"We're 100% focused on the game, Hansi Flick had said before playing Sevilla this weekend, a line which seemed to set him and his players apart a little from everyone else in Catalonia, but once their primary duty had been fulfilled, his team victorious and four points clear again, they could complete another."
"Standing there with his passport in hand and Laporta helping ensure he was passed the correct slip, the coach slotted a little white envelope into the box. And then, his vote cast in Barcelona's 2026 presidential elections, another new experience embraced here, Laporta took his arm, raised it like a prizefighter, the identification complete, and began a chant: Hansi Flick!"
"Laporta hugged them all, beaming, pressure applied, the crowd singing Barca's anthem and soon chanting President! President!, the president-elect's fist pumping with the beat. More than a dozen first-team footballers voted."
Joan Laporta secured re-election as Barcelona president with a decisive 68.18% victory over rival Victor Font on election Sunday. The day combined sporting success with political triumph, as Barcelona defeated Sevilla 5-2 before Laporta watched the election results unfold at a marquee outside Camp Nou. Coach Hansi Flick and numerous first-team players participated in the voting process, with Laporta personally assisting them through the procedure. The celebration featured players arriving in their Barcelona tracksuits and casual attire, embracing Laporta while supporters chanted his name and the club's anthem, creating a festive atmosphere that merged football victory with electoral success.
#barcelona-presidential-election #joan-laporta #hansi-flick #electoral-victory #football-and-politics
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]