Thursday 26 April 2012

Barcelona all Pepped Out


Reports tonight are indicating that Pep Guardiola is set to leave Barcelona when his contract expires at the end of the season. 

The move comes after the 41-year-old saw his dream of becoming the first coach to retain the Champions League disappear on Tuesday when his team were beaten by Chelsea over two legs – in a result that went totally against all pre-match prognoses. 

With La Liga now handed to Real Madrid after last weekend's El Clasico defeat, Guardiola is set to call time on his four-year reign at around 12pm local time on Friday, after Pep held a three-hour meeting with Barcelona president Sandro Rosell on Thursday.

At that meeting the manager made it clear he planned to step down. It has been widely assumed he will take a break from the game. 

And so he should. 

On hearing the news Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will no doubt pull out all the stops to tempt him to Stamford Bridge, as Guardiola remains a top target for the club, despite Roberto Di Matteo enjoying success as caretaker manager. 

Manchester City would also be interested in luring him to England if Roberto Mancini fails to land the Premier League title. 

But the major question remains. Why would Guardiola move to Chelsea which has proved the graveyard of many an excellent managerial reputation in the past few years. 

In fact nine in just over a decade with three of the appointments not even lasting a year: Avram Grant, Luiz Scolari and Andre Villas Boas. 

During the same at Barcelona the influence has been mostly Dutch with the last incumbent – Frank Rijkaard – leaving after winning 2 La Liga titles and a Champions trophy in his five year residence. 

On his departure Josep Guardiola then stepped up from his role as  Barca B manager and has gone on to become the most successful coach in the club's illustrious history, building on the strength of an academy system producing the likes of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi.. 

During the past four seasons Guardiola has secured two Champions League crowns, three La Liga trophies, one Copa del Rey, three Supercopas, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups. 

In the Premier League where beauty is sacrificed for grit and determination, with a surplus of  route 1 strikers, is Guardiola going to have the same impact. Or match the success? 

A question that will not be answered over the comings days

But speaking after the game with Chelsea on Tuesday, Guardiola was all about Barca:  'I will speak with Tito [Vilanova, assistant manager] and see what we have to do. 

'Right now, we need to talk more about the emotion of our players and how they recover because there are many players that have been playing a long time. 

'We have to go to Rayo Vallecano [this weekend]. We are still Barca. We have to continue doing things as we usually do them. 

'So we will talk to the president as well and we will talk about everything - the situation what happened in these days and of course we will take a decision because it is time to take a decision now.' 

Guardiola stepped up from Barca B manager to first-team boss in 2008 and has gone on to become the most successful coach in the club's illustrious history. 

He will have the chance to add another next month when his side take on Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final in Madrid. 

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