Laporta: "To govern is to resist"

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave an interview to Spanish newspaper El País.





Since you surprisingly won the elections back in 2003, a lot of the decisions you have taken have been courageous, and sometimes they even seemed reckless.
If you want to be a good president, you have to be courageous but responsible.

It looks like you took advantage of the exit of some board members in July to do what they didn't let you do before.
The decisions are certainly working quite well: the appointment of Josep Guardiola as manager, the organizational impulse with the new chief executive officer Joan Oliver, the challenge of collecting the 380 million euro we predicted and keep a surplus on the budget. We've paid all our bank debts and the new sports centre, we've reactivated the sale of the season-ticket holders’ seats, Barça TV will broadcast publicly and we continue with our solidarity activities. Every year we create new successes that all start from a competitive football project.

You now understand your predecessor Josep Lluís Núñez when he took some decisions against the public opinion?
We cannot be compared. I take a position and then the board makes the decisions.

The bid for an MLS franchise doesn’t seem very supported by the entourage of the club, like your visits to Uzbekistan and some of your relations with persons who are not linked to the world of football.
I feel the energy to keep on innovating. If we are more than a club and we live in a global world, you have to look at all the options. I have always been innovative and courageous when it came down to making decisions.

You have become richer since you became president?
I have my businesses and I try to make them work, but never at the expense of the club. Being the president of Barcelona, gives you more chances to meet people. It’s a phase of your life, a privilege. On the other hand, I’ve also gone through some very difficults moments in my private life.

Nowadays the politicians aren’t so keen anymore to get on the picture with you and there’s no talk anymore about your possible political career.
I already said a while ago that I’m not motivated to get involved in these matters. I would have liked to be the centre forward of Barcelona.

You are still true to the spirit of former sports director Armand Carabén and to the slogan “more than a club”, just like you are true to the football legacy of Cruijff and the Dream Team?
We keep on respecting the spirit of the founder and of Carabén. His example showed us how to lead the club, like Cruijff showed us how to play. The result is the club that I’m leading.

You’ve already found your computer that was stolen at the Camp Nou earlier this year?
I’m not looking look for it anymore.

Your outbursts, like the incident at the airport and the discussion with your driver, don’t cast a shadow on your work as president?
If that’s the only thing that can be criticized, this means there’s not a lot to criticize. The main thing are the ideals.

You think Barcelona will win against Madrid next week?
I’ve stopped thinking about things that don’t contribute anything. We’re focused on staying cautious and to keep on working hard. To govern is to resist. To win, you have to resist.


This was the second and last part of this interview. Read the first part here:

Laporta: "Mourinho was a more secure option"