Already investigated by Barçagate, Laporta defends himself by throwing an ace of gold on the table: sociological Madridismo. There would be the key, in that ectoplasm that envelops everything and drags wills. From “Madrid ens steals” with which Artur Mas reacted to the siege of the Parliament due to cuts, to the sociological Madridism of Joan Laporta. They both know that in Catalonia there is a wide supply of sun that buys these toasts.
And yes, there is sociological Madridismo, let’s not discuss it, that will only be useful to Laporta to change the conversation. There is, but above all there is Enríquez Negreira, whose dealings with Barça have not been made public by sociological Madridism but by a program from the SER of Barcelona, What are you playing?, carried by fellow Barcelona supporters but militants in journalism well fact that they did not keep quiet about this news, facing great discomfort in their homeland, where Barça is more than a club, it is almost a patriotic cause.
The fact is that the club paid succulently for 18 years and four presidents to the vice president of the referees and that it stopped paying him just when he stopped being one. Among his tasks was to receive at mid-season, one by one and in a closed room, all the referees to tell them how they were doing in the classification, whether in group A (international), in group B or in group C (area of decline). Whatever they talked about stayed there.
Laporta presumes that no referee will appear who has received money from Negreira, and he will be right. I don’t think there was any payment like that, if there was it would be difficult to detect. In any case, that is not necessary to help a team. It is enough to send pigeons home and hawks away, and the opposite to the rival. And it helps to have certain gestures with which they make mistakes this way or that. On Saturday, Rodríguez Santiago validated a goal with his hand against Messi (which, without the Tamudazo, would have been worth a League) and on Monday they gave him the Cup final. Daudén Ibáñez annulled a legal goal for Atlético against Madrid and lost his international status. Trislante Oliva killed his career by granting Madrid that Ushiro Nage penalty against Valencia…
No, there is no need to pay or give rude instructions. Never in a World Cup does a referee make a mistake, whether against Germany, Brazil or Italy… unless they face the home team. Those who do not know how the wind blows rarely come. And, in case there are any loose ends, something can slip in discreet meetings, like that little room at Enríquez Negreira to tell you how you’re doing, not to trust yourself, to push yourself…
Unprovable things, of course. And I even think that Judge Joaquín Rodríguez puts so much effort into papering Laporta through that strange route of Enríquez Negreira’s functional civil service that he is going to do him a favor, because when that soap bubble bursts he will be able to say that nothing has happened here. And yes it has happened.
For the rest, Barça had players who achieved excellence in that period. They had neither art nor part in the exchange and they feel bad when they hear that they were rowing down the river. They didn’t even have to notice it, they lived absorbed in its perfection.
Xavi was sincere in his complaint, although he mixed churras with merinos. The doping thing did come from a Madrid bilge, it was a fake that was only bought by a COPE journalist who is no longer here; Nobody followed that hare, there was no hare. It is not commented on in Madrid, it did not have credit. Yes, he is remembered in Barcelona, because of how much it hurt. Nor did the rest of the Madrid press follow the villarato’s hare, by the way. It was an exclusive battle for As, only it did end, because there was a hare. Alfons Godall, vice president with Laporta, had the ingenuity to sing it on Antena 3 after leaving the club, and then the knowledge of Enríquez Negreira’s misdeeds hammered home the point. There was villainy, and not only because of Laporta’s support for Villar in a very close election, as I thought. Turns out he was greased.
Did that money serve any purpose? Comparing national titles, League, Cup and Super Cup, in the period of the trap, Barça won 22 (9+6+7) and Madrid, 10 (6+2+2); Outside of Spain, far from the shadow of Enríquez Negreira, the Champions-Super Cup-World Cup sum gives Madrid the winner by 15 (5+5+5) compared to 10 for Barça (4+3+3). Summary: 22-10 for Barça in Spain, 15-10 for Madrid away. It doesn’t prove anything, but…
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