Laporta challenges potential Barcelona candidates

Candidate Joan Laporta has challenged other candidates to discuss their ideas for the Spanish Barcelona presidency.

"There are some people who have been saying they have everything prepared, well now is their moment," Laporta said.

He admitted he may have made some mistakes while president but felt it was "difficult to present an alternative model for the club."

Only Francesc Linan Serra, who has failed on four previous occasions to collect the signatures necessary to become an official candidate, said he will run against Laporta.

Former vice-president Sandro Rossell, and Jordi Majo and Josep Maria Minguella, who stood in the 2003 election, said they will not run.

Potential candidates have complained about the scheduling of the electoral campaign during the holidays, hinting at the possibility that Laporta could be left unopposed.

Laporta won the 2003 election promising to buy David Beckham from Manchester United. Once elected, the move never materialized, though he did bring Brazilian forward Ronaldinho to the club instead.

Laporta brushed aside media speculation linking the Brazilian with a possible move to Italy.

"Ronaldinho is very happy here and I don't think we need to be worried about him leaving," Laporta said.

The club won the Primera Liga title in 2005 and 2006, and added the Champions League title last May. But Laporta and his board were forced to resign on July 26 after a judge upheld a complaint from three club members who said he had already served his four-year tenure as president.

The judge ruled that, according to the club's statutes, the year ran from July to June, and that since Laporta had officially taken power on June 22, 2003, the eight days before the end of that month constituted his first year in office.

Laporta's four-year term would have thus expired on June 30 this year.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.