FCBARCELONA.CAT

19.08.2009 16:55

Laporta believes club will continue to be successful

Roger Bogunyà

Laporta, who is starting his last year as club chairman with “the excitement of my first day”, has thanked delegate members for backing him a year ago. As for the future, he called for “a peaceful handover” and believes “the best is yet to come".

At the General Meeting a year ago, Joan Laporta tendered his resignation to delegate members. They rejected it and what came next was the best season in the club’s history. This Wednesday the chairman, who received prolonged applause at the end of his speech, thanked them for their backing, something he will “never forget”.

Restart to renewal

The chairman was very enthusiastic about the project that is being put in place. “A year ago it was a restart, not chucking everything away,” he argued. “We needed some new drive, not giving up. You backed us and now we’ve renewed the project and are looking to continue to be successful.” Laporta is confident that this is possible: “I believe the best is yet to come; so far we’ve only had a taste of it.”

An ongoing project

Laporta is aware that next year someone else will be making the chairman’s speech at the General Meeting but he believes the project being implemented now will achieve follow through. “The project we’ve argued for over the last few years has brought us three League titles, two Champions League titles and two Super Cups and we still haven’t got to the end of the line,” he said. “This is still ongoing.”

Calls for “peaceful handover”

Laporta said that as a result he believes that “renewed leadership will come out of this Board which will provide our model with follow through. We need a peaceful handover while retaining the strength and experience of a group of people who through silverware and their courage and respect for Barça’s soul and their ability to balance the books have earned the confidence of members”.

Thanks to Eto'o and Sylvinho

On the sports front Joan Laporta thanked two of the players who made the treble possible, Eto'o and Sylvinho. “Eto’o has done wonders for Barça; he’s been professional and a great goal scorer and he’ll always have a place in the history of the club, and it is only fair that we publicly acknowledge that,” he said to tumultuous applause. As for Sylvinho, “he has always been ready to do what we needed from him” said Laporta to yet more applause.

Foundation makes Barça different

Joan Laporta also mentioned the work done by the Foundation. “It’s what makes us different from our competitors,” he argued. “It means commitment and solidarity and Barça’s solidarity is now a reality.” He then went on to list some of the centres recently opened by the Foundation around the world.

In doing this Laporta made special mention of the late Vicenç Ferrer: “He said that Barça should maintain its charitable commitment and I think the best tribute we can pay to Vicenç Ferrer is to carry on with greater commitment and more charity projects.”

Three major assets projects

Joan Laporta also highlighted the consolidation of the Ciudad Deportiva as a front-rank Barça facility, where the first team has been training since January, and the start up of three major projects, namely the new Masia, urban renewal in the Les Corts district and the Barça Parc at Viladecans.

“The new Masía means we can consolidate our project and our way of understanding football,” he argued. “The transformation of Les Corts and the capital gains it generates will be reinvested in more assets for the club. Meanwhile the Barça Parc will be an area for free time activities, entertainment, sports, retail and the environment; it’s the way of compensating and thanking club members for the effort you made when I arrived six years ago.”