Barcelona president Joan Laporta was very angry after defeat to Athletic Club – report
It’s safe to say that things are looking bleak at Barcelona at the moment. The year 2024 hasn’t started well for the team as they first lost the Spanish Super Cup title to Real Madrid and yesterday, their dreams of winning the Copa del Rey were shattered by a spirited Athletic Club outfit.
This time around, however, Barcelona president Joan Laporta, although angry, did not lash out at the team like he did two years ago when Barcelona lost 2-3 to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final, reports AS.
The report adds that Laporta was very angry at what went down last night as the defeat meant that Barcelona missed out on yet another trophy even though the team presented a much better image than they had done in the Spanish Super Cup final vs Real Madrid.
What’s the story?
The collective feeling at Barcelona is of worry and one can easily tell how nervous things are at the Catalan club because Laporta didn’t go to the locker room to talk to the players after their elimination from Copa del Rey last night.
This is very different from what happened in 2022 when the team lost the Super Cup semi-final but Laporta congratulated them and said all Barcelona fans were proud.
Two years later, Laporta chose not to go to the locker room. This shows that things are not good between everyone, with the president getting more impatient and the coach sending short and strange messages.
There’s more to it
A week before the Copa del Rey outing, Barcelona took on Unionistas and Laporta went to motivate the players but as it turns out, his speech didn’t do any trick.
When Real Madrid got eliminated at the hands of Atletico Madrid, leaders at Barcelona knew how important it was for the team to win their round of 16 tie against Athletic Club, but once again, the players couldn’t perform well in a knockout competition.
On the trip back to Barcelona, everyone looked sad. They didn’t even celebrate Xavi’s birthday, who turned 44 today and now, it’s becoming clear every day that the coach’s plan might not last much longer, no matter what Laporta says about winning the UEFA Champions League.
