Barcelona paid an emotional tribute to departing Pep Guardiola after the Spaniard confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season.
Key stars of the first team, including club captain Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas watched Guardiola deliver his farewell speech at the Nou Camp, applauding him after announcing an end to his glorious trophy-laden four-year era
Barcelona also revealed that Guardiola's No 2 Tito Vilanova will take over the managerial reigns next season.
'I would like you to understand that this is not an easy decision for me. But I would like to explain my reasons for this decision,' said Guardiola.
'I have always wanted short-term contracts. Four years is an eternity as Barca coach. In the month of October I announced to the president and to the sporting director that I thought my spell was coming to an end.The main reason why I have taken this decision is because four years is many years.
'I have given everything and I have nothing left and need to recharge my batteries.
'The demands have been great and I have not been able to rest much. I have to recover and the only way I can do that is by distancing myself. Otherwise, we would have ended up damaging each other.
'I know that I'm leaving the best place to work in. I am very satisfied with the result we have achieved. I have had the great privilege of coaching fantastic players. I want to thank them.'At the same press conference, Barca president Sandro Rosell announced Vilanova would step up into the top job.
Sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta felt promoting from within, as they did with Guardiola, was the best way forward.
He said: 'We've always said that if the team needs players, we look at home first (Barca B). Who do we have here at home? Tito.'
The move to name a replacement so swiftly was a surprise with speculation in Spain linking the likes of Ernesto Valverde, Laurent Blanc and Marcelo Bielsa with the position once it became clear Guardiola was heading for the exit.
Guardiola's decision comes after a bad week for the Catalan giants following their midweek Champions League exit to Chelsea and their La Liga title collapse after last Saturday's defeat to Real Madrid.
The 41-year-old said it would have been a 'bad idea' to continue, sparking a scramble for his services this summer, placing the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City on alert.
Guardiola's contract was due to expire at the end of June and he informed the players at training today that he would not be extending his stay at the Nou Camp.
Written by CODED-ish
We are Creative Blogger Theme Wavers which provides user friendly, effective and easy to use themes. Each support has free and providing HD support screen casting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment