Two years since Joan Laporta returned as Barça president: how is it going?
Laporta was elected for his second spell as club president in 2021
Tuesday marks the second anniversary of Joan Laporta's victory in the Barcelona presidential elections. 30,184 members voted for him to govern the club, as he had done between 2003 and 2010. He beat Víctor Font (16,679) and Toni Freixa (4,769).
On March 17, he took office after sweating to achieve the €124.6 million guarantee demanded by LaLiga. The fact that the person who should have been his economic vice-president, Jaume Giró, left the group caused many problems, which were solved with the entry of other guarantors such as Jaume Roures and José Elías, with whom Eduard Romeu, the current economic vice-president, joined the board.
Just a month later, on April 17, Laporta was able to celebrate his first title. Barça beat Athletic (4-0) in the final of the Copa del Rey. The end of LaLiga, however, did not satisfy the president, who had serious doubts about the continuity of Ronald Koeman in the dugout. He could not find a replacement, though, and the Dutchman remained as coach -- albeit with a very weakened squad
The club's economic situation led to the announcement on Aug. 5 2021 of Leo Messi's departure after the board of directors decided not to sign the agreement between LaLiga and CVC proposed by Javier Tebas, which would have facilitated the Argentine's continuity. Messi said goodbye in tears and left for PSG. His relationship with Laporta since then is not good, although the president dreams of bringing the World Cup winner home.
Without Messi and without money, the sporting management, led by Mateu Alemany with the support of Jordi Cruyff, had to rebuild a squad that also lost Antoine Griezmann. Memphis, Eric Garcia, Luuk de Jong and Agüero, who had to retire due to heart problems, all arrived at no cost.
The team started the season badly and Koeman was sacked on Oct. 27 2021, with Xavi's arrival on the bench being announced on Nov. 6. Xavi, who took on the team in ninth in LaLiga, could not avoid elimination from the group stage of the Champions League. In the winter, reinforcements arrived: Ferran Torres, Aubameyang, Dani Alves and Adama. Only the first one was paid for: €55m to Manchester City.
With the signings, the team climbed the table and finished second in La Liga -- even dreaming, briefly, of the title after winning at the Santiago Bernabeu (0-4). They were knocked out of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt on an embarrassing night for the club because of the German presence in the stands. After that KO, the team ran out of steam, although they achieved the objective of qualifying for the Champions League.
WINNING AGAIN
Laporta decided last summer that he did not want another transitional season. Barça had to get back to winning ways. So he activated levers and signed eight new players: Lewandowski, Raphinha, Koundé, Kessie, Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Bellerín and Pablo Torre. Barça spent €158m.
The gamble has not worked in Europe, with Barça again being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage and eliminated in the Europa League by Manchester United, but it is working in Spain. Xavi's side lifted the Super Cup by beating Real Madrid in the final (3-1), are top of LaLiga with a nine-point lead over Madrid and are in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey having won the first leg at the Bernabeu (0-1).
BET ON WOMEN
In addition, Laporta's board has continued the club's commitment to women's football. He inherited a champion team that is still a champion. They celebrated a treble in 2021, with the first Champions League in the team's history, did the double last season, losing only in the final of the Champions League, and are still going strong this season in La Liga and the Champions League, having been knocked out of the Copa de la Reina due to fielding an ineligible lineup.
Alexia Putellas has been recognised as the best player in the world for the last two years.
