Juli Lopez (Granollers, 1969) will be the General Director of Sports of Barça if Victor
Font win the elections. He is a member of a saga with history in the club, since both he and his brothers Sergi Y Gerard they came to play with the first team. Later he played in the First Division with Valladolid, went through various teams, studied ESADE and has held an executive position at CIRSA for 21 years.
Since when have you worked on Vïctor Font’s sports project?
Almost eight years ago we got to work, in the summer of 2013. After the 2015 treble, he told me things about the club that seem normal now, but were unthinkable then.
Was it anticipated sportingly or economically?
In both. On the one hand he warned that it was necessary to preserve the ownership of the club from the members and on the other that it was necessary to start thinking about what sports structure Barça needed in the future. And we had it clear. First it was Cruyff, then Guardiola, and after analyzing, thinking and talking to many people, the person who has all the qualities, with knowledge, leadership skills, more of a Barça player than anyone else, is Xavi. From the first moment we were clear that he was the ideal person and we have spent years designing with him what the structure of the Barça of the future should be.
Did you get involved from the beginning?
We explain our idea, our club model and the way in which we believe the sports structure should work. And he liked it from the first moment. I think the structure we have designed is the best for Barça and hopefully, whoever wins the elections, will implement this structure. Although it is better if you have been working with the president for five years.
How does its structure work?
We are clear that it cannot be that a board of directors is getting involved in the work of the executives of a club every day. If we want to have the best professionals in each area, there cannot be interference from above or sports vice presidents who do not come from the world of sports and make decisions. That can not be.
Is Bayern, with former players in executive positions, an example?
Yes, Bayern Munich has always been a good reference for us and that is the idea. Bayern was a pioneer in this way of working, of putting former players, who are the ones who understand and know the model to make decisions.
Xavi still has little experience and will be General Manager. Isn’t it a very risky bet?
It takes a short time, it is true, although he has been gaining experience and things are going very well for him. It is Qatar and the level is not from here, but in each country you have to adapt with what you have and it has. Xavi must be the cornerstone and underneath he must have a solid structure. That is why we want Jordi Cruyff to be the sports director, because he has experience in sports management and as a coach in various countries. Xavi knows the house and has a lot of background. We also incorporate people with a lot of knowledge, such as Tito Blanco in the technical secretariat or Joan Vilà, sports father of Xavi or Puyol, to recover the essence of La Masia together with Albert Benaiges or Paco Seirulo.
Can the General Manager be the coach? It’s compatible?
Totally. It must be explained very well, because we must change the mental framework that existed until now, as with the Junta so that it is not intrusive as it was. This figure of General Manager, as Ferguson was in Manchester, in Spanish football has not existed. We do not want Xavi to be only the coach, we want to give him a long-term project and if he is also trained and wants to be the coach, it is something compatible. Hopefully he will be there for many years and he won’t get tired of the bench, but what we don’t want is that when he stops being a coach he won’t work for the club. We believe that Xavi is the one who should lead Barça’s football structure.
Do you think they have the best sports project of the three candidates?
Absolutely, we are convinced. That is why we ask for confrontation and debate, to explain the projects. With the years that we have been and all the people who make up this organization, not only for football, but for the rest of sports, I am convinced that we have the best sports project.
Can any candidate who wins the elections call Xavi?
Yes, because Xavi is an asset of Barça, that is why he has distanced himself from the electoral process. But the reality is what it is, he has been talking, working and validating our sports structure with us for years.
Another who does not appear in the campaign is Carles Puyol. If they win will they call you?
We would love for you to join the project. In the sports structure, Puyol would be the perfect link between the club, the sports management and the first team, to occupy the position of director of professional football. And I also think that as an emblem of the club it could be very important in the Foundation, but let it be clear that it is an idea and that we would propose it on March 8.
Can they convince Messi?
Hopefully he hasn’t made a decision when we get to the club. The most important thing is that you see who are the people who are going to make the decisions in the sports area. Messi needs a close interlocutor, who knows him and with whom he has a prior complicity. In that sense, Xavi is the one who has to explain the project to him, so that he knows it, so that Messi stays at Barça.
In broad strokes, what is your plan for the sections?
To begin, create the female section in all of them, and we will create some more non-professional section. As in soccer, bet in each section on the people of the house. We would incorporate a professional basketball director and we have the two best candidates to deal with methodology and scouting, two basic aspects for basketball, in addition to the training structure. In handball we trust David Barrufet, we would like to once again be a reference in Europe and also to reinforce the people of the house. In hockey and futsal, create your own school and empower those at home.
And for women’s football?
It’s like handball, you have to take one more step to win the Champions League. The work has been done very well, but we want to go one step further. We will incorporate more women coaches, we have a very good profile that will be incorporated and we trust the figure of Lluís Cortés, not only as a coach, but also as the head of the section. Like Markel Zubizarreta, who is doing a great job. And we will empower the players, who are a reference at the media level