Lluís Canut: "I am convinced that we will win the Parkinson's game too."

BarcelonaHis latest book is titled Live life (Column), but what Lluís Canut does is look back and explain his prolific career as a sports journalist, first covering basketball and then football. The book settles a few scores and also explains the Parkinson's diagnosis he received almost ten years ago.

Without anesthesia: basketball or football?

— Start, this is like making someone choose between their father and mother...!

But if you had to choose, it would be at knifepoint...

— Both have given me satisfaction. Now, if you put a knife in front of me, I'd choose basketball because I've had more contact with basketball players than with soccer players. I've had a lot feeling with a few footballers, but the relationship with the basketball players has been closer. Now, if we look at its significance, football and the four years of the Dream Team would carry a lot of weight.

In the book you are critical of excessive opinion.

— It's good to have opinions, but they should always be based on information. And, unfortunately, that's not the most common case.

How do you feel the Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media has treated you?

— Well, I can't complain. I've been lucky enough to work for major media outlets like Catalunya Ràdio, Radio Barcelona, ​​and TV3, our country's television channel. Could they have given me more? Perhaps, but I'm also grateful for all these years I've been able to work there.

I was asking you because in the book you narrate episodes such as the day you are summoned, with the dismissal letter in hand, demanding that you cut your salary in half or leave.

— It was absurd... Without any prior notice or negotiation, they slapped me with the letter saying that either I took a pay cut or I could pack my things and go home. I was stunned. Luckily, I was able to turn things around. It's true that that moment was very, very, very unpleasant.

What do you attribute it to?

— I believe that this gentleman, who was the head of human resources at that time, did it almost without anyone's protection and without the director's knowledge.

And I was also asking you because, in the first paragraph of the first chapter, you start by explaining the anguish you feel due to the lack of communication with the Head of Sports regarding the continuation of the program. IndeedAnd later you complain about another department head, years later, who sidelines you when you get a great interview with Joan Gaspart.

— During the thirty-seven years I've been at TV3, I don't know how many department heads there have been, but not all of them have been top-notch. There have been great bosses, like Tatxo Benet or Josep Maria Farràs, who were experts in the field, but there have also been those who weren't, who had been put there and knew very little about management and didn't have enough knowledge.

So how did they get there?

— Well, for convenience.

Political expediency?

— Politics, personal matters... The conveniences of the moment. It must have been in the company's interest to have those people in positions for which they were not prepared.

There's a four-year phase that covers four different programs. They even cancel shows that get very good ratings.

— I remember, for example, the program L'entornAfter breaking the audience record with a 25% share when Sandro Rosell came on, they told me I wouldn't be continuing the following season. I mean, it's incomprehensible. The thing is, at that time I could have been a nuisance, because I wasn't part of the inner circle close to the new president, Joan Laporta, and the one in charge, to avoid problems, decided to remove me from the front lines of news coverage and put me on a more entertainment-oriented program.

Has TV3 become overly identified with Barça?

— I don't think so. One of the great unifying forces in this country is Barça. People who have come from elsewhere and wanted to integrate have done so mostly in support of Barça, and it's an integration that also involves defending the language. Thanks to Barça matches broadcast in Catalan on TV3, many people have had access to our language.

Espanyol or Peña fans might see it differently. You yourself have had to endure criticism from their supporters.

— But in the end, you have to choose what the majority wants. This doesn't mean we marginalize other teams, but rather that when we broadcast Barça matches, we focus all our attention on them.

Over the past fifteen years, sports rights have steadily moved towards becoming pay-to-play. Does it then make sense to maintain such a large Sports Department today?

— Initially, we can hardly access the Champions League now, but occasionally showing football matches in Cup games or other matches that have an audience, I think it's worthwhile, I think it pays off.

Let me ask you a different question. Is the Sports department currently underutilized?

— Well, what has surprised us is that they've invested in outside talent without first considering local talent, the youth academy. Esport3 has created a lot of talent, and they should be prioritizing their own.

I understand you're talking about the conflict between the Fan zone by Gerard Romero and the Onze by Xavier Valls, who was later relegated so that he would not compete with him.

— Well, it could be a case in point, right? But not because I don't think Gerard Romero's show is a good product: it's a different product from what we were doing. However, just to promote a show from outside, we shouldn't sideline what we have here. Xavier Valls's program is very well established on Esport3's schedule and could easily move to TV3.

In any case, with the resources it has, is the Esport3 channel doing what it needs to do?

— I believe it does more than it could, thanks to the professionalism and talent of the people in the Department, who make it work despite the lack of resources.

In the book you quote this phrase from Joan Gaspart: "As long as I have television on my side, I can piss on the press." Does television still hold this power?

— Well, we're talking about a time when there was only one television channel, Televisión Española (TVE). The comment came about because TVE was given an exclusive interview with Hansi Krankel, who was the first major signing of the Núñez era, while other media outlets were excluded. And, with a certain air of arrogance, Gaspart said this.

But do you think we could say that they're now also urinating on television, because they have social media to reach the public?

— Well, I don't think it's that simple either, do you? They're two completely different worlds: traditional television and social media. In fact, when elements of social media have been transferred to television, it's been clear that it lacked the necessary quality to give the product a certain standard.

I said that because journalists no longer have access to the players like before, and the message is controlled through social media.

— What surprises me is that Barça footballers are seen more in The anthill that to Goal by goalI don't quite understand it. It seems as if they see us as the enemy and prefer to go and have a laugh on shows like this. With all due respect to The anthill, he Goal by goal TV3's program should be the go-to show for Barça players, as it used to be.

We're doing the interview the day after the Barça elections. What's your take on it?

— Joan Laporta's drive and charisma are unbeatable in circumstances like these, and the debates showed that in a one-on-one setting, no one can surpass his communication skills. After the work he has done over these five years, the Barça members – who are very conservative – have opted for continuity because they highly value what Laporta has accomplished.

So, are these good results for the club?

— Yes, these are good results for the club. I already said that what we should avoid, apart from the dirty tricks, which unfortunately have occurred, is that every time there are elections and a head-to-head contest, the club becomes socially fragmented. And I think that these results, rather than fragmenting the club, will unite it more because they give Laporta the legitimacy to govern comfortably. Furthermore, we mustn't forget that this is Laporta's last term, that he has managed to win three elections very clearly, and that after this term he will not be able to run again. This gives him a legitimacy that he surely wouldn't have had without much closer results.

Which Barça president has made it the most difficult for you?

— I've had a good relationship with most of the Barça presidents. I can't complain in that regard.

And what about hobbies?

— I've never run so fast in my life as I did that day when, leaving the Palau Blaugrana, I was attacked by the "morenos" [Nunya's praetorian guard, nicknamed for their sunbathing all day]. And also during the final of a game at Joventut Badalona's arena, where Jordi Robirosa and I were surrounded in the press box. We didn't leave until a pair of police officers came to protect us. We left the Penya arena like criminals. Things need to be toned down. Sport is important, but it's not the ultimate goal. As Valdano said, football is, of all the important things, the least important.

At that moment, do you suffer or are you part of the grace of it all?

— No, no: you suffer. When you see a hundred people surrounding the transmission booth... it's not exactly fun!

But, despite everything, have you ever thought: listen, I'm retiring to the comfort of an office, of the newsroom.

— No, no. That would be giving in. I like to keep things moving, and I've always thought I should maintain the tone and the line that I believe should be maintained.

Speaking of basketball, Barça has gone from having a more or less guaranteed spot in the Final Four to not knowing this year if they'll even make it. playoffWhat future do you foresee for the section?

— I foresee a bright future for him, given that he's part of this project for a future European division of the NBA. And a European NBA wouldn't be the same without Barça, as the major brand it is. The economic situation is critical, and cuts have been necessary. I think they should do what they do in football and look back to developing young talent, because Barça's golden age, like Joventut's in its time, was when they retained homegrown talent: Epi, Solozábal, Sibilio, De la Cruz, and company, always reinforced by a good pair of foreign players. Now, Barça is constantly signing new foreign players whose names you can't even remember. The problem is that when a player with even a little talent emerges, they quickly take him to the United States. This has happened, for example, to Joventut.

Two years ago you publicly revealed your Parkinson's diagnosis in an interview with Albert Om on LA ARA. Has explaining the diagnosis, which you had kept hidden for eight years, changed your life?

— I'm glad I made my Parkinson's diagnosis public, not for myself, but to help raise awareness of the disease. And that has been the driving force behind this book. When I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I knew practically nothing beyond the iconic image of my great sporting idol, Muhammad Ali, at the Atlanta Olympics, with that torch about to light the cauldron, his hands trembling. I felt compelled to give it maximum visibility, as many Parkinson's patients had asked me to do. This is my fight right now, and I'm convinced that we will win this battle too.

Sometimes, health setbacks like these make you re-evaluate your life, and sometimes in a positive light. Has that ever happened to you?

— Above all, it has led me to realize that life is very beautiful, that we have to fight for it, try to make the best of it, and above all I fight so that the disease does not affect me in my day-to-day life.

What idea would you like to change or convey about what many people have about the disease?

— Josep Ramon Correal, who was the director of the Tarragona newspaper, told me, "Lluís, we won't die of Parkinson's, but we'll die with Parkinson's." I keep reminding myself of this to try to make the disease more bearable, so it doesn't affect my daily life and I can live a normal life until a cure is finally discovered. It surprises and amazes me that a cure for Parkinson's hasn't been found yet. My neurologist tells me to be patient, to try to keep the disease from progressing beyond its natural course, and to hope that a cure will be discovered within three or four years. All I would ask is that many media outlets that focus on other things dedicate themselves to researching these diseases.

What is your daily routine like, if you'd like to talk about it?

— My day-to-day life is normal: I already said I was retiring, but I wasn't leaving, so I'm still involved in my collaborations, and that means I have to keep up with the latest sports news, football, Barça... It keeps me busy! And I really enjoyed writing this book together with Víctor Lavagnini.

You'll be seventy next January. Will you still be working, then?

— I will continue working as long as I feel strong, motivated, and eager to do so.

And do you have them, all three things?

— Just yesterday I was up until the early hours of the morning following the Barça elections and receiving so much affection from everyone. Honestly, all this recognition fills me with joy.

Earlier you mentioned being friends with the players. Is it possible to do news journalism and, at the same time, cultivate friendships in the locker room?

— I practiced a type of journalism that many now miss, which we could call community journalism. I had a close relationship with athletes, but they always knew I was a journalist, and that anything they might tell me, unless it was in a... off the recordI could use it. Aíto García Reneses would tell me: "You take advantage of your friendship with the players!" And I would tell him: "Yes, but Aíto, that's not easy. It's not a friendship that's given freely, but one that's earned, because if you let them down one day, you've lost it."

And what was the way to do it?

— One of the things that used to foster a close connection with athletes was going out at night. Now, people don't go out at night like they used to. It's also true that I don't go out at night like I used to—I mean, I never go out at night! But before, you'd go out at night and go to trendy places like Up&Down, Metamorfosis, Fibra Óptica... and you'd always run into an athlete.

This has been lost...

— These days, athletes go out less and have private parties at home because, with all the cell phone cameras around, going out at night is risky for them. They could get caught in compromising situations. The close relationship we had with athletes back in my day was essential. We'd go out at night, and there you could gain access to a certain level of privacy and exclusive news about them.

Outings due to work obligations, or did you already enjoy it?

— No, no, I went out because I was more into the party than the players themselves. Now, there was a colleague from the newspaper. Sport who boasted of going out every night of the year.

My God. And how is he?

— We already buried the poor man.