Victor Font

SmilerBam said:

Tomorrow,this fools thread will be closed.He really thought he can take on Laporta?Like,really.I know a quote from Pep about Messi when they discussed if Sergie Aguero is one of the best in the world:''I think Messi is number one,number two,number three in the world.Sergio?He is one of the best,from the rest''. Is the same with Laporta.He is number one,number two and number three in the best presidents of this club has ever had.No one come close.And he deserves a chance to save the club,once again.Or do you think Barcelona before he came was considered the mamoth that is today?No.We were the laughing stock of Madrid,who stole us or best player-Figo,and they bitchslapped us in every match possible.Now we have an enititled fanbase,but we have it mostly because of him.

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we are about to get bitchslapped once again - but by a much, much inferior club!

aragorn said:

we are about to get bitchslapped once again - but by a much, much inferior club!

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Still, that is Bartomeu's doing.I ll never forget that rat for what he s done to this club.

Porque said:

Which is BS. Because his plan centered around Xavi as manager, which is his personal choice.

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The problem is he planned the whole structure together with Xavi, while Xavi wants to be the coach.
That was a mistake.
But the philosophy behind what he says is right.
There is a clear difference compared to Laporta who is person-oriented (not process-oriented like all serious clubs in the 21st cent should be) and more a politician.

Hopefully next time he learns, as it seems Laporta is winning this

Laporta is going to have a structure similarly to Font's, except he won't let the manager whomever that may be have the final influence over every sporting matter as Font intended to.

Not even at Man City do you see that. Txiki and Soriano have a lot of influence with the input of Pep, just like Txiki did at Barca with Pep and Rijkaard.

Karl Heinz-Rummenigge have a lot of influence at what happens at Bayern despite them having a SD and a manager. Same with Dortmund where Watzke & Zorc steer the ship.

DonAK said:

Laporta is going to have a structure similarly to Font's, except he won't let the manager whomever that may be have the final influence over every sporting matter as Font intended to.

Not even at Man City do you see that. Txiki and Soriano have a lot of influence with the input of Pep, just like Txiki did at Barca with Pep and Rijkaard.

Karl Heinz-Rummenigge have a lot of influence at what happens at Bayern despite them having a SD and a manager. Same with Dortmund where Watzke & Zorc steer the ship.

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I am not sure Font intended that, but delegation of responsibilities: SD has final word on coach for example, not on who the coach plays.

Txiki, Soriano and Pep act like a team of 3, which is due to their intention never to fire Pep but let him leave when he wants. That does not happen normally. Same with Klopp at Liverpool.
Then Rummenige example I don't think it's a example to look up to. His influence exceeding his responsibilities might be unhealthy in the end.

They way Laporta has it in his mind is that he himself will have the final world on most things, after SD, technical secretary, scouting department all consult him.
Of course they will do a lot of work to consult him properly, but still it's an autocratic model similar to Perez's at Madrid.
And then, I am afraid it's not only that: Laporta for example likes Haaland a lot.
His personal view (which should be irrelevant, since he sees with the eyes of a fan only, and not an expert) will influence the policy of the club, instead of resorting to the experts to decide on transfers.

You do realize Laporta leaned a lot on Txiki and Cruyff, right?

To use an example: Laporta did not want to move on from Eto'o, but Pep wanted to sign Zlatan and to move Eto'o out of the club since the day he joined. Laporta decided to trust Pep and Txiki's judgement.

Same way he'll likely lean on Alemany and Cruyff/Overmars this time around.

Florentino doesn't exclusively decide who Real Madrid sign. He hasn't done that since he returned. Jose Angel Sanchez plays a prominent role in their recruiting along with their manager.

Birdy said:

His personal view (which should be irrelevant, since he sees with the eyes of a fan only, and not an expert) will influence the policy of the club, instead of resorting to the experts to decide on transfers.

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Those decisions need to be data-based, but you seem to overrate the rigor of the 'discipline'. Most football experts have a background as players or coaching staff and make decisions many of their colleagues would disapprove of. There won't always be a consensus. That said, the president has to pick his team, trust the right people. Don't see how Laporta wanting to take part in the process poses a problem.

Coming with a sheet of paper which explains to fans what responsibilities each role will be given is nice, but far from crucial. Laporta has clearly established contact with people and is building a team. We don't even know where's Font on that.

Back to the main point: Laporta's probably (going by the headlines) looking for someone bar the CEO (Alemany) and the sporting director (Overmars) who'd work more closely with the president. Kind of an advisory role. The obvious candidate being Jordi Cruyff.

Personally, I like the idea that someone who was elected takes responsibility in the end. Even if it's symbolic.

It is honestly a weird take, Laporta actually has always trusted the experts in sporting decisions.
His main problems was actually that he clashed with his own team from the boards, not from football experts. He always put their opinion ahead of his own.

FCBarca said:

In campaigns, candidates can promise anything but fail to deliver on them. Deeds not words




Best indication of future actions is reviewing their CV/past, Font has never run a football club and is only recently a socio. He is more businessman than cule and last decade has demonstrated that corporatists have been the worst thing possible for the club. On the other hand, Laporta is the most successful President in the history of the club - not simply for winning everything but the manner in which he did it and the impact factor & respect/adulation the club drew from the world. We are far from that atm

As for Messi, if you believe for a moment that Leo is not counting on a Laporta Presidency you have not been paying attention. There is mutual respect/understanding and most of all, trust. That cannot be bought





It's a nonsensical conclusion to draw that sounds like bias against Laporta than actual belief in Font or Freixa - both corporatists, the latter a fundamental element of Rosell & Bartomeu's boards

I like that Laporta has not come out talking about any specific signing, it's the typical election hype from yesteryear whereby a big signing is promised. However, considering the state of the club's finances due to mismanagement from Barto & Rosell, that won't be easy. If anyone can keep the club competitive either with signings or philosophy, it's going to be a Cruyffist like Laporta

Vote blaugrana and there is only one candidate

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Maybe we need a businessman this time around. We've gone with Barcelona DNA for the past 18 years or so and it's actually put us in bad debt. Maybe our club needs a new change. Someone who will lower the debt rather than increase it every year.

Well.... you say Bartomeu and Rosell left us with the huge debt, but Laporta actually increased our net debt by 300m euros. It was 150m euros when he first came in and it was around 450m euros when he left. He also spent over 452m euros on players and only generated 150m euros from sales. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he leaves us in further debt and actually panic buys now that he doesn't have the young Messi's, the Iniesta's, the Xavi's. He's going to have to get very lucky like he did last time. I suppose he didn't have to spend over 1 billion when he had the likes of Cesc, Pique, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro, Puyol and Valdes in your first team/youth team. Pretty easy to build off that.

I think it's an impossible position for anyone. We're in too much debt. Our squad isn't terrible, but it's not good enough to beat the best teams in the world. We can't really go out and invest in young and promising players like Haaland and Mbappe. They're too expensive.... and even their wages will be too much. The salaries need to be slashed by a lot. Other expenses need to be slashed by a lot. Then, we need to resign Messi.... and he'll probably demand a big signing-on fee if does resign. He'll probably also demand at least 500k to 600k a week if Griezmann is on 500k a week, and we also have to pay him his 33m loyalty bonus. I just don't see how we're going to spend any money in the next 2 summers.... especially when we owe the banks 266m this summer. We also have to pay another 160m after that by the end of the year.

As I said, I just don't expect much from either president. I just feel Laporta should have stayed away. He did a good job when he was here from 2003 to 2010. I just feel he's been too long out of the game. A lot has changed since he was last here. There is a massive inflation in transfer fees and wages. There is the FFP and COVID restrictions. I feel too many people are putting too much faith in his past history, and they're going to expect too much from him in the first 18 months to 2 years. You can see how quickly the Barcelona fans can turn. He was close to being kicked out in 2008 after a poor season. As I said, it won't take much to have the pressure put on him again.

You seem to find particular joy in speculations about Barca's future in the darkest possible way

about things we can't really know much about

DonAK said:

You do realize Laporta leaned a lot on Txiki and Cruyff, right?

To use an example: Laporta did not want to move on from Eto'o, but Pep wanted to sign Zlatan and to move Eto'o out of the club since the day he joined. Laporta decided to trust Pep and Txiki's judgement.

Same way he'll likely lean on Alemany and Cruyff/Overmars this time around.

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I am not sure it's the right example. Pep after that fantastic season was warranted to demand whatever he wanted, and no president would sound sane to reject his demands at the time.
When things are not so rosy, it's a different situation.

I agree with Joan that the elected president should take responsibility, but each member of the structure should take also their respective responsibility. A bad transfer is not on the president, but on the SD and the scouting department.
If the SD constantly fails, then it's on the president for his selection of the SD

xxxxxx said:

He's going to have to get very lucky like he did last time. I suppose he didn't have to spend over 1 billion when he had the likes of Cesc, Pique, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro, Puyol and Valdes in your first team/youth team. Pretty easy to build off that.

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He became a president in 2003.
We were as crap back then with the last CL in 1992 and last La Liga in 1999, with Real just won CLs in 1998, 2000 and 2002 with Galacticos and being voted as the best club of the 20th century.

In his first summer in 2003, he didn't rely on Fabregas, Pique or Pedro because they were barely 16.
In 2003, his staff bought: Ronaldinho, Quaresma, Van Bronckhorst, Rustu, Davids (loan), Marquez

In the next summer of 2004, he bought: Etoo, Deco, Larsson (free), Guily, Edmilson, Belletti, Sylvinho.
And in the winter: Albertini (loan), Maxi Lopez

That is 13 new players in the first 12 Months with superstar signings like Ronaldinho, Etoo and Deco who would be an equivalent to 100m signings today.

So, Laporta did build a team around La Masia's core, but massively helped with superstar signings and tons of good and experienced players like captains in former clubs: Larsson, Van Bommel, Giuly, Marquez, Edmilson etc.

In this moment, Ilaix-Fati-Pedri-Araujo-Mingueza isn't that much worse than Xavi-Iniesta-Puyol-Valdes and so-so players like Motta, Gabri, Oleguer from Laporta's first stint.

Obviously, you can't build a team only on superstar signings or only on La Masia youths.
We again have a few nice looking homegrown players and Laporta knows how to buy superstars and players with character.

Especially this part with character is important.
I remember an interview on FcBarcelona website back from 2004/05 season when Rijkaard and Laporta explained that a huge part of their success was buying players who are proven players, fighters and leaders.

For example:
2003 Ronaldinho, a WC winner in 2002 and a leader of Psg back then
2004 Deco, a leader of Porto who just won a CL
2004 Etoo, captain of Cameroon
2004 Guily, a captain of Monaco who lost CL final in 2004 to Deco's Porto. So, basically, we signed both captains/leaders of 2004's CL final, lol
2004 Larsson, all time legend and a leader of Celtic
2005 Van Bommel, captain of Psv and later captain of Bayern
2004 Marquez, captain of Mexico and Monaco
2004 Edmilson, captain of Brazil and Lyon
2004 Davids, no explanation needed

So, Laporta will surely bring more personalities like Puyol and guys from above.
And imo, we will finally get out of this choir-boys spineless era.

Btw, of course that Laporta will be after Haland.

Hard to say Ronaldinho was a luxury signing back then. He was genius but his performances with PSG, especially after 2002 world cup were not great. Etoo was at Marlloca at that time before Laporta brought him.

vegitot said:

Hard to say Ronaldinho was a luxury signing back then. He was genius but his performances with PSG, especially after 2002 world cup were not great. Etoo was at Marlloca at that time before Laporta brought him.

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Look at the prices in that era from 2000-2006:
40 RW Overmars
36 CF Saviola
32 LW Ronaldinho
27 CF Etoo
22 CM Gerard Lopez
21 CM Deco
20 RW Geovanni Deiberson
17 CF Alfonso
17 CB Christanval
15 CDM Petit
15 CF Dani Garcia
12 CF Gudjohnsen
10 CM Riquelme
9 RW Guily
9 CM Fabio Rochemback
8 CB-CDM Edmilson
8 CB P. Andersson
7 CF Maxi Lopez
6 RW Quaresma
6 RB Belletti
5 CB Marquez
4 GK Bonano
4 GK Dutruel
4 CAM Litmanen
3 LW Simao Sabrosa
1.5 LB Sylvinho

For a comparison, some transfers from that era, apart from Figo and Zidane which were Neymar levels at 66 and 75m back then:
45 R9 Ronaldo Inter to Real
38 Beckham Man Utd to Real
27 CB Ramos Sevilla to Real
26 CDM M. Diarra
25 CB Samuel Roma to Real
24 LW Robinho
21 CDM Gago
20 CF Julio Baptista
18 CB Woodgate Leeds to Real
16 CDM Emerson
15 CF Ruud, Man Utd to Real
12 CF Owen Liverpool to Real
12 CF Higuain
7 CB Cannavaro
6.5 LB Marcelo

Or
19m young Cr7 from Sporting to Man Utd

Now, compare this:
19m Cr7 to Man Utd
6 Quaresma to Barca
3 Simao to Barca

Trincao is 30m today, yet Cr7 and Quaresma were way better and more hyped, paid 19 and 6m.

If Trincao is 30 today, then Quaresma with 6m was like 30-40m today.
So, 19m for Cr7 was surely like 70-100 today.

Then, if Cr7 was like 70-100 with 19m back then, imagine how expensive were 27m Etoo and 34m Ronaldinho.

Or compare this: 27 years old Deco just won a CL with Porto and we paid him 21m Euros.
How much would the best midfielder from RM, Bayern or Liverpool cost today, aged 27?

Or Guily, just played a CL final with Monaco, he was their best attacker and a captain.
He was 28 in August.
We paid him 8.5m, lol.

Now, try to buy a CM from Bayern for 21m and a winger from Psg for 8 RIGHT AFTER THE FINAL.
That would be 70-100m for a CM today and 25-60m for a winger, right?
And then, Etoo was 27m back then (Deco+Guily were 29m in total), while Ronaldinho was 34m.

So, in the current era, Etoo would have cost around 100m, and Ronnie something like 100-120-140m, like Dembele, Griezz or Coutinho.

xxxxxx said:

Maybe we need a businessman this time around. We've gone with Barcelona DNA for the past 18 years or so and it's actually put us in bad debt. Maybe our club needs a new change. Someone who will lower the debt rather than increase it every year.

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Absurd, we've had corporatists for the last decade. Run a football club like a business, you run it into the ground

xxxxxx said:

Well.... you say Bartomeu and Rosell left us with the huge debt, but Laporta actually increased our net debt by 300m euros. It was 150m euros when he first came in and it was around 450m euros when he left. He also spent over 452m euros on players and only generated 150m euros from sales. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he leaves us in further debt and actually panic buys now that he doesn't have the young Messi's, the Iniesta's, the Xavi's. He's going to have to get very lucky like he did last time. I suppose he didn't have to spend over 1 billion when he had the likes of Cesc, Pique, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro, Puyol and Valdes in your first team/youth team. Pretty easy to build off that.

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This nonsensical narrative has been refuted, even in court. No point repeating it over & over, doesn't make it any less BS