Josep Maria Bartomeu's cunning antics at Barcelona

Andoni Zubizarreta's sacking as Blaugrana's director of football underlines the blame games that have been ongoing at Nou Camp. It takes guts to praise Zubizarreta and Josep Maria Bartomeu for the signings of Luis Suarez, Neymar, Marc Andre ter Stegen yet cunningly slaying the former Spanish national team goalkeeper who happens to have also played for Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. For once, lets forget that Zubizarreta hugged a live wire when he signed Thomas Vermaelen - a sick bay Belgian, and Brazilian full back Douglas - he has only started one league game. Zubi's mistake? Well, the imposed ban on the Catalans as regards signings - well, how is Zubizarreta to blame when La Masia has been illegally tapping and purporting to "own" emerging football talents for ages? Maybe its because he is Basque while the club's bigwigs are Catalan. Lets leave the rivalry of the regions as of now. As the man in charge of all the sporting issues, Josep Maria Bartomeu is no free from the accusations that he may as well played a vital role in the various procedures that led to Barca's ban by FIFA - an action that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sports. As it stands, Zubizarreta may get all the accusations directed to him - however, lets give credit where its due; he built up a side that may well be envy of many clubs across Europe. Lets not forget that Zubizarreta was Athletic Bilbao's sporting director before he was poached by the Catalan giants. What makes the situation more juicy and highly speculative is the stepping down of Zubizarreta's assistant - Carles Puyol. The former Barca captain stepped down soon after the Catalan giants sanctioned Zubizarreta's dismissal. Well, Puyol has been approved as an ingrained Catalan. That poses the question - did he really work to promote ethics and processes that would lead to Barca's ban? The man believes in Los Cules mission - he once turned down a transfer to Malaga for the long-term aim of making it in the famous Nou Camp strip! And yes, Louis van Gaal was the manager then - its unimaginable turning down the Dutchman's orders and priorities, but again Puyol did it! Back to Josep Maria Bartomeu. Is he really blameless? Lets for once imagine that Zubizarreta is guilty of what he is being accused of. How then did the sporting director achieve all that without the prior knowledge of the club's president? The sacking of Zubizarreta and the stepping down of Carles Puyol may be the first of many signs that depict falling of an empire at Catalunya. Zubizarreta's sacking may be viewed as a clever and well crafted action aimed at making Josep Maria Bartomeu as the most visible candidate in the 2016 Barcelona's presidential elections. The managerial turmoil at Barcelona is likely to have negative implications on Luis Enrique - the current Barca manager, as well as on Lionel Messi - the famed Argentine who solely underlines Barcelona's ideals - for now, lets cunningly put Neymar out of the equation having been bought from Santos! Well, Josep Maria Bartomeu may find it hard to win the presidency again. We all admire the previous holders of the presidency - Sandro Rosell and Joan Laporta. While Sandro Rosell is credited with bringing Ronaldinho at Nou Camp from PSG - an action that was spurred by the failure to land David Beckham, his credibility waned in the wake of Neymar's bizarre transfer fees. It is alleged that Ronaldinho signed for the Blaugrana instead of Manchester United as a result of his friendship with Sandro Rosell, who was a Nike operative in Brazil. During Sandro Rosell's presidency, Barca managed to sign Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas, Javier Mascherano, Alex Song, Adriano and Jordi Alba. Under Joan Laporta's presidency, we witnessed the hiring of Pep Guardiola as the team's manager - a master stroke!, the arrival of Rijkaard as well as the arrival of Deco, Samuel Eto'o, Edmilson et al. Bottom line: Josep Maria Bartomeu may run but can never hide. His fate will soon be sealed not withstanding the sacrificial efforts of highlighting Zubizarreta in bad light. Bartomeu has to learn from what his friend Sandro Rosell went through. As a direct beneficiary of Sandro Rosell's departure, Bartomeu ought to have known best as regards scandals and controversies. Lets wait for the unofficial Barca's mouthpiece - Johan Cruyff, as regards the current crisis at Catalunya. Until then, lets wait and see what the future holds for Luis Enrique - a man who has been branded as a mole working for the capital club Real, having spent his career playing for the two known rivals. While Blaugrana would want us to believe that the Catalan dream is still on, Real Madrid on the other hand enjoys the proceedings!