Joan Laporta
| Joan Laporta | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Catalan Parliament | |
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In office 29 November 2010 – 17 December 2012 |
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| Constituency | Barcelona |
| 38th President of FC Barcelona | |
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In office 15 June 2003 – 30 June 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Enric Reyna |
| Succeeded by | Sandro Rosell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Joan Laporta Estruch 29 June 1962 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Political party | Democràcia Catalana |
| Spouse(s) | Constanza Echevarría (?-2008) |
| Children | Pol Laporta i Echevarría, Guillem Laporta i Echevarría, Joan Laporta i Echevarría |
| Alma mater | University of Barcelona |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Joan Laporta Estruch (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈan ɫəˈpɔrtə]; born 29 June 1962) is a Spanish politician and former president of FC Barcelona between 2003 and 2010.
Laporta is a lawyer (he graduated from the University of Barcelona) with his own firm, Laporta & Arbós, which has important firms as clients. Laporta was married to Constanza Echevarría and has three sons, Pol, Guillem and Jan. He served as MP in the Parliament of Catalonia between 2010 and 2012.
Although his career at Barcelona ended his recent years, he left the club having won six trophies in one year (2009) setting a new record.
Laporta started his involvement with FC Barcelona leading the "Elefant Blau" ("Blue Elephant"), a group which opposed former president Josep Lluís Núñez and which, in 1998, tried unsuccessfully a vote of no confidence against him.
In the 2003 elections, Laporta did not start as the favourite, but his charisma grew during the electoral campaign and he finally won against the expected victor, publicist Lluís Bassat, in part because of a widely published (and ultimately unfulfilled) promise to bring David Beckham to Barcelona. Laporta had the support of other young businessmen of Barcelona, such as Sandro Rosell. Laporta quickly became a media star, even more than some of the players.
Laporta's first season (2003–04) as president would prove to be a watershed for the club, but not without initial instability. The club situation was one of bitter unhappiness and disappointment amongst both fans and players after the club failed to meet their own standards to match Real Madrid's success in the early 2000s, having not won trophies since 1999.
With Laporta's arrival, and that of football superstar Ronaldinho (his solution signing after David Beckham's decision to turn down the club) as well as new manager Frank Rijkaard, among others, the club was forced to embark on a new phase, having elected a new, young and largely untested managerial board along with him. Laporta also decided to fight against the threat of violence outside the Camp Nou stadium, specially from the Boixos Nois (Mad Boys) ultras gang, and faced insults and death threats from them. Police investigation revealed they had planned to kidnap him. To exacerbate the situation, the 2003–04 season began abysmally results-wise, with Laporta constantly having to call for the fans' understanding and patience with him and Rijkaard as the club slowly phased out underachieving players from the old guard in order to rebuild a new-look side around Ronaldinho.
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