Thank You Pep!

Well, it’s official. Josep “Pep” Guardiola will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Even though we all knew it was bound to happen, the fact that it will finally happen surprised us all. So Pep leaves but the question of who will replace was swiftly taken care of after it was announced that his assistant, Tito Vilanova, was going to take over. That was another surprise but a pleasant one. So Pep leaves us but this does not mean the end of an era. In the end, thank you Pep for four wonderful unforgettable years that made us Cules proud.

When FC Barcelona announced that Pep was going to return to the club to coach the B team, I was thrilled. An icon like Pep should always be involved with the club. When Rijkaard started losing the plot, I thought it was time for Pep to replace him ahead of the Semi-finals clash against Manchester United. Sadly, that never happened but it was announced afterwards that Pep was going to replace Rijkaard for the upcoming season and I was elated.


There’s no need to go through what he has done over the years. He has battled through many coaching battles and had his share of success and minor disappointments. We all knew Pep was the right man to steer the ship back on course and that he did and then some. This past week was a tough week on all of us Cules. The two recent games against Chelsea with an El Clásico sandwiched in between were reminiscent of what Pep faced in his first season. Back then, his side played to a scoreless draw at the Camp Nou before going to Madrid to pull off the impressive 6-2 win before punching their ticket to the 2009 Champions League Final in Rome with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge.

This year was different. Barça were the hunters, not the ones hunted. Barça were not league leaders and also lost to Chelsea in the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Back then, they had to get the job done away. This year, they had to win their next two at the Camp Nou. Sadly, they lost to Real Madrid at home and then squandered a 2-0 lead to Chelsea and crashed out of the Champions League following a 2-2 draw. Thus, their league and Champions League aspirations came to a crashing halt.

Pep then said he would make a final decision if he would come back. The signs were there that he was going to come back. The club had decided not to have a summer tour, which Pep was never a fan of, to give the players some rest. Additionally, the fixture next season would be more relaxed and it’s no coincidence that Pep’s two Champions League titles came in the years where there was no International tournament going on in the summer that saw most of his players involved in. There was talk that Pep realized he needed a bigger squad and would get some more players. So, when word leaked out on Thursday that he would leave, I was shocked.

This season was tough on Pep. Summer tour where the team played in three countries along with games in Monaco and Japan was tough on his players. He also was not impressed with the league having different standards regarding officiating and their lack of back bone in disciplining the bad actions of others. You also know he wasn’t too pleased when some at the club were criticizing the officiating to the media while he was saying he doesn’t talk about referees.

Ultimately, Pep basically said he was burned out and needed to step away. For that, I commend him. Guardiola was never going to be Barça’s version of Alex Ferguson. The man loves life and loves to explore. He played in Italy, Qatar and Mexico after he left Barça and there was always talk that he wanted to coach in Italy and England. Everyone believes he will take a year off before he decides what to do. Will he coach Spain at the next World Cup in Brazil? Will he replace Alex Ferguson at Manchester United? Will he coach in Milan for either side? That’s the luxury of being Pep; he can pick and choose where to go next.



Of course, the news that Pep was going to step down after this season does not mean it is the end of an era. Nothing could be farther than the truth. The decision to appoint Tito Vilanova was a great move and I have to admit that Barça president Sandro Rosell got it right. I don’t agree with a lot of things that Rosell does but I have no problem admitting he did the right thing. I was worried how the players would respond to a new manager. Bielsa was the popular choice to replace Pep but he is considered a bit of an odd ball, hence the nickname “El Loco”. Valverde never coached a big club in Spain while Blanc was a good name but was he ready to manage Barça? André Villas-Boas was another candidate but the way things went sour for him in Chelsea probably made it soon. I even had doubts about one of my all-time favorite Barça players, Luis Enrique, replacing Pep. His first go at a top managerial position with Roma has been mixed and his recent behavior with the Italian press made me question how he would cope with the pressure of managing Barça.

Fortunately, Rosell put an end to all the guessing when he surprised us all with the news that Tito would replace Pep. I was surprised because I never thought he was the type that wanted the job as he seemed happy to be Pep’s right hand man. Fortunately for all of us, Tito accepted and will be running the show next season. That was the best choice since all the players know him and he also knows the player so there wouldn’t be that awkward phase of both getting to know each other. Only concern will be how Tito handles the spotlight now especially with the media.

But it’s not an end to an era. A change at the helm does not signify the end of an era. Ajax Amsterdam showed us that when they went on to win two consecutive Champions League titles under Ștefan Kovács after Rinus Michels left to manage Barça after guiding Ajax to their first Champions League title. Milan showed us that when Fabio Capello replaced Arrgio Sacchi and went on to win four league titles and guided them to two Champions League finals which he won in his second final against Cruyff’s Dream Team in 1993-1994. I agrred with this comment - "Hopefully Tito Vilanova will become Barça's Fabio Capello to Pep's Arrigo Sacchi", as one reader commented on Sid Lowe's piece about Pep stepping down.

Now some would argue that those managers were replaced by other managers and not their assistants. Well, Liverpool managed to show that it can be down. After the legendary Bill Shankly stepped down, because he too was exhausted with the demands, his assistant Bob Paisley. Liverpool had won three league titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup during Shankly’s era and Paisley went on to win an astonishing six league titles, one UEFA Cup and an incredible 3 Champions League titles. Consequentially, when Bob Paisley stepped down, his replacement was another assistant, Joe Fagan who went on to win another league title and a Champions League title. He would later step down while current Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish took over to win additional league titles. Could we see that with Xavi?

Liverpool's Paisley and Shankly

We have been truly blessed to have Pep as our manager. He not only came to the team’s rescue but he inspired this team to become world giants. His era will be remembered along with the other giants of football such as Ajax and Bayern of the 70s, Sacchi’s Milan, Real Madrid of the 50’s and others mentioned in this column. His last remaining games should be enjoyed by the fans with the Copa final as his final chance to add to his impressive tally. The future is now in the hands of Tito Vilanova and we hope that he and the players continue to make us Cules proud of our team and continue to succeed.

Pep to Tito - A passing of the torch

So thank you Pep for sacrificing four years of your life to manage this team the way you have. It was no easy achievement given the history of the club when it comes to managers. You gave it your best and rewarded us Cules with four wonderful unforgettable seasons. You were not only a manager but deep down; you also coached the team as a fan and a player. We have seen you grow up with the club as a ball boy, a young player and mature as a leader on the pitch and off of it. You deserve a break and hope you get to enjoy it and then come back to football. I hope that this is not a goodbye but more of see you again soon. Gracias Pep!

Vital Two Games Await Barça!

A lot of people had to be disappointed with Barça’s result yesterday in London. They wasted their chances and could not make Chelsea pay for their mistakes. However, Barça paid the price when they were punished for what was their only mistake in the match that allowed Drogba to score.  Barça will now host Real Madrid on Saturday and then Chelsea on Tuesday. The season for Barça comes down to two must win games in the Camp Nou in less than a week. Their quest for another treble can result in the quest for Copa del Rey.

The 1-0 defeat was a huge disappointment. The game was there for Barça to win. They had faced this type of opposition before. At times, they had been successful and at times they had not. Alexis and Pedro hitting the woodwork, Barça’s worst nemesis this season, coupled with Alexis, Cesc and Busquets missing what appeared to be great scoring chances can only make you wonder “what if”. , Barça paid the price when they were punished for what was their only mistake of the game after Messi, obviously still suffering from a slight injury, lost possession which resulted in Drogba scoring.  Their first leg result was a bitter disappointment. However, Pep and his men cannot dwell too much on it because they have El Clásico on Saturday to prepare for before facing Chelsea again.

If this seems familiar to you, then it should. This is exactly 2008-2009 all over again. Barça faced Chelsea twice with an El Clásico sandwiched in between. Barça also suffered a disappointing result against Chelsea after their scoreless first leg draw at the Camp Nou before playing Real Madrid and Chelsea again. They also had a Cope del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao to look forward to. Quite eerie indeed and it seems that the treble season is flashing before our eyes again.

The one big difference is that unlike the treble season, Barça will have to get it done at home. Back then, their big games took place away in Madrid and away in London. Barça destroyed Madrid 2-6 to give it some extra breathing room in their quest for the league title and then Iniesta’s goal in the dying seconds ensured Barça would advance by away goals to the Champions League final and effectively create a huge surge in births in Barcelona nine months later.

Barça are in a somewhat familiar situation with the sole difference being that there is no road trip.  These next two games at the Camp Nou are vital must win games. Barça’s chances of winning the Spanish league rests with a victory over their arch rivals. Barça’s chance of winning the Champions League rests with a victory over Chelsea. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Winning those games does not mean that they clinched titles; just that they are a step closer.

 

Of course the big question is can they do it? Saturday’s big game will be the first time Madrid have played a league game at the Camp Nou since the 5-0 victory which feels like it took place ages ago but it was in fact just last season. The Chelsea loss was tough but it’s not the end of the world. Barça previously played Chelsea back in the 1999-2000 Champions League Quarter-finals. Pep, Xavi and Puyol were part of that team that lost the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-1. They hosted Chelsea in the second leg and defeated them 5-1, in extra time, to advance to the Semi-Finals. So it’s not over by any means. Another example is when Juventus lost their first leg Semi-Final away to Real Madrid before eliminating them in Italy with a victory back in 2002-2003. So a loss away is not the end of the world. There’s still a second leg to be played.

 

Hopefully the players learned from this bitter loss that you cannot be impotent in front of the goal. Messi is amazing but he cannot do it all on his own and others have to step it up. One costly mistake is enough to eliminate your chances at silverware. I also hope Pep abandons the idea of Iniesta as a left winger and starts him in the midfield where he belongs with Cesc relegated to the bench again. The season is coming to an end and Barça can easily compete for all three titles and can also lose all three this season. Nothing has been decided yet but these next two upcoming home games might cause them to be out of the running for at least two of the three titles.

 

Book Review - Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World.

February saw the release of the much anticipated book about FC Barcelona’s current team, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, by Graham Hunter. The book delves into how the current team managed by Guardiola took on the world and became one of the best teams in world and perhaps one of the best ever. The book is a must have for Barça fans who will not be disappointed by Mr. Hunter’s well researched and insightful book.
Barça fans have been blessed to witness the great achievements made by the current Barcelona team ever since Guardiola took over the helm of the first team. However, the same fans have lamented the fact that we have not seen many books in English that talked about FC Barcelona this past decade. In fact, there haven’t been that many books about FC Barcelona in English at all. For many of us Barça fans, Jimmy Burns’s Book, Barça: A People's Passion, was the only book that talked about the history of the club up to the year 2000.
Much has changed in these past 12 years but not much had been written about it. Many fans longed for a follow up to Mr. Burns’s book and it’s safe to say that Mr. Hunter has done just that. Even though many of us consider sequels to be inferior to the original, it is safe to say that this book is a great book .The book gives us the good, the bad and the ugly that has transpired at the club during the reign of former presidents Gaspart and Laporta and current president Rosell.

To many Cules, Graham Hunter is a recognizable name thanks to his work on Revista De La Liga program for Sky Sports, his columns for ESPN Soccernet and UEFA along with his duties serving as online match text commentary for UEFA on their website. Now, some would accuse Mr. Hunter of being a closet Cule but the Scotsman is an Aberdeen fan who happens to live in Barcelona and admires the club. Fortunately for us Barça fans, as a result of his hard work, this great reporter has given us a great book.

Like I stated before, this book looks back at how the club had fallen during the Gaspart times, then risen under Laporta before suffering a slight dip before Guardiola came in and ushered a new era. Mr. Hunter gives us the lowdown on Guardiola’s career as a player at and away from Barcelona and what he has accomplished as a manager. He also gives us an insight on most of the starting players’ past, such as Xavi, Iniesta and Messi and what it cost them to climb through the ranks before finally becoming valued starters. Mr. Hunter also provides us with a great understanding on how the club has used La Masia to its advantage. On top of it, Mr. Hunter reveals unknown gems such as what Pique had to go through to recover the nets after the World Cup Final in South Africa, which world class starters almost were loaned out to other clubs early into their Barça careers, the bad deeds of former players that caused their exit and just how close the club was to signing Mourinho as Rijkaard’s replacement and why they opted not to, which could explain Mourinho’s with Barcelona right now.

Is this book better than Jimmy Burns’s book? That’s not a fair question to ask. They are both must-have great books with each serving a purpose for us die hard Cules. One covers the history of the club and the other picks up right where the last book left off and given us an amazing breakdown of what the club, Guardiola and the players have went through over the years. The book is over 400 pages and you can’t put it down once you start reading. There are people who have already read the book twice and I plan on doing that again in the future. Even more impressive is the design of the paperback which makes it easy to read without destroying or bending the cover or the book itself.

The book is available in both paperback and eBook formats and can be bought on Amazon and from the publishers. I was fortunate enough to buy one last month from the publishers, BackPage Press, which was signed by Mr. Hunter himself. I recently contacted the publishers and they informed me that they were running low on signed copies. So if you are interested in getting a signed copy, I was just informed that they no longer have any signed books for sale. However, if you are interested in purchasing a copy, then please contact the publishers at backpage@backpagepress.co.uk as soon as possible.

Overall, this is a must have book for all Cules who will not be disappointed. Finally, a book for us Cules to enjoy and relive the joy of the success that Guardiola and the players have given us over the years. Also, if I may be so bold to suggest that if Mr. Hunter is ever in Miami, he would be a fine candidate to be made an honorary member of the Miami Penya. Buy this book because you won’t regret it.