Barca squad to undergo summer overhaul - Laporta
MADRID: The Barcelona squad will undergo a major overhaul in the close season after the players failed to show the required levels of commitment and professionalism, club president Joan Laporta said.
"This season we played with fire and got burned," Laporta was quoted as saying in the Spanish media on Monday. "The time for analysis has now come and I have to admit that we have all made mistakes."
"We need to carry out a thorough renewal of the squad in terms of professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm."
Strong favourites to win a third successive league title at the halfway point in the season, Barca let the opportunity slip from their grasp and surrendered the championship to arch-rivals Real Madrid.
They suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Getafe in the semi-finals of the King's Cup and also failed to live up to expectation in the Champions League when they went out against Liverpool in the first knockout round.
"I detected a certain lack of commitment because the players were saturated," said Laporta. "But it's understandable given the successes we've had in recent years."
Barcelona's season was also marked by a series of dressing room disputes with rumors of a split between leading players Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o.
Laporta admitted that the club had been too slow to deal with the problems but insisted that he wanted to keep both players at the Nou Camp.
"My main mistake was in not taking action with respect to certain attitudes and situations," he said.
"Our intention is that Ronaldinho and Eto'o should stay with us and that they will be key players next season. We still have confidence in Frank Rijkaard but I want to reiterate that we need to overhaul and adjust the squad."
Barca are reported to have targeted Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, AS Roma defender Cristian Chivu, Olympique Lyon left back Eric Abidal and Monaco midfielder Yaya Toure to strengthen their squad.
Argentine striker Javier Saviola is the only player certain to leave the club in the close season, but several others including Eidur Gudjohnsen, Edmilson, Silvinho and Ludovic Giuly are reported to be on the club's exit list.
Agencies
(China Daily 06/20/2007 page23)
