Barcelona to elect new chairman in June

January 30, 2010

Spanish and European champions Barcelona to elect a new chairman in June 13 to replace Joan Laporta, the club announced Friday.

Under the club’s rules, Laporta, 47, can no longer stand for election again after holding the post since 2003.

Several candidates have already come forward, including vice chairmen Alfons Godall and Jaume Ferrer. Former vice chairman Sandro Rosell is also expected to stand.

Laporta said earlier this month that he was considering creating a political party to seek independence for Spain’s Catalonia region and running for office himself.

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP)

Tags: alfons, Barcelona, barcelona spain, catalonia, catalonia region, european champions, Ferrer, independence, jaume, joan laporta, sandro rosell, Spain, vice chairman, vice chairmen

Real Madrid, Barcelona in race for Fabregas: report

November 17, 2009

Real Madrid and European champions Barcelona will battle to sign Arsenal’s Spanish captain Cesc Fabregas at the end of the season, sports daily AS reported on Tuesday.

“Cesc Fabregas has become one of the main targets of Madrid and Barcelona to reinforce their squads next season,” it said.

Real recently joined the list of clubs interested in signing the 22-year-old international midfielder, who rose through the ranks of Barcelona before leaving to join Arsenal in 2004, the newspaper said without naming its source.

Spanish media reported elsewhere that Sandro Rosell, a former Nike executive, wants to use the recruitment of Fabregas to boost his bid to be elected president of Barcelona at the club’s next elections in 2010.

“I’m comfortable at Arsenal. We have started strongly in the league and Champions League. We will see how it goes and hopefully injuries will be kind to us,” British paper Daily Mail quoted Fabregas as saying on Tuesday.

“My future? I’m focused on the short term and don’t look beyond that. I have a great responsibility to my club and now is not the time to think beyond that,” he added.

Fabregas is set to play for Spain in a friendly against Austria on Wednesday in Vienna, the scene of their Euro 2008 triumph.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: AFP, arsenal, cesc fabregas, champions league, daily mail, elections, euro 2008, european champions, nike, real madrid barcelona, recruitment, sandro rosell, season sports, spanish media, targets, triumph, Vienna

Wenger hits out at ´political´ Spanish clubs

August 21, 2009

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger on Friday hit out at the “political” nature of Spanish clubs amid attempts by Barcelona to lure their former youth star Cesc Fabregas back to the Nou Camp.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a year to go under his current mandate and wants to bolster his chances of retaining his boardroom influence by getting Fabregas back six years after he headed for London as a 16-year-old.

Laporta’s rival Sandro Rosell also sees the potential capture of Fabregas as a means of taking boardroom control, but Wenger says it’s time the Spanish stopped using high-profile transfers as a means of conducting their internal political battles.

“It does not help football and does not help people to focus on their job and is sometimes destabilising. The way Spanish clubs are run is more political than sport orientated,” Wenger opined.

“How much does that harm other clubs? It is difficult to measure, but it does not help other clubs when somebody who has, for example, no chance to be elected next year as president, can announce any name.

“What can you do against him? Nothing. Does that help other clubs? Certainly not.”

With Arsenal having not won a trophy since their 2005 FA Cup win eyebrows have been raised in some quarters at Wenger’s insistence that he does not brandish his chequebook after the manner of Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Following the sale to new English Premier League moneybags Manchester City of striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, Arsenal had been expected to struggle to retain their top four status this term.

But they started off by thrashing Everton 6-1 away and are as good as in the Champions League group stage after a 2-0 win away to Celtic in the first leg of their play-off.

“I feel we have started well and we have shown some potential,” Wenger noted of his side’s good start.

“We are in a marathon here and it just started.”

Arsenal’s one new signing to date is defender Thomas Vermaelen in place of Toure and the Belgian international promptly scored at Everton and has looked solid.

“He is a player who has intelligence, physical strength and a good technical level.

“If you analyse him well you see that he has all the ingredients needed to be successful in the Premier League,” said Wenger of Vermaelen.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Barcelona, boardroom, Cesc, champions league group, chequebook, emmanuel adebayor, English Premier League, group stage, joan laporta, kolo toure, london, MADRID, manchester city, moneybags, nou camp barcelona, political battles, political nature, premier league, real madrid, sandro rosell, spanish clubs, Thomas Vermaelen, toure arsenal, Wenger, youth star

Wenger lambasts Barca’s Fabregas pursuit

August 21, 2009

European giants Arsenal FC’s boss Arsene Wenger has hit out at the way Spanish clubs conduct presidential elections following Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell comment’s on Cesc Fabregas.

With current president Joan Laporta entering his final year in charge, who has so far failed to bring their former trainee Fabregas to a Nou Camp return, Sandro Rosell has targeted the Arsenal midfielder as part of his bid to take control at the club

And reports suggest a deal could be struck for Fabregas’ transfer next summer.

However, Wenger has made his intentions clear of letting any of his star names leave and slammed all the speculation behind the political gimmicks being played.

“I believe that apart from giving some articles to the newspapers, all the rest is rubbish,” said the Arsenal boss, whose side recently won 2-0 away against Scottish giants Celtic in the first leg of the Champions League play-off.

“It does not help football and does not help people to focus on their job and is sometimes destabilising.

“The way Spanish clubs are run is more political than sport orientated.

“What can you do against him? Nothing. Does that help other clubs? Certainly not.”

Wenger, though, declared: “The only thing I can say that the day I agree to sell a player one year in advance, I will not be in this job any more.”

Despite all of the harbingers of doom predicating a difficult season ahead for the Gunners, who have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, Wenger’s side have impressed during their two matches so far.

A 6-1 mauling of Everton at Goodison Park was followed up by an away win to Celtic in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.

But Wenger knows all to well there is a long, long way to go.

“I feel we have started well and we have shown some potential,” he said.

“We are in a marathon here and it just started.”

Wenger added: “[Liverpool manager Rafael] Benitez is right, it is far too early to speak about anything which will happen in this Premier League, because you do not see the first trend until after 10 games.

“We will have had some tough games by then, so that is why now we have our feet on the ground.”

Abhimanyu Rajput