approach the club member, if that is by talking or not talking. I have in any case a lot of respect for mister Rosell.
Which impulses do you plan to give the club, if you're elected as president, that are linked to the globalization of football?
We must continue with this project. In the sports area, we have to make sure we evolve but we have the best players and team in the world. We want a competitive team to continue the successes of recent years. And to have the best team and the best players in the world, the economic issue is crucial. We need to have enough revenues, profits and cash flow. We will remodel the stadium, build a new Palau, the sports centre for the non-professional sports sections and the sports city for the fans in Viladecans, which we could also export to other places in the world, like Miami, Shanghai or Abu Dhabi. That will have an impact on the club revenues. Given the current state of the world of football, we want to have revenues between 800 and 1.000 million euros in six years.
What role would Laporta have during your presidency? You would offer him a post of representing the club at the international level as has been commented by Godall?
When Laporta ends his mandate on 30 June, he will be the ex-president of Barcelona and he will be treated as such, with the utmost respect. He has to decide himself what he wants to do, but he might re-orientate his life in such a way that he will not have the time or the will to work for Barça.
Would it be possible that a representative chosen by the fan clubs becomes part of the board of directors without having the right to vote?
To become a member of the board of directors you have to take part in the elections, which includes electoral expenses, and you have to put down a very high bank guarantee. There are other formulas to inform the fan clubs and there's no need to have a person within the board of directors. Because then we should also give a place to many other groups that ask that. A person from outside the board is not really needed unless they come by one day to explain a concrete thing.
What do you think about the relation between Barça and politics and the show set up by mister Laporta? What will your position be?
From the start, Barcelona has fully identified itself with the Catalan society. Barcelona is a Catalan club and I share this idea. What we shouldn't do is politics, and the president even less, and we also shouldn't use the club for political promotion. Barça should be inclusive, so that a club member in Cadiz feels as comfortable in the club as a member in Barcelona, but without forgetting who we are and where we come from.
How are you organizing the collection of the signatures? Are you optimistic given you will only have around 14 days?
In fact, I think that we will only have 11 or 12 days. It will be difficult because they are very few days. But we will try to set up an organization within the candidacy that allows us to reach as many members as possible, so that if someone wants to give us his signature, we at least ican get to him so he can give it. We are optimistic but we will have to work hard to get more than 2.000 signatures.
this was the third and last part of this interview. You can read the previous parts here: Ferrer: "The easy thing would have been to leave"Ferrer: "I know how do this"
interview: uri bruguera
Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
Will you continue with the model of a coach plus a sports director? If so, will that be with Txiki?
I believe in the sports model that has been put in place over these last years and that has as pillars the coach of the first team, the sports director and the youth director. Our model is to invest in the academy, so that as many players as possible can become first team players, and to sign players that make the difference. I count on Txiki, I think that so far he has done a very good job, he has the ideal personality to be sports director and although I know about his intention to leave at the end of the season, which is when his contract runs out, I will try to convince him to continue.
What can you bring to Barça in case you would be president that the other candidates cannot provide?
All the candidates are certainly great Barcelona fans and can do very well, but what I can offer is my experience in this club. It's clear to me how I should do this, and all the people in this board know how to do it, because since 2003 we are managing the club, we have participated in the growth both in the sports and in the economic area. We know how to do it and we will explain to the club member that we will continue with the same model, which is still only half-way. The next years are crucial to make sure that FC Barcelona becomes a world reference.
Are you, given the current state of things, still in favour of the Foster project as it was presented to us back in the days?
I am in favour of the remodelling of the stadium, and it should be renewed for two clear reasons. For comfort reasons, for the elderly, for people who have a disability, to have more comfortable seats. As in most stadiums today, people go there to enjoy football with maximum comfort and safety. The other reason is the fact that we have to compete against clubs with new stadiums, with a capacity of income that our stadium at this moment doesn't have. We have to build more boxes for companies, and this will also affect the price of the season-tickets of the members, who will not have to pay as much because the revenues will come from the companies. So we should remodel the stadium to be competitive in the coming years. The Foster project should be reviewed but you must take into account that Foster only gave us a scale model, nothing more. When we have obtained the reclasification of the Miniestadi zone and the municipal authorizations we will see what we should do but we're not talking about figures of 300 millions that have been out there. We need to act with common sense.
What do you think about pacts with other candidates? Would you have any problem with including a candidate in your project or joining someone else?
I believe that now is not the time for pacts. It is the moment to present projects and to explain them to the club members. I'm not refusing any pact, I am open for anyone who wants to work for Barça, what we want is to unite not divide. But it is not the time for deals.
Do you think it is positive that you are seen as a candidate who can reach an agreement with everyone, someone who doesn't have real enemies?
Not having enemies is how it should be, we are all Barcelona fans, we all want Barcelona to do well, we have to get along, to be united and to build not divide. This is my way of thinking. I believe in an inclusive club where everyone has a place. All we have do is act with common sense and wisdom.
this was the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here and the third part here.Read more: Ferrer: "The president should give the example"
Who are the people behind Jaume Ferrer? Ferrer doesn't want Laporta to campaign
interview: uri bruguera
Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
What makes you want to be the president of FC Barcelona?
It is a combination of passion and common sense. I go to watch the games since I was a kid, I never imagined I would be part of the board of Barça and now that the president cannot be re-elected I think I have the experience needed. I know the club, I know how to do it and that my passion for Barça together with my common sense can help the club to be better managed.
You say you will continue with the same project but change the style. Can you explain what you mean when you refer to "changing the style"?
It's very easy. We are starting an era in which the president and the directors should not be the main actors. The main actors should be the players, the coaches and the titles. The board has to make decisions but they should act discretely, the players and the coaches should be in the media spotlights.
Over the years, the club members and the fans have been able to read reports about the president and the board of directors wasting money by spending it on unnecessary things or for personal use, like private jets and so on. How have you experienced all that from the inside?
It's not like that at all. On the contrary. Since 2003, that is when we took office, we have started working on multiplying the revenues. This year, we will have a turn-over of 400 millions. From 2003 until the end of 2007, I have myself been the treasurer of the club and I can tell you that as far as the expenses are concerned, we have acted in a very strict way.
Let's talk about a concrete name: Mister Joan Oliver. If you win, will you count on him?
I don't think that anyone is indispensable. Everyone knows what happened with private investigations and the lack of confidence is perhaps a problem. The president of Barça should have full confidence in his chief executive. But in any case these decisions will be made later on.
The members of Barça are fed up with the slander and the campaigns coming from the press of Madrid. There is something that can be done against it? If you will be president, will you try to stop all this?
For those who are annoyed by this, the solution should be not to read the press that says these things, but all this is a consequence of the fact our team is playing in a spectacular way and has been the first team in history to win six titles in one year. This is very frustrating for the big rival and their supporters. We don't have to worry, I want our team to continue to perform well, to win games and titles, and we should ignore the rest.
One has the impression that you have had to resist and to deal with a lot of injustices in the board. Mister Benedito saw something he did not like and he left, while you are still holding on. What is more honourable in this case: to resist or to leave?
All these are personal decisions that everyone has to make for himself. I can explain you what I think. I prefer to be in the club, because of the responsibility that was given to me by the members and the fans, to have an influence on the decisions that are taken in the board and to make sure they are the best ones for the club. And this does not mean that I will resign if a decision is adopted that I don't like. Inside the board we don't all think alike and there is a debate. The easy thing for me to do in recent years would have been to leave and I would certainly have got a lot more support from everyone. But what interests me is to protect the club, to manage the club and to influence as much as possible all those decisions that I think are crucial for the club, and this is what I will do until the end.
this was the first part of this interview. you can read the second part here and the third part here.Read more: Ferrer: "The president should give the example"
Who are the people behind Jaume Ferrer? Ferrer doesn't want Laporta to campaign
interview: uri bruguera
Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
It is true that you're against the sale of assets and specifically against the sale of the Miniestadi?
The truth is that I'm concerned about some decisions that the board has lately taken regarding the sale of assets because this that our assets' solvency ratio has become worse. Three times they have sold parts of our assets. I'm not in favour of this, it should only happen when we're facing a very difficult situation and I think that is not the case now. I'm heavily opposed and I think that the other candidates have a different idea.
But do you think a reform of the Camp Nou is necessary?
The Camp Nou is 53 years old and needs a reform regarding accesses, comfort, new technologies and we will do it during the next mandate. Another, very different thing is having reform of a football pitch that can be seen from the moon.
A theme that regularly comes back in these elections, is the relationschip Barça-politics. What is your opinion?
The Catalan character of Barcelona is part of its essence. Whoever wants to reduce this Catalan character, no matter who it is, will fail. But the president should not do politics and this has been one of the big mistakes of Laporta. One thing is to help Catalonia club through the club and another thing is to use it in a party-politcal way. And besides that, Laporta is doing it for his personal benefit, betraying the spirit and the pact he had with the club members in 2003.
Having been, back in the days, so close and loyal to Laporta, how is it possible that you never were part of the board of directors? You rejected or it was never offered to you?
Honestly, since Laporta was elected as president Laporta he never talked with me about the possibility of joining the board. Other directors did tell me that they wanted me to become part of the board but Laporta never proposed it to me, so I didn't have the choice to say yes or no. Likewise, this fact did not stop me from working for Barça with all I had until the last day.
Could it be that your biggest signing is not a player? I'm talking about your campaign director, Mr. Xavier Roig...
Yeah, right, he is a great professional and I am very happy with the collaboration agreement we have signed. He has a great cv, also in the Barça elections, since he was Laporta's campaign director in 2003. He will not be the only signing of this nature, I will bit by bit release names that people will certainly like a lot.
Let's try, can you already give us a name?
The campaign hasn't started yet... It's precisely Xavier Roig who has advised me that these names should be brought to the public gradually.
How are you planning the collection of the signatures, are you optimistic?
What we have is like a "movement", today we don't get the same attention in the mainstream media as other candidates, but we are with many people, many people are working on this, many club members have contacted us to help us. There will be more than 1, 2 or 3 candidates that will have more difficulties than us to pass the cut of the signatures. We will go over it and it won't be a problem for us, we will have other problems but not this one.
this was the second and last part of this interview. you can read the first part here.
Read more: Benedito wants to be the third way Logo and first campaign slogan Benedito revealed
Benedito: "Stadium shouldn't be visible from the moon"
interview: uri bruguera
Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
Your project wants to continue with the current model or break with it?
The project of 2003, if updated and renewed, is still very valid and I think that the majority of the club members agree with this. It's about making sure that the rest of the club is on par with the sporting results of the football team, which isn't the case at this moment. After a lot of years inside and outside the club, you end up having your own ideas about how you would like Barça to be, and you see that this is shared by many people. Because of all this and after it has become clear that the continuity project as well as the project of Rosell are different from our vision on the club, we decided to create this alternative.
Will you change something about the sports structure?
We have our own ideas, that include some modifications, but the final proposal should be agreed upon by Guardiola. But the sports area is surely the one we will touch least. In other areas there have to be more serious changes.
If you're elected as president, will you stop the co-operation with Guardiola if he would demand things that are not compatible with your ideas?
It is impossible that this would happen. I am convinced that Guardiola will not raise demands that go against the general interest of the club. We are anxious to talk with Guardiola so we can explain him our plan. I'm sure that we will find an agreement and that he will be with us for many more years.
Will you arrive at the final vote alone, that is without making a pact with anyone?
Of course. We had a hard time making the decision to start with a candidacy, it takes a lot effort, and not just financially. A pact is not a possibility for us because we are distanced from the other projects and I see no way we could fit together.
Why have you said in some media that you think the continuism has no chance to win?
After having spoken in person with over 1.400 club members, a number that allows you to have an idea of the state of mind of the fans, I have seen a large rejection of the continuism.
What will be the importance of the fan clubs in your project?
The fan clubs are the representatives of Barça in their region. They have presented us their "project for the 21st century", it is very interesting and it can be improved at some points.
Will you continue with UNICEF on the shirt or will you seek revenues through shirt sponsoring?
Barça is the most feared team on the pitch and we want it to be the most loved around the world. The collaboration with Unicef was a great decision but there is still a long way to go. We will maintain the collaboration and we will expand it. If we eventually would be forced to look for a sponsor, we are allowed to do this by the vote of the Assembly of 2003 or 2004, I do not remember it exactly, but I'm not at all in favour of seeking external sponsorship.
this was the first part of this interview. you can read the second part here.
Read more: Benedito wants to be the third way Logo and first campaign slogan Benedito revealed
Benedito: "Stadium shouldn't be visible from the moon"
interview: uri bruguera
Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.
