Barcelona: President of FC Barcelona Sandro Rossell on Friday confirmed that Pep Guardiola will step down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. Guardiola's departure after winning 13 trophies as coach, including three La Liga and two Champions Leagues titles, will sadden many beyond the club and its supporters.
He might be able to lift his fourteenth trophy this month in the shape of the Copa del Rey. Puyol, Xavi, Valdes, Pique, Cesc, Pedro and others were in the audience when the announcement was made. Barcelona have also confirmed that Tito Vilanova will become the new head coach. He was previously Guardiola's assistant.
Sandro Rossell, said: "Pep Guardiola will not continue after the end of this season at Barcelona. The maturity of this decision and how we announce this decision has to be the basis of the future of the club. Thank you very much for everything you have added to the club. Thank you for having perfected one of the styles well-renowned in world football. Our style will never ever be questioned and we will continue this style.
"He has done it in a very valid way following the values of Barcelona, those that define the club. Thank you for all the work and your love. The things he has done will be eternal for the best coach in the history of the club."
Guardiola's decision ends a difficult week for the team that saw it exit the Champions League semi-finals to Chelsea following a loss to Real Madrid which will likely cost it a fourth straight Spanish title.
"I'm very sorry for all of the uncertainty I created over this time over my future, maybe that was an error of mine," Guardiola said. "I didn't mean to create this kind of mood."
"We leave too many things together, too many strong things together, to actually run the risk that this goes wrong. I know where I am going, I know it's the best possible place, it's a privileged place, but it's my time to go. "I am satisfied beyond the results about the way how we have done them together. I want to thank especially to my players who have been responsible for everything here and it's been a great privilege to train them."
"Those who are here today and have been in the last 4 years, I have tried to do my job with a lot of passion but I want to thank the players. "It's been a million more games since they made it a reality. Day by day they made it possible and that's such a huge privilege," he added.
"I'm going to recover myself. A friend of mine called me five years ago about being the coach of the B-team and I started jumping like a little kid but time moves on, then I had a chance to take the first-team. That chance to take the A-team was unbelievable and I need to recover that, that feeling. Time has taken its toll. It arrives one day where I just don't feel the same, where I don't feel like the coach of Barcelona should feel."
Comments
0 comment