New Challenges Facing FC Barcelona President Bartomeu.

Well, elections just came and went and it was no surprise that in the end, Josep Maria Bartomeu was elected to become president of FC Barcelona again. However, even though the club is fresh of the heels of their successful treble campaign from last season, Bartomeu has many challenges that have to be properly dealt with.

The first of many challenges facing Bartomeu is that he is currently facing tax fraud charges stemming from the Neymar transfer debacle. The transfer has been under scrutiny for the way money was exchanged in the whole process. This controversy is what caused Sandro Rosell to resign and appoint Bartomeu as his successor. Barça already had to deal with one president resigning in Rosell and cannot have Bartomeu do the same thing when his tax fraud case gets too hot for him. For his sake, he needs to win that case or else Barça members and fans risk seeing another president step down and appoint another person as his successor instead of calling for elections. Presidents are supposed to be elected, not hand selected by their predecessors as they resign and walk away.

The second challenge facing Bartomeu is what to do what about the shirt sponsor. The Rosell-Bartomeu regime had no issues continuing with the Qatar sponsor on the team’s shirt. People will say it’s Qatar Foundation or Qatar Airlines, and not Qatar. True, but Qatar is run by a monarchy and Qatar Foundation and Qatar Airlines are their creations which they have a hand in operating. The fact is that Barça should have received more from Qatar, compared to other clubs’ sponsorship deals, since they are not only on the shirt, but they also have their name on the seats on the Camp Nou, the outer walls of the Camp Nou while also using images of Barça players on their advertising which is outrageous. The club is one of the best in the world and should be getting a better financial deal from a sponsor than what they have right now.

Besides obtaining a better lucrative deal, the club should get a sponsor that is also not tainted. Qatar Airways have a poor reputation for their sexiest guidelines towards their female flight attendants and a recent online petition has garnered over 40,000 signatures asking for the club to drop them as a sponsor. The club is also aligned with the Qatar Foundation that has had imams who preach hate on their premises. One praised the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris as “the sequel to the comedy film of 9/11” while another claimed that “Jews and their helpers must be destroyed.” Furthermore, there have been reports that Qatar is best source of financial support for ISIS which does not bode well for the image of the club. Let’s not forget how many migrants workers have been mistreated and died because of the World Cup stadiums construction in Qatar too. Is that what we want to see our players and fans represent when they put on the Barça jersey with Qatar Airways stuck on it for the world to see?

Bartomeu at least realized his mistake when Barça went with horizontal stripes on the current home shirt for this season. The backlash against that design made Bartomeu promise that next season’s home shirts will be replicas of the 1992 European Cup shirt. The problem is that he went against the vertical stripes that have been part of this club’s history in the first place and did not realize what backlash it would create is disturbing to say the least. He has to ensure that the club never abandons its values and heritage.

Furthermore, a big challenge that Bartomeu must resolve is the state of Barça B and the La Masia in general. The Rosell-Bartomeu regime inherited one of the strongest B teams of all time, along with a very good youth academy which they mismanaged. For the past few years, we have seen good players not fully develop, but instead regress or leave the club. It’s not just the players, but good youth managers leaving La Masia has impacted the club. Oscar Garcia and Sergi are two managers who should have had bigger roles with the youth academy and perhaps coaching Barça B, but instead, are no longer part of the club. Eusebio as Barça B manager never won over the fans with his style of play that seemed more concerned about results and keeping his team up over improving his players. He’s gone but the damage was done and Barça B were relegated this season which will surely hamper the development of many players who will probably have to be loaned out to gain enhanced experience.

Bartomeu named former Barça youth and first team player, Gerard Lopez, as the new Barça B manager. He is faced with the tall task of getting the B team promoted again. Sure, he follows in the footsteps of Guardiola and Luis Enrique as someone who does not have managerial experience while taking over the B team. Guardiola worked his magic and got them promoted from the fourth division to the third division and Luis Enrique took over and won promotion to the second division before departing. Lopez though is inheriting a mess of a team where some of the B team players might be sent out on loan instead of playing in the third division. Also, there are younger players who were supposed to be potential B team starlets but are heading elsewhere for better experience and opportunity. Pep Seguru will be in charge of the youth setup and he appointed Franc Garcia Pimient, the man many wanted to be Barça B’s next manager, as Gerard’s assistant, which is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, it will be enough. Not every player from La Masia will make it but the club needs to ensure players like Adama, Samper and Grimaldo who are talented enough to be on the cusp of playing for the first team do make it and not ignore or worse, discard them.

A major issue with this regime seems to be their interest in buying players and ignoring the players that came through the ranks. There is concern that this regime is following the blueprint of Florentino Perez’s Galacticos era at Real Madrid. Real Madrid were very successful in the mid 80’s thanks to their “La Quinta del Buitre” players who came through the youth setup and featured for the first team. Five consecutive La Liga titles and two UEFA Cups came from that era and perhaps it was no coincidence that the team that knocked them off their perch was Barça’s “Dream Team” that was coached by Cruyff who relied on a mix on veterans and players from the academy.

When La Liga dropped its three foreign players rule in the latter part of the 90’s, both Madrid and Barça lost their ways and began focusing more on buying foreign players than nurturing their youth teams. Sure, Madrid and Barça saw the occasional youth player get promoted to their first team such as Xavi, Iker Casillas, Puyol, Raul, Iniesta, Guti and Victor Valdés but both clubs seemed interested in trying to buy the best. It worked out for a while for Madrid when they won three Champions League titles between 1998 and 2002. However, it would take them another 12 years to win their tenth Champions League title while struggling to overcome their bitter Blaugrana rivals along with scarcely promoting players from their academy to the first team. The short term success did not pay off in the long run.

After the election of Joan Laporta in 2003, things changed in Barcelona. The Cruyff era of football returned and the youth academy began to shape up better. Suddenly, the likes of Messi, Oleguer, Bojan, Busquets, Pedro , Jeffren, Thiago, and Rafinha along with buying back former youth players such as Pique and Jordi Alba, began to feature with the first team and helped guide them to four Champions League titles in a decade. With the likes of La Masia graduates of Valdés, Puyol and Xavi, it was common to see a Barça starting eleven featuring a majority of La Masia graduates.

Nonetheless, out of the last four Champions League trophies, this recent one featured the fewest La Masia graduates. Puyol and Valdés were gone, while Xavi was on the bench with the likes of Bartra, Montoya, Rafinha and Sergi Roberto. Barça invested heavily in the likes of Neymar, and Suarez which paid off immensely last season, but the club also signed the likes of Vermaelen and Douglas when they already had Bartra and Montoya available. Montoya already left this summer and there is concern than Rafinha might contemplate his future after the recent signing of Arda Turan with Pogba also rumored to be another signing down the road. This is a telltale sign for La Masia players who must be questioning whether they have a future at this club if the club will keep buying players.

An indication on how bad things have gotten with La Masia is the fact that the current Spain U-19 team does not contain a single Barça player. That team just won the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. There was a time when La Masia players were representing the Spanish national team on all levels. Yet, we are now witnessing far less of them feature for their club and as a result, hardly get called up for the national team.

Now Barça did sign Aleix Vidal, another former La Masia pupil, but Montoya was already loaned out to Inter this summer. What will happen to the likes of Bartra and Rafinha? Will Barça continue to pay for foreign imports and ignore their youth like Real Madrid have been doing? That is a costly mistake both on paper and on the field. The backbone of this club’s success has always been driven by the presence of players climbing through the ranks and it cannot be ignored or neglected just because the club spent a lot of money on buying players and won a treble. As the old saying goes, “never forget your roots” which means Bartomeu cannot allow the B team to languish in the third division or allow La Masia to further regress.

Additionally, this regime of spending has its flaws. Rosell resigned when it appeared there were some irregularities in the Neymar transfer and now both he and Bartomeu are facing tax fraud charges for that transfer. Bartomeu has to end this run of attracting law suits from club members and from the government. The Neymar transfer scandal and the FIFA transfer ban, along with their failed lawsuit against Laporta and his board, has already tarnish the club and Bartomeu needs to distance the club from the legal system.

It’s not just football that has been affected under this regime, but the basketball team has also regressed recently. FC Barcelona’s basketball team was once one of the top four teams in Europe and won the Euroleague in Laporta’s final season as president. Again, Rosell-Bartomeu regime inherited a strong basketball team, managed by the legendary coach Xavi Pascual and won back to back league titles along with one Copa del Rey in the beginning. However, Real Madrid have knocked Barça off their perch by winning two of the last three recent league titles and by defeating Barça in the last two Copa del Rey finals while also defeating Barça in the last three Spanish Supercopas. Meanwhile, Madrid has played in the last three consecutive Euroleague Finals while Barça has not made it back to a final since 2010. What’s worse is that this season, Madrid won the treble in basketball by defeating Barça in the league and Copa del Rey finals while also capturing the Euroleague. Coach Pascual is an amazing coach but he needs help and the club needs to help him by signing better players and improving the youth setup.

Finally, the president has to ensure the club is protected from attacks from outside the club and never allow the club to attack its own players. The incident where Faus made statements about Messi should never happen again. The man deserves better than that. However, the club also needs to defend its players from whatever false and frivolous attacks from the media. It’s true that players, especially Messi, should have a PR team ready to step up if such a situation occurs, but the club should always be ready to there to defend the player, and also their fans.

So yes, Barça won the treble, however, Bartomeu cannot get blinded with the short term shine of last season’s trophies and ignore the long term vision of this club.  I have quoted George Santayana before but this quote regarding progress is impossible to ignore when it comes to discussing FC Barcelona. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As a director, Vice-President and President of FC Barcelona, Bartomeu has witnessed and experienced many things that one can only hope will ensure previous mistakes by former Barça and Real Madrid presidents will not be repeated under his watch.

Luis Enrique’s Flexibility Helping Barça and Himself.

It’s amazing how one’s future can change in a matter of weeks. It wasn’t that long ago when Luis Enrique was coaching for his job. Now, all is well for now at the Barça kingdom thanks to Luis Enrique being more flexible and listening to his players.

It takes two to tango and Lucho and the players are currently engaged in a wonderful tango that has seen the Blaugrana win 11 consecutive matches in all competitions. Coaching is a bit like dancing. One person leads and the other dance partner follows. However, there has to be an understanding between the one who leads and the one who follows. It cannot be a dictatorship where every command has to be obeyed and unquestioned or else a relationship will never fully blossom. The one who leads must be open to suggestions from their dance partner or else they will be dragging their feet in an ugly dance.

That ugly dance finally came to fruition on that cold night in the Anoeta when Barça lost to Real Sociedad 1-0. Messi and Neymar were rested since they arrived later from the winter break than the rest of the players because their manager gave them permission to do so. Barça were losing and both players came off the bench in the second half, but could not help guide their team to a comeback victory.

The storm that followed this loss was considered the storm of the century for Barça. Lucho’s neck was on the line as unfounded rumors that Messi was going to ask for a transfer began to grow. Fortunately, things changed for the better after that loss. Much of that has to do with Luis Enrique dropping the general act of insisting it was his way or the highway. Like what all good managers do, Luis Enrique became flexible and listened to his players. Suddenly, the new lineup every match stopped. Luis Enrique’s insistence of playing Messi in the middle of the attack, with the other two players up front coming inside to help Messi came to a halt. Messi and Neymar now play out wide with Luis Suarez, or Pedro, play in the middle. Midfielders went from covering the space left by the attacking fullbacks to actually being involved in the buildup of the attack.

It’s a good thing for both Luis Enrique and Barça that the manager dropped his “my way or the high way” act. Respect is a two way street and it seemed that Lucho thought it was a one way street and that this was about him and his way. Perhaps he thought he was inheriting a team that was in disarray and lacked discipline, like Guardiola did back in 2008, and had to be strict with them. He thought wrong since last season’s disappointment came down to poor coaching from his predecessor, a difficult emotional time for players dealing with the loss of their former manager Tito Vilanova, and in house controversies such as Sandro Rosell’s resignation, Neymar’s signing, and Messi’s tax case along with the board’s treatment of Messi with poorly made comments about a possible new contract.

Fortunately, the rumors of Luis Enrique possibly getting fired brought a change to his approach and it has been working. Suddenly, Messi is back to his dominating self and the team no longer look lost out on the pitch with 11 consecutive wins, especially three against Atlético Madrid. A perfect example of the change of atmosphere at the club was when the players asked Lucho to tell the club to cancel the friendly that was going to take place in Qatar. With the friendly taking place in Qatar, a few days before the away fixture to Athletic Club, Lucho probably thought it was poorly timed too. In the end, the friendly was canceled and Barça tasted victory on Athletic’s turf for the first time since 2010.

Of course, this does not mean the club is now perfect without any weaknesses but there is a contrast to how they were performing before and after that loss to Real Sociedad. Barça are still heavily reliant on the front three, but at least the supporting cast around them seem to have an understanding of their roles on the pitch. They appear more confident and more prepared than before. Moreover, it seems that Luis Enrique has an understanding of what his role is too. A manager is not just about winning, but also about listening to his players and finding the right solution for everybody. So far, Luis Enrique has done just that and only time will tell how far this approach will carry this team, with next week’s Champions League clash against Manchester City will be a litmus test for both manager and players.

Barça Needs Elections to Clean House.

2015 is upon us and we are already facing an enormous crisis with our beloved Barça. Barça’s weekend loss to Real Sociedad was followed with the dismissal of Andoni Zubizarreta as the club’s Sporting Director. Pressure is building against manager Luis Enrique and club president Josep Bartomeu, especially with talk of fallout between the manager and Messi. Without a doubt, this is the beginning of the end for this Barça board. 

When the CAS dismissed Barça’s appeal of the FIFA transfer ban, we knew heads were going to roll. Zubi was the likely scapegoat for the club thanks to his personality and his track record in the transfer market.  After Barça’s loss to Real Sociedad, he basically signed his death warrant with his comments to the media. When asked about the transfer ban, Zubi replied, "I assume my responsibility as the person in charge of the football department, but the sporting vice president at the time, Josep Maria Bartomeu, is the one who knew the situation better than anyone." The next day, the club announced that Zubi was sacked.

Zubi decided not to go down without dragging people with him. However, Zubi was correct in his statement. Even though he was the sporting director, president Bartomeu was in fact the one responsible for the Athletic Area of the Club. Yet, Zubi seems to be the one who is paying the price of this error. Nevertheless, that is enough. This board has to got to go. It’s time to call for elections, not in the summer, but now. Of course, that cannot happen so we should expect elections in the summer. My disdain for this board is no secret and there is no reason to discuss in depth the mistakes of this board during both, the presidency of Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu. Graham Hunter, who wrote a marvelous book about Guardiola’s Barça, summarized the failure of this club.

In summary, recent years have seen Barcelona divorce themselves from their spiritual leader, Cruyff; cause Pep Guardiola to feel alienated then leave his post as manager; lose their elected president Rosell over the way Neymar was recruited to the club; misjudge the consecutive coaching appointments of Gerardo Martino and Luis Enrique; disgracefully mishandle Eric Abidal's contractual situation; sack Antoni Rossich, their director general; receive from FIFA a ban from the transfer market and lose at the Court for Arbitration for Sport a hopeless appeal, which was formulated simply to suspend the ban so that the club could restock the squad last summer; haemorrhage football credibility and competitiveness; alienate their best ever goalkeeper; sack their director of football and, finally, mishandle Messi so comprehensively that there is a real danger he opts to leave.

What Mr. Hunter forgot to mention was Barça selling out the club to Qatar via Qatar Foundation/ Qatar Airways, the board losing their lawsuit against the previous president Laporta and his board, lack finding a sponsor for the basketball team shirt, and there’s also the upcoming MCM breach of contract case where MCM are seeking €100 million in damages. So quite frankly, the fans are tired of this club constantly finding itself in a new scandal. Now, we have a fallout between Messi and Luis Enrique where there is talk the manager’s days are numbered.

 Messi did not show up to yesterday’s training session that was open to the public, which upset Lucho. Allegedly, Messi had gastroenteritis and could not make it but then turned heads when he followed Chelsea on Instagram. Perhaps it is a message to the board that he is fed up with the dictatorial style of Lucho, which quite frankly has not resulted in much success or a boost of confidence amongst the players and the fans. Sport conducted a poll that shows the fans are in favor of the player over the manager.

I did caution that people should not expect Barça under Lucho to be like Pep. Both may have played together but both come from different schools of thought. Pep is a Cruyff pupil while Lucho was managed by the likes of Bobby Robson, Louis van Gaal, Rexach and Antic to name a few. So it is not surprising he acts like van Gaal and Mourinho. Unfortunately, Lucho has adopted Mourinho’s toxic attitude and we saw how bad things ended up at Madrid for Mou. We are witnessing the same Mou Casillas battle at Barça with Lucho and Messi. Quite frankly, you would be insane to say Messi has to go. It would be the equivalent of Bulls fans wanting to side with the ownership over Michael Jordan during his prime, especially when voiced his opinionon what his team should do and how he would walk if his coach and Scottie Pippen were not kept. Great players need to be listened to, especially if you are building a team around them, which Barça has done a poor job thus far.

Of course, president Bartomeu is not an idiot. He will not go down in history as the man who sold Messi to Chelsea or any other team. We will see what he has to say tomorrow when he addresses the media. What is obvious is that it is time for a change. Rosell and Bartomeu inherited a great team from Laporta, while he inherited a disaster from Gaspart and Reyna. Barça were once considered one of, if not, the best team in the world. However, this team has regressed under this leadership with Barça being competitors instead of contenders, and Barça B under Eusebio are hovering right about the relegation zone. Financial stability does not mean much when you’re not winning titles and of course it is a profit when bonuses are not being paid to players for not winning titles. Everything reeks, even though they are still competing for all three titles, there is no sense of optimism anymore and they could be out of all three competitions in a couple of months. Thus, it’s time for the board to resign and call for early elections this summer while a Managing Commission takes over for the rest of the season so we can have a clean house of board, football manager, and B team manager. That’s the best way to give the fans some hope and ease the tension for now.

Barça Board Needs to Resign and Call for Elections.

The time has come for this FC Barcelona board to step down and call for elections. There have been others, besides me, who have also asked for this that have been unjustly labeled as “spoiled.” It’s this sort mentality that seems to hold this club back when it’s time to demand for change.

I always loved the spoiled fans argument when fellow fans disagree with your displeasure with your club. I never understood how criticizing your club is not considered loyalty when the criticism is merited. Ever since Sandro Rosell and his friends were elected, this club has been heading backwards. It’s true that Barça won the league and Champions League title during Rosell’s first year but that was because they inherited a great team from the previous president Joan Laporta.

So it had to be devastating for the current Barça board when their civil liability case against former club president Joan Laporta and his board was dismissed. They claimed that Laporta had converted a “€79million loss into an €11million profit” by forging the accounts and presented proof that alleged supposedly proved that the club had lost €47million between 2003 and 2010. The judge however, ruled that Laporta did in fact leave the club with a profit and not the losses claimed by the board.

This announcement came on the heels of Barça’s disappointing Clásico loss to Real Madrid, so the mood in Barcelona was already sour. For years, we were told that Laporta stole and in the end, the board was left with eggs on their face. So of course, current president Bartomeu announced that the club will appeal that decision. That announcement was met with criticism by fans. The board suffered another black eye the following day when Barça were defeated by Celta Vigo in the Camp Nou and found themselves now behind Madrid after being at one time 6 points ahead.

During that match, a banner was unveiled at the Camp Nou stating that this was the worst board in history. The following day, Sport posted an online poll asking its readers if they want early elections and, after 10,000 and plus voted, the answer was an overwhelming Yes. Clearly, there is displeasure and discontent with the way the team is run on the pitch and off the pitch.

Back in 2011, Sandro Rosell was the club president and forced upon us that the club needed to sign that sponsorship agreement with Qatar Foundation which morphed into Qatar Airways.  Back then, Rosell indicated the importance of this deal by stating that “Barça would be sustainable, but with another dimension. I could not continue to keep all you need: the world’s best squad, the best manager…and rivals would have more advantages.”Well, here we are in 2014 and we no longer have the best manager the club has ever had, Pep Guardiola, and we no longer have the best squad anymore.

Rosell resigned following the Neymar signing controversy which is being argued in court and the club is already appealing the FIFA Transfer ban. We do not want another case against Laporta argued in court. We just want a president that was actually elected by the members, not appointed by a president exiting the club under dark clouds, or under shame.

Of course, you always meet those who say that we are complaining because we are “spoiled” fans. If we are tired because the club is mismanaged and wasting the talents of Messi and others, then we are not spoiled. Spoiled fans should not demand a board to resign? Spoiled fans should not demand better coaching and better signings? Spoiled fans should not be upset by failure? We are spoiled since we demand the board not to mismanage the club and watch it become Inter or Milan with aged veterans and poor signings? Hence, we are not spoiled from winning. We are hungry for more success. We demand better from FC Barcelona and we demand early elections and not wait till 2016 for the next round of elections.

Barça’s problems are of their own wrongdoings.

Barça’s image suffered another black eye when FIFA issued their transfer ban this week. Barça’s failure to properly handle this matter is just another example of how inept this board has been over the years. This board specializes in playing the victim part so often which is rather embarrassing since it was everything that Pep Guardiola tried to rid us from. Now, Barça board, players and their fans are being embarrassed because of the board’s failure to conduct their business in a competent manner. Ultimately, the blame falls squarely on Barça’s shoulders and not the black hands of others.

FIFA’s announcement this week that Barça were going to be punished for signing young players was one of the lowest days for this Barça fan. On one hand, it is rather ironic that FIFA has a problem with Barça having kids from Asia and Africa staying with the club and learning the game from them. How is that a negative is beyond me especially when they seem turn a blind eye to the deaths of men who are dying at construction sites in Brazil and Qatar for their precious World Cup. I am sure those who have perished are also fathers to kids from Asian and Africa too. But then again, this is FIFA we are talking about.

Yet, my outrage was with the club for allowing this sort of problem to happen in the first place. Likewise, I was not surprised that the club was in trouble yet again. Each passing day that this board remains in charge is a recipe for disaster. This club inherited a successful club and somehow managed to sully its reputation by being so incompetent in how they handle their affairs.

Barça’s official website released a statement indicating the history of their correspondence with FIFA over this matter. That statement indicated that they always replied to FIFA’s inquires so they did nothing wrong. What bothers me is that this board never bothered to check with FIFA and see if the case was closed or if additional information was needed. Nope, they just went about their business and never made sure that the matter had been resolved.

This is another fine example of the board dropping the ball. They dropped the ball with the treatment of Thiago and Abidal. They dropped the ball in failing to re-enforce the team with more players and stood by while players were hurt. Instead of making transfer window signings, they told us that players returning from injuries would be our new signings. Well, Puyol and Afellay are back; how often have you seen them play?

It’s no secret that I was never a fan of this board and they have yet to win me over. The appointment of Zubizarreta as sporting director was something I never warmed up to. As one of my friends recently said about Zubi, he did poorly in the same position with Athletic Bilbao which meant he had fewer players to scout because of their Basque only policy. Hence, was he the right man for the job or the best suited man for the job because of his ties to the Blaugrana thanks to his playing days?

There is a minority, but a strong vocal minority, that just does not trust this board whatsoever. I am part of that minority who has trust issues with this board. They have never been straight forward about the club’s finances, the Qatar deal, Abidal, and Neymar’s transfer. One of the promises of the former president, Sandro Rosell, was that this club would be more transparent when he assumed the presidency. Yet, everything seems to be murky and not crystal clear. Even the recent proposal that was voted by the club members pertaining to the renovations of the Camp Nou was lacking sufficient details.

Therein lies the problem. I previously mentioned there is a minority of the fans, not the majority of the fans, who do not trust this board. All the problems that the club is currently dealing with are problems of their own manifestation. Their incompetence, not the black hands of others, is the cause of their problems and it’s fair to say the members are to blame for voting for Sandro Rosell and his men. If I were a soccer betting man, here would be my predictions. With the recent Camp Nou referendum being passed thanks to the votes of the members, don’t expect any summer elections anytime soon. Instead, I would expect two more years of futility during the prime of such players such as Messi and Iniesta. Ultimately, Barça’s problems are of their own wrongdoings and one hopes they can someday get their act together for once.

Rosell’s Tarnished Legacy As Barça President.

Thursday was clearly a mixed day for Cules across the world following Sandro Rosell’s resignation. Some were glad to see the man step down after ruling the club in an unpopular manner while others were upset that it had come to this. Rosell’s era at the club was full of success clouded with controversy. Only time will tell how Cules will remember Sandro Rosell but for now, his legacy is pretty much tarnished.

Rosell stepped down after it was revealed that a Spanish court judge agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by Barça club member, Jordi Cases, regarding misappropriation of funds concerning Neymar’s signing. Rosell mentioned threats were made at him, regarding his dealings before and during the club along with personal threats made towards him and his family. As much as I disliked the guy, there is no excuse or justification to threaten the man or his family. It was cowardly and I hope whoever were behind it are apprehended and punished.

The writing was on the wall for some time for Rosell with regards to the discontent amongst the fans in how he was running the club. Rosell’s era saw him make unpopular decisions ranging from restricting club membership to sponsorship deals with Qataris, to alleged ties to the Boixos Nois, proposal of building a new Camp Nou, and pursuing the previous administration in court while stripping club icon Johan Cruyff of his honorary role with the club (and failing to timely pay Cruyff’s foundation) which probably is the reason why successful and popular manager Pep Guardiola left the club.   As I previously mentioned, it is quite disappointing that this club currently has a cold relationship with Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard and Guardiola who are responsible for the club’s four Champions League titles. 

The other negative lasting impact would be the club’s treatment of its players during his time. Abidal was let go rather with many feeling unceremoniously by breaking their word while David Villa was offloaded at a cut rate price. Many also thought the club neglected Thiago and the matter could have been avoided regarding his lack of minutes which triggered a low buyout clause while some believe Victor Valdés will be leaving the club because of this administration. However, themost embarrassing episode occurred recently when one of the Club’s Vice Presidents, Javier Faus, stated that he saw no reason the club should improve Messi’s contract while also referring to Messi as “this gentleman”. Obviously that was an idiotic and a display of lack of respect and affection by the club towards Messi.

Obviously it was not all doom and gloom under Rosell’s helm. The club is also well represented in the social media and the most important element is the success on the pitch. Also, the club’s financial stability seemed to improve albeit some have their doubts as to how bad they inherited financial mess left by the previous regime. The seed of mistrust started from there coupled with reports he was under investigation in Brazil for his ties with former Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira, his ties with Viagogo which is the only company allowed to resell Barça tickets, allegations of impropriety in the Neymar transfer along with embarrassing sound bites such as no longer making color copies as a way to cut spending all paint a poor image of the president. Rosell promised us transparency as club president and yet nothing was ever transparent when he was in charge.

I could go on and on about Rosell and his presidency but one club member decided that he was done whining and decided to do something about it. Jordi Cases refused to accept how the club was being run and brought legal action against Rosell. There were rumors that the club was going to bring legal action against Cosas but in the end, Rosell bowed out. His legacy will always be a tarnished one full of success and controversy. 

The club’s new president is Josep Maria Bartomeu now and it appears he will be around till 2016. He appeared more composed than his predecessor when he addressed the media and even hinted that ties with Cruyff could be improved. However, the idea that he is allowed to remain president till 2016 does not sit well with me.  After all, it was Rosell who decried Cruyff’s appointment as honorary president without a referendum by the club members. Yet again, Rosell’s final act smacks of hypocrisy. 

The club members decide who should be the president, not the outgoing president. Elections must be held this summer in the same pattern as when former Barça presidents Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart both stepped down from the presidency. Barça is a club that belongs to the people. They voted on who should be the president and they should be the ones to decide on who should be the  next president.

Rosell’s Departure Mean New Elections Must Be Held This Summer.

FC Barcelona saw its president Sandro Rosell step down and was replaced by Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu. For some, the end of Rosell’s era was welcomed after watching him rule the club in an unpopular fashion. Overall, Rosell’s time as club president had its share of ups and down but the era at the club was full of success shrouded in controversy. However, his final act in appointing Bartomeu his successor is not one for him to make, but one for the club members to make, and as a result, elections need to be brought forward this summer for the election of a new Barça president.

I was one of the many who never was a fan of Sandro Rosell and I am not surprised that the heat finally got to him. I previously mentioned back in September that “the fans cannot accept or tolerate a presidency that is run on broken promises and lack of transparency. Rosell should know, he was allegedly one of the behind the scenes players in Laporta’s Censure Motion. Like the old saying goes, “What goes around, comes around” and it is Rosell’s turn to sit on the hot seat and see who jumps ship.”Well he did in fact jump ship.

Rosell mentioned his final address as club president that he had endured threats directed at him professionally and personally; aimed at himself and his family. That is deplorable and is never ever tolerable and I hope the culprits are found and punished to the extreme letter of the law. Former president Laporta also encountered threats, and even attacks, from the Boixos Nois too during his reign. There are democratic means of protesting objection, and violence or threats of violence is never acceptable nor tolerable.

Nevertheless, Rosell’s era seemed to upset fans and club members which made the club seem distant and out of touch at times. Rosell’s presidency had its share of controversial moments.  I mentioned back in September some of those decisions such changing the rules in becoming a member, “Socio”, the Qatar Foundation sponsorship deal forced upon the club without members voting on it first, outsourcing Barça TV to Madrid based company that turned out to be a bad idea when a video leaked Xavi’s off the record comments about Real Madrid which embarrassed the player.

Another issue of content was Rosell’s interest in exacting petty revenge against Laport and Cruyff, the two men who he never got along with and resulted in him  stepping down as Vice-President after the conclusion of the 2004-2005 season. His beef with Cruyff was an embarrassing moment for the club after the fallout for refusing to acknowledge the honorary president title bestowed upon by Laporta and that the club had neglected to make payments to Cruyff’s foundation that was finally paid this season. Some attribute these factors as part of the reason why the club’s most successful manager, Pep Guardiola, decided to walk away from the club.

There is also the disappointing treatment of its players during his time. Both Abidal and basketball player Pete Mickeal were let go after being told that they would be welcome back after conquering their serious medical problems. Furthermore, David Villa was sold for a low transfer while they dropped the ball with up and coming star Thiago. Rumors have it that the club’s greatest goalkeeper of all time, Victor Valdés, is also leaving because of differences with the club. However, Vice President Javier Faus’s recent comments that he did not believe Messi’s contract should be improved was indeed an embarrassing black eye and painted a poor picture of the club.

For all Rosell’s flaws, the club still continued to be successful on the pitch and did make strides with regards to social media. Furthermore, Rosell did bring financial stability to this club and its coffers but there are doubts since some dispute how badly the club was in debt by the time the time he took over. It wouldn’t surprise me if the next regime also investigates this regime’s finances in the future. Some also wonder if the club’s positive finances is more because the club gutted other sports sections of the club such as the basketball team which is one of the biggest clubs in Spain and Europe but remain sponsor less on their kits.

In the end, Rosell was his own worst enemy with many unpopular decisions and controversy such as being under investigation in Brazil thanks to his ties with Ricardo Teixeira, the former Brazilian Football Confederation president; his ties with Viagogo company which is a company allowed to resell Barça tickets; not allowing free admittance to children in El Clasico this year; his ties with the hooligans Boixos Nois, the ones who attacked Laporta, after the Grada joven project in one of the stands of the Camp Nou fell through amidst police objections, and allegations of impropriety in the Neymar transfer. He also had a knack of not presenting himself well when addressing the media with embarrassing comments such as the elimination of color copies to save money and indicating that the club was struggling to pay wages just painted a poor image of the president.

Rosell promised us transparency as club president and yet nothing was ever transparent when he was in charge. However, his era has ended, or so it seems. Josep Maria Bartomeu is now the acting president and it seems that Rosell’s project will continue to be carried out till the term ends in 2016. I met Mr. Bartomeu once during the dinner hosted by the Penya a few years and he was very friendly and courteous. He sure did receive a lot of praise for his demeanor and style in talking to the media the following day after Rosell’s farewell speech. However, action speaks louder than words and he has the rest of the season to audition for this position.

I said audition because this new president Bartomeu should not be allowed to run the club till 2016. Sandro Rosell was elected by the members as the club’s president. The members should be the ones to choose who should be the next president or Bartomeu will forever be considered a puppet for Rosell and will never be taken seriously. If he believes he is worthy of being Rosell’s successor, then he should run for the position himself in the summer. When former presidents Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart resigned, their successor only lasted till the end the season before elections took part. That same protocol should apply here. Lest we forget that, it was Rosell who opposed Joan Laporta’s appointment of Cruyff as honorary club president without the club members voting on it. The club belongs to the members and they should choose who should run it.

Thus, Mr. Bartomeu has till the end of the season to win over voters. He has the upper hand against any would be potential candidate. His actions from here till the end of the season will paint a picture of what type of president he will. However, the members should be the ones who decide who should be Rosell’s successor, not Rosell. Elections have to take place this summer.

Rosell’s Departure Mean New Elections Must Be Held This Summer.

FC Barcelona saw its president Sandro Rosell step down and was replaced by Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu. For some, the end of Rosell’s era was welcomed after watching him rule the club in an unpopular fashion. Overall, Rosell’s time as club president had its share of ups and down but the era at the club was full of success shrouded in controversy. However, his final act in appointing Bartomeu his successor is not one for him to make, but one for the club members to make, and as a result, elections need to be brought forward this summer for the election of a new Barça president.

I was one of the many who never was a fan of Sandro Rosell and I am not surprised that the heat finally got to him. I previously mentioned back in September that “the fans cannot accept or tolerate a presidency that is run on broken promises and lack of transparency. Rosell should know, he was allegedly one of the behind the scenes players in Laporta’s Censure Motion. Like the old saying goes, “What goes around, comes around” and it is Rosell’s turn to sit on the hot seat and see who jumps ship.”Well he did in fact jump ship.

Rosell mentioned his final address as club president that he had endured threats directed at him professionally and personally; aimed at himself and his family. That is deplorable and is never ever tolerable and I hope the culprits are found and punished to the extreme letter of the law. Former president Laporta also encountered threats, and even attacks, from the Boixos Nois too during his reign. There are democratic means of protesting objection, and violence or threats of violence is never acceptable nor tolerable.

Nevertheless, Rosell’s era seemed to upset fans and club members which made the club seem distant and out of touch at times. Rosell’s presidency had its share of controversial moments.  I mentioned back in September some of those decisions such changing the rules in becoming a member, “Socio”, the Qatar Foundation sponsorship deal forced upon the club without members voting on it first, outsourcing Barça TV to Madrid based company that turned out to be a bad idea when a video leaked Xavi’s off the record comments about Real Madrid which embarrassed the player.

Another issue of content was Rosell’s interest in exacting petty revenge against Laport and Cruyff, the two men who he never got along with and resulted in him  stepping down as Vice-President after the conclusion of the 2004-2005 season. His beef with Cruyff was an embarrassing moment for the club after the fallout for refusing to acknowledge the honorary president title bestowed upon by Laporta and that the club had neglected to make payments to Cruyff’s foundation that was finally paid this season. Some attribute these factors as part of the reason why the club’s most successful manager, Pep Guardiola, decided to walk away from the club.

There is also the disappointing treatment of its players during his time. Both Abidal and basketball player Pete Mickeal were let go after being told that they would be welcome back after conquering their serious medical problems. Furthermore, David Villa was sold for a low transfer while they dropped the ball with up and coming star Thiago. Rumors have it that the club’s greatest goalkeeper of all time, Victor Valdés, is also leaving because of differences with the club. However, Vice President Javier Faus’s recent comments that he did not believe Messi’s contract should be improved was indeed an embarrassing black eye and painted a poor picture of the club.

For all Rosell’s flaws, the club still continued to be successful on the pitch and did make strides with regards to social media. Furthermore, Rosell did bring financial stability to this club and its coffers but there are doubts since some dispute how badly the club was in debt by the time the time he took over. It wouldn’t surprise me if the next regime also investigates this regime’s finances in the future. Some also wonder if the club’s positive finances is more because the club gutted other sports sections of the club such as the basketball team which is one of the biggest clubs in Spain and Europe but remain sponsor less on their kits.

In the end, Rosell was his own worst enemy with many unpopular decisions and controversy such as being under investigation in Brazil thanks to his ties with Ricardo Teixeira, the former Brazilian Football Confederation president; his ties with Viagogo company which is a company allowed to resell Barça tickets; not allowing free admittance to children in El Clasico this year; his ties with the hooligans Boixos Nois, the ones who attacked Laporta, after the Grada joven project in one of the stands of the Camp Nou fell through amidst police objections, and allegations of impropriety in the Neymar transfer. He also had a knack of not presenting himself well when addressing the media with embarrassing comments such as the elimination of color copies to save money and indicating that the club was struggling to pay wages just painted a poor image of the president.

Rosell promised us transparency as club president and yet nothing was ever transparent when he was in charge. However, his era has ended, or so it seems. Josep Maria Bartomeu is now the acting president and it seems that Rosell’s project will continue to be carried out till the term ends in 2016. I met Mr. Bartomeu once during the dinner hosted by the Penya a few years and he was very friendly and courteous. He sure did receive a lot of praise for his demeanor and style in talking to the media the following day after Rosell’s farewell speech. However, action speaks louder than words and he has the rest of the season to audition for this position.

I said audition because this new president Bartomeu should not be allowed to run the club till 2016. Sandro Rosell was elected by the members as the club’s president. The members should be the ones to choose who should be the next president or Bartomeu will forever be considered a puppet for Rosell and will never be taken seriously. If he believes he is worthy of being Rosell’s successor, then he should run for the position himself in the summer. When former presidents Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart resigned, their successor only lasted till the end the season before elections took part. That same protocol should apply here. Lest we forget that, it was Rosell who opposed Joan Laporta’s appointment of Cruyff as honorary club president without the club members voting on it. The club belongs to the members and they should choose who should run it.

Thus, Mr. Bartomeu has till the end of the season to win over voters. He has the upper hand against any would be potential candidate. His actions from here till the end of the season will paint a picture of what type of president he will. However, the members should be the ones who decide who should be Rosell’s successor, not Rosell. Elections have to take place this summer.