Joan Laporta had to overcome a storm in the Barcelona, In the midst of two consecutive eliminations in the Champions League in the group stage (including an edition in which Real Madrid, their great rival, emerged champion), financial problems abounded and Lionel Messi He did not renew his contract and left the club.
Now, the president of the Blaugrana club, one of the largest in the world, has already accommodated the club’s pocket (although next season the club will not be able to sign players due to financial Fair Play rules) and arrives at the World Cup recess with the team in first place in the Spanish League, the great goal they set for this season, in a second wind to try to return to the top.
Laporta visits Colombia after three years, invested again as president, this time to see the work carried out by the Fundación Fútbol Club Barcelona in Colombia. “We are participating in operations together with UNHCR (the United Nations refugee agency) and Save the Children, to transform the lives of displaced people, mainly Venezuelans who come to Colombia, and refugees who come due to the armed conflict that exists on the border. , especially in Arauquita”, explained the leader in an interview with EL TIEMPO, “We have been on the ground and learned the cruel reality that refugees and displaced persons live. I am proud of the work that the Foundation is doing in this regard, using sport as an instrument of social integration”, he added.
Elected in 2021 for a second term as president, after having led a glorious period between 2003 and 2010, Laporta spoke with EL TIEMPO about the work of the foundation, but also about football, a lot of football, hours before a Copa del Rey is played. Atypical world, which forced the clubs to plan the season in a different way than usual.
What is the work of the Barcelona Football Club Foundation in this work in Colombia?
We have a program called Sport Net, which has been incorporated into the work being done by international cooperation and humanitarian aid organizations for refugees. Through sport, we see that many values can be transmitted. Many young people assimilate effort, commitment, and teamwork in a very natural way. And it also helps them to have one more option in life, to avoid the risks to which they are subjected due to circumstances. And I also want to make a special mention to the fighting mothers who have managed to give their children a better life option. I think that organizations work very well there.
How does the theme work?
We have the privilege of being able to participate in these cooperation operations, which consist of registering the identity of the displaced so that they have basic services, their protection, in all that refers to health, nutrition, to the empowerment especially of mothers. There were also fathers, but the majority are fighting mothers, who with the empowerment are resilient mothers, who resist adversity, who are brave, who have moved with their children and who now, thanks to this empowerment, know their rights and now have the self-esteem necessary to defend oneself.
You spoke, in a press conference, that you were surprised by the attitude of the mothers of the young people who are in the program, why?
Because they didn’t ask for anything. We have dedicated ourselves to talking with them and listening to them, they felt very grateful, they were very aware of what they wanted to comment and that they continue our programs, it is what worries them the most and what they most want.
We are hours away from a new World Cup. What does it mean for Barcelona to have such a large representation in the World Cup, 16 players? Only Bayern Munich surpasses it, with 17.
It is clear proof that we have players with great talent and we are proud of that. We wish each and every one of them to show their talent in their respective teams. I hope that one of them returns as world champion and, above all, that they all return home safely.
Did the fact of having to stop the Leagues to hold the World Cup change much at this time of the year?
We have all had to change our plans. The planning of the season this time has been different from the others, both at a strategic level and in physical preparation. We are all waiting for what will happen after the World Cup, how the players will come, how they will be to end seasons that have already begun. We face it and we have worked for it, we are preparing for this second part of the season to be successful. There are countries that do have this opening and closing tournament format, but for us it is new, we will see how it goes.
And they arrive at this break in first place in the League.
We got knocked out of the Champions League, which has been a stick for us, but our priority this year is the League. We have a team under reconstruction, Xavi is working very well, he is assembling it, working on all the mechanisms to build a champion of reference. What he is doing very well is the League, we have some spectacular numbers. The League is the competition of regularity, which also says a lot about a team. We have had games in which the team has shown champion material and this has generated great expectations. Coming out champions is the goal.
Laporta talks about Gerard Piqué’s retirement
How did the second consecutive elimination in the Champions League and having to go to the Europa League hit you again?
Well, the draw has mitigated it a bit: we have a Champions League game, which is Barça vs. Manchester United. There are many European teams that are very powerful and the Europa League is an important tournament. Obviously, it is not the Champions League, but we take it with sportsmanship. The important thing is that we have recovered, overcome this situation, which could have caused the team to collapse. Due to the level of play we could have passed, but due to match circumstances we did not get the necessary points. Today the priority is the League, but we have interesting competitions, such as the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Copa del Rey and this Europa League, which we have never won and which we would like to fight for as well.
Did Gerard Piqué’s retirement surprise you?
No, because we had been talking about it since the beginning of the season. Piqué is an extraordinary player, he is a reference for Barcelona and always will be, and he is also a person with whom I have a very good relationship, very affectionate and affectionate. Finally he decided it, because he saw the sporting circumstances of this season. The coach had already told him that he wouldn’t have him like last season and Piqué is a winner, a competitive man par excellence. He finally decided that it was time to retire, he was able to do it by saying goodbye to the fans with dignity and recognition. I am sure that he is a person who will help Barça from wherever he is, because he carries it in his heart.
How much did the situation of Lionel Messi’s departure affect you?
Much. At an institutional level, it represented something that we did not know how to solve well. Here I take responsibility, even though I didn’t have many options either. The truth is that it is an issue that has always left me with the feeling that we could have resolved it better. On a sporting level, having a player as talented as Leo Messi is always very good, he is the best player in the world. We are overcoming this circumstance, we are convinced that Messi knows that Barça is his home and that we love him very much, but out of respect for PSG and Messi himself, it is a subject that we cannot delve into very deeply.
Luis Díaz and Linda Caicedo: this was their options with Barcelona
How real was the possibility of Luis Díaz coming to Barcelona?
There was practically no choice. When we arrived, he was a player that really interested us, but Liverpool already had very advanced negotiations with Porto. He is a very talented player, fast, he has a goal, he is explosive, but now he is a Liverpool player and that club deserves all my respect.
Speaking of women’s football, is the option of Linda Caicedo coming to Barcelona viable?
We have located Linda for years now. We know her environment, I know that those responsible for women’s football already have Linda on their list of talents that we would like to have at the club. That requires that there be a negotiation and that there be an agreement between the two parties, but she is a very talented player.
In his first stage as president of Barcelona, he had to face a major financial problem and he not only overcame it, but also took the team far. Is that panorama very similar to the one he found in this new stage?
It is very similar and it seems that I am always called in the most difficult moments. In the first stage we surpassed it and now we have been a year and a half and we are on the way to overcome it. We have saved Barça from a critical situation, this year we are going to give some spectacular results. The club is getting stronger financially. In addition, we are facing a series of projects so that the club can once again be a benchmark at the management level and at the economic level. There is the Espai Barça, where we renovated the stadium, the Camp Nou, and then we created a campus, the new Palau Blaugrana. We are very satisfied even though there is a world crisis. There are some assets that have been revalued in our 123-year history and by working so that the members continue to own the club, I fully dedicate myself to this cause. That gives us a uniqueness and a sense of belonging.
This model contrasts with those that have, for example, PSG or Manchester City. How can they cut this advantage that these types of clubs have gained?
The criticism here is that not all of us are under the same rules. These clubs are in some leagues in which they participate, they can have a much more flexible capacity to act. Situations occur here, there are limited financial resources and if financial control standards are not met in a harmonized manner in all European countries, dysfunctions are created that leave us in direct competition with these state clubs. Uefa, Fifa and the respective leagues have a lot to say there. There is a fight that a few clubs have started so that there are regulations and everything is in accordance with the market and that these dysfunctions do not occur.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
sports deputy editor
@josasc
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