The Barça-Leganés match held last night at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc left a bitter feeling for Laporta, both for what happened on the field and in the stands. Hansi Flick's team arrived with the intention of regaining momentum after recent setbacks, but they left even more worried. The loss to Leganés adds to the recent defeat against Las Palmas, also at home, which has set off all the alarms at Barça.
The lack of home victories is reflecting that something is not right, and Laporta's gaze is directed straight at the stands. In fact, the atmosphere experienced last night in Montjuïc was really cold. The attendance was the worst of the entire season, and the players tried to encourage the fans on more than one occasion, but without success.
This situation is due to the fact that the Animation Stand was expelled by Laporta due to their refusal to pay the fines imposed for their actions during the last season. Barça received more than 20 complaints from LaLiga for chants and insults that resulted in 21,000 euros in fines. Laporta refused to pay that amount and demanded it from the members of the Stand, but they refused, and now they can't cheer and support the team.
Regretful About What Happened in the Barça-Leganés: Laporta Looks to the Stands and Admits His Mistake
In such a scenario, Laporta decided to take a measure that, on paper, seemed brilliant to try to solve the lack of spirit: he hired a popular band to cheer up the stands. However, the experiment did not go as expected. The music and attempts to cheer were not well received by the fans, who began to boo the band, worsening the situation.
In a stadium that was already experiencing a heavy atmosphere, Laporta's decision only contributed to increasing the fans' frustration. Therefore, ahead of the next home game against Atleti, it seems unlikely that the scene will be repeated. The idea of replacing the Animation Stand with a popular band was a failed attempt to give the team a new boost, but the result was disastrous.
In any case, Laporta's challenge is not only in sports but also in restoring unity between the players and the fans. We will see how this situation is solved in the next match, which will pit Flick's team against Simeone's. For now, everything indicates that Laporta will not repeat the band next Saturday, and new attempts are expected to restore the atmosphere in Montjuïc.