At a highly anticipated press conference on Tuesday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta took a 90-minute swipe at critics and defended the club’s actions in the ‘Olmo case’.
The images were still fresh in my mind. Joan Laporta stood in the middle of the players like a captain and presented the Super Cup trophy to the fans in Saudi Arabia. Hansi Flick’s team had beaten arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-2 – and raised plenty of questions in the Spanish capital.
There was not much left of the Barcelona president’s good humor this Tuesday. Instead, the 62-year-old launched a 90-minute all-out attack against his critics and opponents.
At the center: the Dani Olmo case. The fact that the summer signing had not yet been registered had led to voices being raised against Laporta. “When Barcelona is on its way up, various parties join forces to tell a story that is not true at all. This is no coincidence,” rumbled Laporta.
La Liga and the Spanish football federation RFEF had not issued Barcelona with a playing license for Dani Olmo and Pau Victor. However, Barcelona obtained a temporary playing license through a 1-1 settlement before the national sports council CSD.
“Golden opportunity” missed
The opposition in Barcelona had sought a vote of no confidence against Laporta. “They had a golden opportunity to show that they love Barcelona. And they missed it. They took the side of the media, which was hostile to them,” Laporta said on Tuesday: ‘Now they see that we are on the right track, that we are on an equal footing, that we have a competitive team.’
They didn’t have to take the side of Laporta in the ‘Olmo case’, but they did have to take the side of the Blaugrana. “They have destabilized the team. That’s why I really appreciate the strength that the team, the players and Flick have shown in these moments of greatest suffering.”
Laporta sees himself only strengthened in his actions. ‘Does anyone think that the president of Barcelona will resign because of a decision by La Liga or the RFEF? I am very disappointed,’ he said with a smirk. But then he did bring some sharpness back into it. “They tried to wipe us out. They attacked us on land, at sea and in the air, but they will have to work to bring us down.”
In the sporting stakes, Real Betis will try to do just that when they visit Barcelona in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
