A career that was probably one of its kind and unparalleled in
many ways has been that of Josef “Pep” Guardiola. With 13 out of the possible
19 trophies in 4 seasons, he has packed his trophy cabinet with all the
prestigious titles that club football has to offer.
Being a former Spanish and FC Barcelona player himself, he
took over as Manager of FC Barcelona in 2008 succeeding Frank Rijkaard and has
since then achieved with the club things that all football managers in the
world can only dream of achieving a span of 4 years.
In his first season as manager, Barcelona won the treble of
La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola
became the youngest UEFA Champions League-winning manager ever. The following
season, Guardiola and Barcelona won the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super
Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum
of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing the first ever
sextuple.
The term ‘Beautiful Barca’ was coined due to the quality of
the attacking, aesthetically-pleasing football that flowered at Barcelona under
his tutelage this will forever define Pep Guardiola as one of the best in the
world. What he has offered to all the fans and followers of the game is a visual treat, smooth, quick and fantastic football. But as is said, that all good things must come to an end, so has Pep
Guardiola’s time at FC Barcelona.
On 27 April 2012, Guardiola announced he would quit as
Barcelona manager on 30 June, 2012. He stated he was experiencing severe
physical and mental stress, and he left the team's management to his
second-in-charge and good friend Tito Vilanova.
The brilliance of the man is showcased in how he was able to
keep a constant hunger within the team and at the same time get them to play
with the beauty and fluency with which FC Barcelona has played over the last
four years. When he took over in 2008, he has assured Lionel Messi that under
his tutelage, Messi would score at least 3-4 goals every game. And how right he
was! Messi has over the seasons become the best player not just in the La Liga
but also all over the world.
Lionel Messi is just one such talent. There are a bunch of
other players whose careers have been rejuvenated by this man. He has redefined
the very meaning of playing beautiful football. There have been games in which
FC Barcelona have lost, but they have lost as well in style. It’s very rare to
see the losing team enjoy 70% and above ball possession. This has been the
beauty of his game-play. No matter what the outcome of the game has been, his
team has always enjoyed more than 70% of ball possession. He has redefined the term dominance.
Here’s a look at his overall achievement at FC Barcelona. 3
La Liga titles, 2008-09 , 09-10 , 10-11. Three Spanish Super Cups in 2009, 10
and 11. Two Champions League titles in, 2008-09 , 10-11. Two FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2011. Two UEFA Super Cups in 2009 and 2011. One Copa del Rey title in
2008-09.
What will be interesting to watch now is where the Catalans giants will go from here. There’s no doubt that Pep has set about a culture in
Barcelona that will only be taken forward by the Managers who will succeed him.
But the question of everybody’s mind is, when this brilliant statistician
returns to football and rest assured that he will, where he will be headed to?
This is something that only Pep can answer.
Having said that, let us take a moment and pay tribute to Pep Guardiola, the man who redefined the face of Spanish football. Adiós
Pep, que se perdió
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