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Artikler<= /A> Exlusive: Interview = with Xavier=20 Sala-i-Martin

We at=20 planetbarca.com have had the honor of having an exclusive interview with = former=20 President of FC Barcelona, Mr Xavier Sala-i-Martin. Read the full = interview here=20 about his summer in charge of Bar=E7a. Skrevet av Lasse
Dato<= /B>=20 11.12.06 His name might not = sound too=20 familiar for most Bar=E7a-supporters around the world, and some might = affiliate=20 him more with his daring and colorful wardrobe, but when we had the = chance to=20 interview a former President of our beloved football club, we did not = think=20 twice.

Mr Xavier Sala-i-Martin is first and foremost a Catalan = professor=20 of economics at Columbia University, and his impressive r=E9sum=E9 = includes, among=20 others, a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He is rated among = the=20 worlds greatest economists, and ranked 8th in the top 1000 most-cited = economists=20 in the world over the last ten years according to Wikipedia.

In = addition=20 to being the head of Bar=E7a's Economic Commission, he is the founder = and CEO of=20 the Umbele Foundation - a foundation that aims to help Africans through=20 financing their projects.

When the FC Barcelona board of = directors=20 together with President Joan Laporta resigned this summer ahead of the=20 Presidential Elections, Mr Xavier Sala-i-Martin was put in charge of the = caretaker board.

How was your summer, being temporary in = charge of a=20 football club like FC Barcelona?

It was a great honor for = me. FC=20 Barcelona is the most important institution in my country so anyone = would be=20 proud of presiding it.

Where you surprised when you were = asked to=20 take over?

I was the President of the Economic and = Statutary=20 Comission. And the club's statutes say that if the President of the Club = resigns, then the President of the Economic Commission becomes the = President and=20 takes the club through the electoral process. I knew that if Mr Laporta = resigned=20 I would have to be the president. But I did not expect this to happen in = 2006.

What were your main tasks as = President?

The=20 main tasks were to run the club and make sure the elections were fair. I = also=20 had to accompany the team and represent the club during the Mexico-USA = summer=20 2006 tour.

And did you get advice from Mr Laporta during = that=20 time?

I was not allowed to talk to Mr Laporta during the = electoral=20 process (I had to take a position of neutrality with respect to all = candidates,=20 including Mr Laporta) so I did not get any advise from him once I was = nominated.=20 During the days previous to my nomination, however, I spent the whole = day next=20 to Joan Laporta, trying to learn the job in a few = days!!!

With=20 your skills and knowledge about economy, does the club often ask you for = advice?

Yes, I talk to Mr Laporta quite frequently. I also = talk to=20 the vice president for economic affairs, Ferran Soriano. It is part of = my job to=20 talk to them to control the economic activity of the club and to advise = them=20 when they ask for advice.

Do you have any position in the = club=20 today, or are you just concentrating on your job at Columbia=20 University?

I am still the President of the Economics = Commission=20 (so, if Laporta resigns again, I will be the president again!). I am = also a=20 professor at Columbia (which means that I live in New York, but I have = to fly to=20 Barcelona about twice a month).

You went to USA together = with the=20 team on their tour, do you agree with Rafael M=E1rquez, among others, = who=20 criticized the tour for excessive travelling, not enough rest and lack = of=20 serious training?

Last year we actually travelled a bit = more, to=20 China and Japan, and we won the Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions = League.=20 One can travel in the summer and still win tournaments which mean that = travel is=20 not incompatible with serious training.

When current = President=20 Joan Laporta and his associates took control over the club in 2003, they = immediately agreed upon a fairly restrictive economic policy. Today this = policy=20 has begun to give its results in a healthy economy and increased = financial gain.=20 Some would maybe have gone the opposite way, the =93spend money, to earn = money=94-strategy, taking up loans and buying lots of new players in = order to get=20 immediate success. What are your views on this, where you a part of this = decision, how would you have done it, and what do you think the club = should for=20 the future?

Obviously I have to think that the decisions = made were=20 correct. The most important decisions, however, were not that spending = was cut=20 and borrowing was limited (although we had to borrow to buy Ronaldinho = and=20 M=E1rquez during the first year as there was no money left by the = Gaspart-Reyna=20 administration). The key decision was to write contracts that were tied = to=20 performance.

Like in many other businesses in the real world, if = your=20 salary is guaranteed independently of your performance, your performance = will=20 tend to be poor. If a substantial fraction of your salary depends on the = team=20 winning, you will have greater incentives to practice harder, play = better and=20 win more.

When I first arrived in the world of Football, I was = surprised=20 to see that this basic principle of economics was not applied in this=20 industry.

Do you know former President Joan Gaspart, and = what do=20 you think about his way to run the club =96 especially when it comes to = his=20 economic policy?

I do not know him. Judging by the results = (economic results and the team=92s results), the outcome was not fully=20 satisfactory.

What are your views on Bar=E7a's involvement = with G14?=20 Do you agree with G14 and the Belgian club Charleroi in their decision = to sue=20 FIFA to get compensation for players who injure themselves in = international=20 matches?

FC Barcelona is part of G14, but it is also part = of FIFA=20 and UEFA. Rather than trying to create an alternative power to UEFA, I = think the=20 G14 should work with UEFA to solve our problems.

Asking the = national=20 teams to compensate private clubs for borrowing our players and having = them pay=20 insurance against injuries in national games should be at the top of our = priorities because the current situation is unfair to the clubs that, = after all,=20 pay the players' salaries.

What are your views on = Bar=E7a's recent=20 deal with UNICEF? Would you have preferred a clean shirt without any = sponsors,=20 or do you think it's OK as long as it is a charity organization like = UNICEF and=20 not a commercial company?

I think it is one of the = greatest ideas=20 in sports' history. It will change the way many people see professional = sports.=20 And it will change the way many corporations see FC = Barcelona.

You=20 are heavily involved in your own charity project through the Umbele=20 organization; can you explain what this organization does, and what its = goals=20 are? How can one help Umbele and get involved in this=20 organization?

Umbele is a foundation that listens to = Africans and=20 helps them finance their projects (education projects, relief projects, = business=20 projects). To maximize efficiency, we do not deploy an army of voluntary = workers. Instead, we rely on existing networks of people already located = in=20 Africa (like religious or non-religious missionaries). Once they tell us = what=20 they need, we post their projects in the web and look for people to = finance=20 these projects.

The best way to help is to go to www.umbele.org and finance a = project.=20 You can pay salaries to kids so that, instead of working they can afford = to go=20 to school. You can help an entrepreneur buy machinery to start a = business. You=20 can help refugees survive in foreign, hostile = lands.

Because I=20 care about Africa and I care about eradicating poverty, I love working = for FC=20 Barcelona. Bar=E7a can be a very powerful tool if used properly. And I = think that=20 Laporta is doing just that. The deal with UNICEF proves that he and his = team=20 believe in this.

How do you rate Bar=E7a's season so far, = what are=20 your predictions for the rest of it, and will the loss of Samuel Eto'o = to injury=20 hinder Barcelona to defend its Primera Divisi=F3n and European Champions = League=20 titles?

We are leaders in La Liga, and we are in the = second round=20 of the Champions League. We now have to see how we do in Japan, and then = focus=20 in La Liga till February. Once the Champions League resumes, we will = have Eto'o=20 and Messi back. We are exactly where we wanted to be at this time of=20 year.

Did you grow up as a Bar=E7a supporter, and have you = ever=20 played football yourself?

I've always been a Bar=E7a fan. = And yes, I=20 used to play football (although I never excelled in my team so I was = never=20 promoted to Bar=E7a).

Who is your favourite player of all=20 time?

Johan Cruyff.

Who is your favourite = player=20 today?

Carles Puyol.

What is your favourite=20 Bar=E7a-memory?

February 17th, 1974: Bar=E7a plays in = Bernabe=FA. Final=20 score: Madrid 0, Bar=E7a 5. Asensi scored twice, and Cruyff, Sotil and = Juan Carlos=20 each scored once. What a memory!

Finally, and we just = have to ask=20 you this: is there any special reason behind your colorful=20 wardrobe?

Yes, there is one reason: I like it! And I = always try to=20 do what I like.

Surely the players must have said=20 something?

Yes, the players often comment on my clothes. = Gio and=20 Sylvinho are the most outspoken: they make a comment on the color of my = jacket=20 every single time they see me. Victor Vald=E9s and Thuram say they = admire the guts=20 of somebody who wears these clothes. Other players joke about them, but = I will=20 not tell you what these jokes are!

Kilde: planetbarca.com =

02.12.06 Etter = kampen:=20 Levante - = Barcelona=20 (1-1)
02.12.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Ronaldinho = hviles mot=20 Levante
01.12.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Tippekonkurrans= e: Runde=20 13
01.12.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Ronaldinho = f=E5r EU-Pass i=20 januar
01.12.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Belletti = avviser=20 overgangsryktene
29.11.06 = Nyheter:<= /B> Zambrotta = n=E6rmer seg=20 toppniv=E5et
29.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Gio og = Sylvinho med til=20 2008
28.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Belletti til=20 Milan?
28.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Crosas og Dos = Santos med=20 til klubb-VM
27.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Ronaldinho = troner =F8verst=20 p=E5 toppscorerlisten
26.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Ronaldinho: = "Vil ikke=20 forlate Bar=E7a"
26.11.06 = Etter=20 kampen: Barcelona - = Villareal=20 (4-0)
25.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Saviola kan = returnere=20 tidligere
24.11.06 Nyheter, = F=F8r = kampen:=20 Belletti = tilbake i=20 troppen til Villarreal-kampen
24.11.06=20 Nyheter:<= /B> M=E1rquez har = f=E5tt=20 EU-pass
24.11.06 Etter = kampen:=20 Levski = Sofia -=20 Barcelona (0-2)
24.11.06 = Nyheter:<= /B> Tippekonkurrans= e: Runde=20 12
22.11.06 F=F8r = kampen:=20 F=F8r = Levski Sofia -=20 Bar=E7a
22.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Bar=E7a = m=F8ter Alaves i Copa=20 del Rey
21.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Bojan tidenes = nest yngste=20 p=E5 B-laget
20.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Alle spillerne = med til=20 Bulgaria
20.11.06 Etter = kampen:=20 Mallorca - = FC Barcelona=20 (1-4)
16.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Tippekonkurrans= e: Runde=20 11
16.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Iniesta og = Xavi klar=20 igjen
15.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Guardiola = legger=20 opp
15.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Tippekonkurrans= en
14.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Legene er = forn=F8yd etter=20 Messis operasjon
13.11.06 = Nyheter:<= /B> Nesten krise i = Barcelona
13.11.06 Nyheter:<= /B> Messi ute i = omtrent 3=20 m=E5neder
12.11.06 Etter = kampen:=20 Barcelona - = Zaragoza=20 (3-1)

-

America - Barcelona
Yokohama = International,=20 Yokohama (Japan)
FIFA Club World Cup
torsdag,=20 14. desember 2006

1 - 0

Barcelona - Sociedad
Camp Nou, = Barcelona=20
Primera Divisi=F3n
l=F8rdag, = november 2006=20

SISTE FEM KAMPER
Barcelona - = Sociedad=20 (1-0)
Barcelona=20 - Werder (2-0)
Levante - = Barcelona=20 (1-1)
Barcelona=20 - Villareal (4-0)
Levski Sofia - = Barcelona=20 (0-2)

VIDEO
UEFA = Champions League=20
Campions=20 Lliga!
Campions = Europa!=20
Xavi er=20 tilbake!

SISTE TI INNLEGG