Josep Cubells (Barcelona, ??1964) catches the ball, shoots on the board and scores. He picks it up off the hardwood, positions himself for the free kick and scores again. All without taking off the suit that usually accompanies him. At the Palau Blaugrana, preparations are being completed for the official photograph with President Joan Laporta, but first, the head of Barça’s basketball undergoes a photo session that makes him enjoy like a child and takes an x-ray of the section and the club.
Falling to Breogán was not in the pools…
The defeat made us feel bad.
The home field advantage in the Endesa League is in danger…
We need one more gear to improve in the classification and ensure the track factor, we will have to be very focused.
We are facing one of the most decisive weeks of the year, with visits to Fenerbahçe and Panathinaikos.
For me, the Euroleague is the best competition in the world and we are going to have to show character, something we have done before. There are 6 or 7 teams very engaged and we are gambling with two candidates to be at the top. In the end, finishing between first and fourth has relative importance, but having the fans in your favor in the playoffs is decisive.
And on Sunday, to Badalona…
It’s a week full of emotions, it’s clear.
How do you see Barça?
It will sound strange to say this after losing to Breogán, but I see the team very well. It may be risky, but I think we are more competitive than last year even though we have had to reduce the budget. There are players like Jabari Parker, who is already an idol of the fans, who have been growing, or like Ricky Rubio, who is adapting well, who make the sum of everything into a very competitive team.
In the middle of a bad streak of results, it was said that a replacement for Roger Grimau was being sought. It’s true?
No, the confidence in the coach is total and he is doing a very good job. Those bad results worried us, obviously, but we met with the technical secretariat and measures were taken that worked.
Is qualifying for the final four a non-negotiable objective?
When we arrived at the club we set ourselves the goal of returning the team to the elite and we have achieved it. In fact, we have been to the last three final four. We cannot always be at the top, but it is our aspiration and we must try to be there very often. We know that basketball is the sport with the fewest European Cups in Barça.
In the club’s economic backpack there is still a chapter dedicated to Nikola Mirotic…
He is not being paid anything, everything is in court because an agreement was not reached with his agent.
Did you feel bad about how it all ended?
Yes a lot. Nikola is an endearing person as well as a great player. I would have liked everything to end with an agreement because we found ourselves with contracts that were not market-based and our obligation was to regularize them. His agent had to understand it and perhaps a solution could have been found. There were many proposals.
Jasikevicius’s departure was not the best either…
I can only say good things about Saras. He has been a legend as a player and also as a coach. It was not something personal, we were facing a change of era.
Jasikevicius has criticized the club for its ways and claims that some members of his family have not been treated well.
I have no evidence of this, quite the opposite. According to what the club executives have explained to me, everything that has to do with his family is treated with the utmost affection.
Why do you think he is making these statements now?
The truth is that they surprised me. I have always been open to talking if there has been any misunderstanding. Yes, it is true that everything happened very quickly, what happened with Mirotic and Saras happened in a few days, but a new stage had to begin.
When do they put Roger Grimau’s name on the table?
He was the coach we had in our portfolio. We didn’t know if it would be this year or next, but he had everything we wanted: he is from the house, he knows the club, the quarry and he has been captain. He has all the elements to succeed.
When is the New Palau?
We are with the basic project, the idea is that when they finish with the Camp Nou they will start with the Nou Palau. We are looking forward to it because we have to take a step forward, it is a fundamental piece for our sustainability.
You are secretary of the board and member of the delegate commission. How would you define the financial health of the club?
We are on the right track to reverse the economic situation we found when we arrived, but we still have a lot of work to do.
Several executives and directors have left the club. What’s going on?
There are many people on this board who dedicate many hours to the club and it would be normal for us to get paid. Because if you have a job that demands a lot from you, the normal thing is that you cannot combine it and you have to leave it, as has happened with Eduard Romeu, the economic vice president.
But he’s not the only one who’s gone…
With Maribel Meléndez –corporate director–, for example, the same thing happened. There were no disagreements, it was something personal. She was a very hard worker and I wish her the best.
Romeu said he was leaving Laporta with his praetorian guard. Is it part of it?
(Laughs) I don’t know what that means, really, but Tito Castro and I are the only ones who have spent the same days and minutes as the president at the club since 2003. I don’t know if that means Praetorian guard, Romeu He is a very bold person. But on the board we are all very laportistas, we have the utmost confidence in him and we are united.
How do you see the president? Can he do it all?
He is worried, as we all are, with the situation at the club, but he is a very proactive person and is not afraid to make decisions. I see him strong and suffering.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
We will get ahead, I am convinced. The club is moving in the right direction. They are looking for new income, lowering the budget… Despite what is said, we are on the right track. In fact, I can reveal that perhaps next year we can increase investment in basketball.
