Friday, May 09, 2008

Confirmed: Goodbye Frank, hello Pep!

It is done. Pep Guardiola will be next season's coach, although the future Barça has been preparing for months now with Txiki Beguiristain, Fc Barcelona technical manager. This has been a very personal desition of Laporta and he may face a lot of criticism for not choosing a more experienced coach, like Laudrup or Mourinho.

Rijkaard leaves two Ligas (2005 and 2006) and a Champions League in 2006 (the club's second). He was one of the icons of the renovation that Joan Laporta, Barça's president took after winning the elections in 2003.

As a player, Guardiola won six Ligas and also Barcelona's first Champions League. As a coach, he has minimal experience, being only Fc Barcelona second team coach for this season. We hope his confidence on directing a team on the field will translate while at the bench, being one of the most intelligent players ever to play Barça or any other team. Hello Pep and Good Luck! Let the offensive soccer rule again at Nou Camp.


Related links:

-Rijkaard to leave Barcelona post (via BBC SPORT)
-Rijkaard until 30th June; Guardiola to take over (via FcBarcelona.cat)
-Laporta confirma que Pep Guardiola relevará a Rijkaard (via Lavanguardia.es)

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

GUARDIOLA TO REPLACE RIJKAARD



Rijkaard won't be at FcBarcelona next year. It's not official, as the season technically hasn't end yet, but all the press it's already talking about the newcomers. My preference would be a seasoned coach with a taste for ataccking soccer, something you don't find everyday.

Read at itv.com and everywhere on the net:
Reports emanating in Spain have revealed that Josep Guardiola will replace Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona coach in the summer.