The nice words of Barça's last lifesaver

Barcelona"I'm lucky to know the suppliers I should know. And I don't know this one." This statement is from one of the many Barça employees who attended the Sports Tomorrow Congress on Tuesday, the conference that the club is organizing at the Mobile World Congress. There were just a few minutes left before the start of the talk by Ruslan Birladeanu, the founder of the company that is to develop the Barça Mobile telecommunications operator, and this Barça employee, with more information and context than most of the attendees, did not convey too many guarantees about what the audience was about to hear about the League in the framework of the the slides to register Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor.

Birladeanu wore the same outfit he had worn on the opening day of the MWC. A dark blue suit, a tie in Barça colours and a pin with the club's crest on his lapel. Standing next to him, with a more tense expression than his father, Andrei Birladeanu, who has also done business with the entity in recent months, He was wearing a Barça scarf. But only Ruslan went up on stage to try to explain, in English that was almost elementary, what the project consists of that has earned him the title of "world leader in connectivity and infrastructure integration" by Barça despite not having any previous experience accredited on any official channel. He was accompanied by Bryan Bachner, head of Barça Vision, and Miriam Ferrando, the club's CIO.

There was anticipation to hear Birladeanu's explanations. Dozens of professionals from the sector, specialist journalists and general media were ready to collect the reflections of the telecommunications expert. There was also a large screen that speakers on other topics had used to detail and organise their presentations. However, the Moldovan businessman's presentation was staged as a talk led by Bachner, with a single transparency – the initial one, with the faces and positions of the participants – and few technical details in a context that was precisely propitious for having offered them. "I need more time to talk about technology. We are just starting to build. The surprises will come," Birladeanu replied when Bachner asked him, who at times seemed to ask more than his interlocutor could answer. As if he were not an accomplice.

Xavi's unfortunate memo at a Barça event

"There are millions of fans who love Barça and who will be able to stay connected to the club through Barça Mobile," repeated the new Barça supplier several times, hired behind the back of the club's commercial department and provided only with a tablet so as not to lose the thread of his empty explanations at the MWC. "Barça is the symbol of Barcelona and we will give those who visit the city the opportunity to connect with the club," said Birladeanu, who did not provide any previous experience in the implementation of 5G technology in venues for thousands of people similar to the future Camp Nou. "The stadium means energy, connection. Barça Mobile must feed the feeling that Barça is a family," proclaimed the Moldovan businessman, who also did not detail what synergies he will weave with MasOrange, the company that will allow the Espai Barça to satisfy the connectivity needs of the members, fans and tourists who frequent it.

Birladeanu, who also admits to having paid 28 million through the newly created company New Era Visionary Group (with an Iberian subsidiary domiciled in a conventional apartment in Sant Andreu) to help Barça register Olmo by selling seats VIP, he left the stage to incredulous applause. Then, with the strict escort of a friendly employee of the entity's communications who had the sole objective of not speaking to any journalist, he disappeared with his son among the immense sea of screens, buttons, megabits, jackets and food on plastic trays at the MWC.

After this talk, and among other innovative proposals, Christian Theil, CEO and founder of Turfcoach, a German company that was able to bid to implement AI to maintain the grass at the new Camp Nou, presented his project with the support of some memes of Xavi Hernández, former coach and former player. The images, with the Egarense with grass on his head and driving a lawnmower, generated some uncomfortable laughter in the auditorium. In recent years they have become famous on the networks for making fun of Xavi's obsession with wet and well-cut grass. Turfcoach is developing a technology with sensors that provide data on the state of the green and contribute to saving energy for its correct conservation. In view of the fuss generated, the company has issued a statement to LinkedIN apologising to the coach from Terrassa: "Turfcoach does not work for Barça. We have never wanted to ridicule Xavi. If that may have caused him any offence, we apologise."