The year of Laporta (part 2)

Barcelona president Joan Laporta looked back at the year 2008 in an interview with Catalan sports paper Sport.





July: Laporta survives a vote of no confidence with 60% of the socios asking for his resignition.
The result of the vote was a vote of punishment and that's how I accepted it. When it seemed like this whole fiasco would be dropped, some members of the board decided to leave the committee. They shared the same idea of the model behind the club that this board defended, but they didn't share the same ideas on how our project would continue.

August: Eto'o in the end stays at Barca.
Samuel had to stay with us and the process of keeping him in the summer went well. We regained the best Eto'o, determined and motivated at 100%.

September: Victory against Espanyol with incidents in the stands.
A great victory but also the day that I panicked the most in the presidential box. The feeling of insecurity was tough, and I also had to hear insults and accusations because they made us responsible for the actions of a few radical supporters that we don't even let into the Camp Nou.

October: Barça thrashes Atlético 6-1.
It was spectacular. The first half was dream-like. We will remember the match against Atlético for a long time. Aside from the goals, I remember the speed that the team moved at and the pressure they put on the opposition.

November: SPORT discovers Guardiola's rules.
Josep Guardiola manages the dressing room with the experience of being in a professional dressing room for many years, and he perfectly knows the club and its environment. He understands that the group of people that have to work with each other daily must have a good relationship and a few norms when living together, as a group, but also with as much normality as possible.

December: Barça are winter champions.
A great response after Villarreal's first goal and an important victory against a direct rival. We extend our lead, playing great games, things that are only important if we can continue doing them as the league continues.

Translated by: AL


This was the seond and last part of this interview. You can read the first part here:
The year of Laporta (part 1)