Former Barcelona president remains optimistic for the rest of the season

Barcelona are undergoing a historic season, but far from the way they would have wanted to. If anything, this team can be called the polar opposite of Pep Guardiola groundbreaking team that went on to lift six trophies in a single year in 2009.

Coming off the back of a trophyless season, a humiliating Champions League exit, and a whirlwind of a summer transfer window involving their best player and club captain, nobody really expected a lot from this Barça outfit. However, Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona has somehow managed to fall even lower than people’s

expectations. Sitting in third right now in the league, Barcelona are barely a part of the Liga race anymore. The Champions League remains a far-fetched dream, while the outcome of the Copa del Rey remains in the air.

Despite all this, and more – the Spanish Super Cup loss in the final – former Barcelona president Joan Laporta seems to be optimistic about how the season has gone, and how it will wear on further.

“I am optimistic, I see the glass always half full and I believe that this season we will win a title. The team has to believe in their possibilities, the coach must try to find the system of play and together achieve the results that we all want.”

Joan Laporta | SPORT

There are only a handful of positives remaining for Barcelona fans this year, especially given the postponement of the presidential elections everyone was looking forward to. The historic elections are set to take place more than a month later, not before the first week of March.

The legendary president was also asked about how he felt after losing the Super Cup Final, to which he replied, “Well bad, because we lost as we lost … A foul at the last minute gave life to Athletic to come back. I encourage the players and the coaching staff to keep fighting to improve this situation.”

Barcelona fans will be wishing they could share the same optimism Laporta has with Barcelona, but things look dangerously bleak right now, with a second consecutive trophyless season on the cards.