Sandro Rosell has been declared the new president of Barcelona, after Laporta completed his seven-year run with the club. He was named the new president of the club after he received more than 61% votes in the elections, and beat his competitors with a clear difference. Most of the Spanish media already named him the heir of Laporta in the race to succeed the FC Barcelona president at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. The former Barca vice-president bagged 61.34% of the overall share, having been voted in by more than 35,000 socios. Agusti Benedito came a distant second in the race, with 14.09% of the vote, followed by Marc Ingla and Jaume Ferrer with 12.29% and 10.80% respectively. Santa Rosell has a mounting task ahead of him, as he is taking a position left vacant by one of most successful managers at Barcelona. After the World Cup finishes in South Africa, all eyes will be on him to see what the 46 year old has to offer to one of the best clubs in the world.
Fans have already seen Rosell working as vice-president of the club for two years under Laporta from 2003-05. He resigned from his post in 2005 because of his grievances with the Barca president. He accused him of running the club with his own model which deviates from the perspectives on which the club must be run. His most popular achievement is considered as the moment when he brought players like Deco and Ronaldinho to the club. Despite having his differences with the outgoing president, the good news for Barca fans is that both the gentlemen consider Barca first and their differences later. "From tomorrow we will all have to row in the same direction," Rosell said upon casting his vote. Rosell will now have to work again with Laporta for two weeks when Laporta will hand over the Barca presidency to the new man. It will certainly be a moment to take a glance on how the two work together in the transition period. Past differences certainly seem to have been put aside, as Rosell and Laporta shared a touching hug just after the announcement of the presidential results.
Laporta has had a mixed run with Barcelona, where he had periods of success along with moments of sheer frustration. When he joined the club, he pledged to bring David Beckham to the Nou Camp, but didn’t succeed to materialize the deal. This could very well be the start for the new president as he now pledges to bring Arsenal’s Fabregas to Barcelona, and may well fail his very first commitment, as did his predecessor. But despite his first failure as president, he did bring some interesting faces like Ronaldinho and Deco, who won him two league titles and a Champions League crown. The following two years were again a tough time on Laporta, as he lost his confidence among fans. The two trophy-less seasons saw Rijkaard, the Barcelona manager, being sacked and players like Ronaldinho being transferred from the club. Laporta did survive the period, though, and the confidence of the board in him led him to formulate a team which led Barcelona to new heights in the football world, a feat no other team in history had achieved. The new appointed coach Pep Guardiola led Barcelona to win all six trophies in a single season.
During Laporta's time in office, Barca has won 12 trophies in all; making the 47-year-old the club's most successful president ever after he won the league title in the last season. Off the pitch, however, the lawyer has had his critics, yet he remains satisfied with his approach of running the club. Succeeding such a successful president is both a mounting and uncomplicated task for Rosell. On one hand, he has to keep the winning streak going for the club, and on the other, he only has to make small additions to already a well established squad. But as is always the case, with new management comes new players. Let’s see what he has to offer to Barcelona fans!
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