Barcelona To MLS: Meet Our Demands

Thought to be one of the leading contenders for expansion in 2011, FC Barcelona's efforts to land a team in Miami have become exceedingly brash, arrogant, and uncompromising in recent days. This past week, FCB club president Juan Laporta even handed down an ultimatum to the league, saying that Major League Soccer officials should allow their new club to begin play a year early in 2010 or risk losing the offer forever."It's now or never," said Laporta. "We're not interested in waiting two years when we can have the stadium ready tomorrow."

Those sentiments were echoed by Marcelo Claure, the Bolivian businessman who is partnering up with Barcelona in an attempt to bring MLS back to southern Florida for the first time since 2001.

"We have the No. 1 soccer brand in the world, we have the money, we have a stadium ready to go that is comfortable for what we need," Claure suggested. "I will be very disappointed if they don't give us a chance. I feel confident in this bid, and I am acting and planning as if we are going to have a team in 2010."

Claure has another meeting scheduled with league officials later this month, with the focus on convincing commissioner Don Garber and other MLS owners that a professional American soccer club can be successful in a city like Miami, which saw the Fusion fold back in 2001, in part due to low attendance and interest.

"No, Miami is not like Chicago, where people support the team whether they are in first place or last, but if you put a good show on, people in Miami will come," stated Claure. "They put Cirque du Soleil in Miami for $150 a ticket, and they had to add additional shows. Miami people are very picky, but if there's a first-class product, they'll pay, and there is no better style of soccer than what Barcelona plays. We will be their sister team, and we will be entertaining."