Barça TV has broadcasted an in-depth interview with FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta. The following is a summary of the most important issues of the interview with Joan Laporta held in a very relaxed atmosphere.


Barça TV: Your second presidency has started. How has the club changed since the summer of 2003?


Joan Laporta: In 2003, it was all new. It was an authentic, secure proposal for change and most of the members put their faith in it. This second presidency is the continuation of those changes. It represents recognition of what we have achieved, and we are satisfied because we have done what we set out to do. We have new challenges and renewed excitement. We are very enthusiastic about this second presidency.


Barça TV: What is the biggest difference between seeing Barça from outside and from inside?


Joan Laporta: The difference is the responsibility of the job, what running the club means and that is very different to seeing Barça from outside. You keep thinking and talking about Barça but from within. There is a management model and institutional representation that has to be present in everything you do.


Barça TV: When did the Barça president feel the strength of the members, the weight of the club?


Joan Laporta: The strength of the members can be seen clearly when you win the Champions League, the league, a difficult match... And then there are intangible aspects that make the strength of Barça, what Barça can do for people. What you feel when you sense a person in need, suffering from illness, and before something potentially tragic happens, what they want more than anything else is to see a Barça game, to meet a player. It is something extraordinary, very emotional. Because there are people that live in suffering and Barça is what brings happiness into their lives.


Barça TV: As president of Barça, if you had to choose, what would you prefer: Joan Laporta, president of the biggest non-political institution in the country; president of the biggest sports club in the country, or president of the biggest football club in the country?


Joan Laporta: Joan Laporta, president of the biggest sports club in the country. Because that covers everything. And if it could be the biggest sports club in an independent, caring, democratic, Catalan country, so much the better.


Barça TV: Would you be concerned if things were reduced to a matter of whether the team wins or loses?


Joan Laporta: We have moved on from whether the ball goes in or not. The ball is going in. We are enjoying one of the best periods of our history, but we haven't fallen into the trap of reductionism because Barça is more than a club. And now we can say that more than ever, because Barça represents the identity of the Catalans, it projects us worldwide. And now that we have a corporate strategy that makes Barça more than just a club in the world, it makes for a humanitarian, caring club par excellence. A club that is concerned, that wants to help people in need, that wants to form part of the everyday lives of its citizens. Everybody wants to enjoy Barça in their lives.


Barça TV: What is stronger, the institution of the club, or the European champion team?


Joan Laporta: The institution and the team. Both are very strong. One thing makes the other, they are related. The institution has to be ready to help the team. It is the teams umbrella. We have to realise that winning is very difficult and right now we are enjoying one of our best moments ever on all levels, and the institution needs to be strong, and hold up the team. That is why Barça members have to be excited.


Barça TV: Can historic emergencies return to Barça, and would the second Champions League be the antidote?


Joan Laporta: With a third Champions league, historic emergencies would not return. But we need a third Champions League at least. We need to work towards it by making an effort with our culture, by working, something we have at all levels of the club.


Barça TV: You have said that Barça has to win the Champions League of solidarity every year. Do Barcelona fans understand this idea?


Joan Laporta: We have put a lot of effort into explaining why Barça has become more than a club and how it works in solidarity programmes to help starving children, ill children, children that need training, education. And that will not only be through the UNICEF agreement, but also through the clear and decided position of the Foundation. If we do things well, like winning the Champions League of solidarity every year, it is important that we are dedicated to the cause.


Barça TV: You are the first Barça president to travel outside of Catalonia and Spain on a regular basis, like to Morocco and Sarajevo. Is it these trips that have made you want to link the club to children?


Joan Laporta: We have seen the support, the appreciation, the need for Barça. And when I say Barça, I mean a world standard setting sports club that can affect the societies that need it. On those trips, the idea was generated. But it has been a joint idea of the whole board. We believe Barças singularity makes it possible.


Barça TV: On the terracing, we can now read the words "More than a Club". Has that slogan ever meant quite as much to the media as it does right now?


Joan Laporta: More than a club is a sensation that Barcelona fans created. We thought that we should express what represents the Catalan identity of Barça, with a support that means much more than just sport and we feel that More than a Club has content, More than a Club has strength and we want to promote that in a very decided way and placing Barça as more than a club in the world.


Barça TV: Is it possible to be 'More than a Club, win titles and be financially viable?


Joan Laporta: It is possible. It is what we have to do and get stronger all the time. It is very important to win titles, because it strengthens the team financially and helps make reinforcements. And it also generates support and loyalty. It is a viscous circle that in this case is working upwardly, and we need to take advantage of it to promote the values of sportsmanship, civil duty, solidarity, Catalanism. Always respecting evrybody, because in Barça there are different sensitivities, which we should respect. We can promote these values, which are shared by most Barcelona fans. And this promotion of values is very important because it makes us more than a club. We want Barça to play well, to win, to play fair, but we also want the club to have that identification with the country.


Barça TV: The Barça shirt will carry the UNICEF logo. But you have always said Barça will never wear shirt advertising and this is not a sponsorship deal?


Joan Laporta: It is singularity. Barça will be the only club in the world that has opted for solidarity. We are rejecting potential money from shirt advertising from a commercial brand, but that is the balance between what Barça represents, the values we want to promote and the strength Barça should have from an institutional standpoint. A financially strong club, that is rich, socially fair and also gets success in sports.


Barça TV: So the deal with UNICEF is an exchange of potentialities?


Joan Laporta: We will position Barça in the world, defining it perfectly as a club showing solidarity, humanitarianism and that participates in programmes for children via the Foundation. We will be giving one and a half million euros over five years. We guarantee that contribution. So, this is a challenge for us, for the Foundation, to earn those funds. And we visualise UNICEF on our shirts, and it is not sponsorship. I believe there are collateral affects of this agreement that represent the image of Barça, and the Foundation, and the institution, and that can only be good for the club.


Barça TV: President Laporta, what is your personal goal?


Joan Laporta: To dedicate our efforts to the prestige of the institution, and for Barcelona fans to enjoy Barça being in their lives. In all areas. Sporting, financial, social, solidarity, the nation. That is the path we have set ourselves upon. Towards freedom.


Barça TV: The FC Barcelona board of directors often refers to the idea of continued success as a shared challenge. How do you achieve that target?


Joan Laporta: Working. With a culture of work, effort, responsibility, the desire to serve Barça fans ands all the people running the club need to share these values. We need to achieve as much adhesion as possible, because, as the anthem says: All together we build strength.