Latschenkiefer
Senior Member
Laporta may have been president during the time when Barcelona won the most titles but I don't think he is in any other way better than Barto.
Josep Maria Bartomeu
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khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Laporta took a club that was close to relegation zone in the middle of past season to a perennial CL contender.
Won CL in Football, Handball & Basketball
It isn't like he was there when we were winning, he made us win.
That being said, he benefited most from having Crujif as sidekick, and he need someone knowledgeable close to his ear, whether it is LVG/Pep/Rijkaard etc. A former coach who knows the club well.
Latschenkiefer
Senior Member
So you would reelect him?
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
He is my favorite choice, but as long as he has that type of sidekick. He is few years younger than Perez when he got back to RM and it didn't end up badly.
I won't hate it if he lose either, but I don't get the social media obsession with Font. Guy talk generalities and associate himself with Xavi, and the later is something I don't put as good thing.
Former players has their agenda, they want the one who will give them what they want rather than what is really best for the club. Xavi will take the job if Laporta offered it to him.
Could Font be better than Laporta? may be. But there is an equal chance he as bad/worse than Bartou
PS: Obviously I don't have a vote, I am talking hypothetically
JamDav1982
Senior Member
Laporta was more of the charismatic spokesman of group of young professionals that got together and modernized Barca.
He was not a president who was running the show and putting in place his choice of team as much.
That wont be repeated, nor will it be repeated that he arrives at Barca with a one off group of players in Xavi, Iniesta, Valdes, Puyol were emerging with the greatest player ever in la masia on his way.
Also he wont have the likes of Cruyff.
Laporta deserves credit for his time but he was not some god like figure that hand picked a team and got Barca back on top he was more the spokesperson who gave club what needed at that time. Even the Pep appointment he gets credit for but unvbelievable stroke of fortune to have Pep, married with those players at that time.
Peronally would rather fresh ideas in Font and think Laporta is no great President in terms of actions other than being charismatic and he got up to a lot of shady dealings.
If he gets right people around him maybe.... but he didnt seem to achieve that last time round when he ran a poor campaign.
Greatest President ever for Barca due to what happened when he had that title but for what he showed as an individual and contributed to it dont think would replicate and he was right for that time.
On top of that think he is too closely attached to the players to rebuild it and would allow the seniors to coast out.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Considering the most thing he was criticised for by his board members is being authoritarian I am not sure if this is really true.
JamDav1982
Senior Member
He was accused of becoming 'authoritarian' as time went on when they got together as a board with intentions of it not becoming that way.
That is why many of them left and it was against how the idea they had when took over the club and rebuilt it.
It was much more of a committee led with Laporta spokesperson than Laporta leading the board initially.
When he did that it became a bit of a shambles and resulted in 2008 with almost every area of club lacking direction.
Took Pep to come in and sort out so much of the mess that had been made.
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Latschenkiefer
Senior Member
You are aware that Laporta piled up huge depts and most likely committed accounting fraud? He seems to be a quite power-hungry man and I have also read that he ordered to observe players during their free time. In 2003 he wanted to sign Beckham as a campaign pledge. I am glad that he wasn't able to fulfill this promise.
Latschenkiefer
Senior Member
Latschenkiefer
Senior Member
Would you vote for Laporta?
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
I am aware the club has wasted ton of resources trying to prove him guilty and failed.
And tbh, we were in debts before and after him anyway. It is a typical politician game, criticise past regime for debts and then add some more.
He has problems with in power, this can be bad but many leaders are like that. OTOH Laporta always put trust in hands of technical guys.
World Cup winning coach Lippi alongside Mourinho who was the biggest coaching name then were practically begging for us to sign them in 2008; Crujif & Txiki asked him to put faith in Pep and he did it unquestionably. Even Pep didn't think Laporta was up to it.
That is very important trait, Bartou had it for couple of years with Lucho & Zubi and then Roberto, and it was good until Neymar fiasco when he decided to intervene and we went downhill from there. Mainly because all sporting directors we had wasn't up to it.
And promised Hiddink and failed, delivered his promise to bring Rustu and that was a mistake. I am aware of this too. Laporta campaigns were always about signing, worked in 2003 but in 2015 no superstar was going to appease fan when we had prime MSN he failed.
But he bounced back, again by hiring right guys. This has been Laporta thing in most club sports, even when he lost his board members twice, he had it in him in assembling a team to win and trust his advisors, and he got damn good advisor.
This is why I put having an advisor as mandatory thing for him. Not a former player who is eager to get his coaching job like Xavi, but someone who he is enjoying retirement and likes a less stressful consultant job. And sure be better than fuck Braida.
And just for the record, while it was a blessing we missed on Beckham, the truth is Beckham was an elite world class player. Never hated a player as much as I hated him, but he was so damn good. And RM were fools to let him go after his contract expired. It wasn't some kind of blasphemy that we wanted him.
Now, I am not trying to paint Laporta as some type of god, he had his issues, but everyone has those.
Having 11 years outside the club is more legitimate concern to me than anything he has done during his brilliant tenure here. He seems to be more lazy and might be interested to come back as a way to be in the spotlight.
But, I am not ready to label him bad option because someone who has done nothing but speaking on twitter and making friend of Xavi might lose.
And surely not ready to say he is just like Bartou, the two isn't comparable.
jamrock
Senior Member
This guy and his "board" argument.
Was he an autocrat who led with an iron fist or a great leader of a group of smart men?
Either way you are wrong, either way he is the greatest president we have ever had who's effect on the club is still felt today
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Well, polls and elections are deceiving. I mean after Brexit and Trump we can all agree with that. Laporta himself was supposed to lose in 2003 and made a surprising win
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