The Ten Commandments Of Barcelona

In an attempt to rejuvenate the troubled Catalan side, controversial club president Joan Laporta has decreed to his players that Thou Shalt Not Act Up Or Miss Training. By introducing a system of Commandments to his players, he hopes to instill a new sense of professionalism in the Barca squad.



zoom - galleria There has recently been much talk of a new set of internal rules at Barcelona, but only now have full details emerged of how the blaugrana players must behave for the new season.

Fed up with indiscipline and squabbling last season - issues that may have contributed to Barca's narrow title loss - club president Joan Laporta has proclaimed a sort of 'Ten Commandments' that will apply to all players without exception.

Laporta has clearly been planning this for a while. In a June outburst that angered many players, he hinted at the proclamations yet to come. "We will not tolerate any bad behaviour," he frowned.

Edmilson and Deco were amongst those who responded with thinly-veiled disbelief, but now they have to obey the orders of the president as they are explicitly written in the form of "Commandments."

There are approximately ten of them, but most seem to be common-sense regulations about professionalism and training practices. All come into force on July 21 when the club returns to training - and they apply to all players equally.

The first order is that all players must be on the training ground 10 minutes before the day's session is to begin. No doubt circling Ronaldinho's name as he did so, Laporta also wrote that there are to be no unilateral "gym sessions" for those who opt not to train outdoors. The only time a player will be permitted to stay in the gym is if the medical staff instruct them to do so. Otherwise, all will train outside together.

Additionally, if a player does feel they have a reason to miss training, it must be communicated to the club two hours in advance of the next session. Punishment for those who break this rule, or - worse - those who cannot be located on training days, will be severe.

Next, there will be no more late nights on the town for Barca stars. Each player must be at home by 1am in order to afford them a full eight hours' rest before the next day's exertions, with training starting at 10:30am sharp. Lights-out when staying in hotels before away games will be at midnight.

The president hopes that, aside from the physical benefits of a full night's rest, such strict rules will help forge unity amongst a squad that all too often bickered last season.

In perhaps the most important commandment of all, insubordination is now strictly prohibited. Rumours persist that Eto'o wilfully refused to play as a substitute in the middle of last season - such stunts will be repeated at the player's peril.

Laporta clearly feels the players will benefit from his authoritarian style. While he's very unpopular with some of the fanbase, he argues that he gets results. Off the pitch, that may well be true - the number of official "partners" in the club rose to an all-time high of 156,336 this year.

Whether his approach will work with a large and disparate squad, however, remains to be seen.