39 responses so far ↓

• FCB // May 5, 2008 at 23:25

  do u guys think he will be a good coach? i dont know much about him…..

• ae // May 5, 2008 at 23:26

  To me better choice than Laudrup, but does he have what it takes to make a team champions? I really hope so.

  BTW. Very fast information leakage from club is becoming like some sort of a tradition now. Looks like it is out there before even people in the club knows that.

• Piotrek // May 5, 2008 at 23:49

  better than Laudrup? Oh c’mon ,who is pep? His a 4th league team coach.
  He has no experience with adults.Having in mind ,we could have Mou, Laporta should sack himself if Pep wont succeed.
  Pep is unnecessary risk :(.

• bobkat // May 6, 2008 at 0:03

  it had to be someone from within the club … laudrup while a good choice (as a coach) is a difficult one to make because of the way and quickness for which he left for madrid (when there were other clubs who were knocking) … pep will probably deal well with the players as he was captain for both barca and the national team … and he’s catalan … there are a lot of reasons for picking a coach, and sometimes the staff you have is just as important as the coach himself. A good example would be ten cate, and his influence on barca from 2004-2006.

• blaugranafan // May 6, 2008 at 0:11

  Piotrek is right. Pep is an unnecessary risk at this point. I’m sure there are people who will point to Rijkaard’s relative inexperience prior to becoming Barca’s head coach as a way of justifying Pep’s appointment. But let’s remember that Rijkaard at least took the Dutch national team to the Euro 2000 semifinal. There’s a big difference between doing that and earning promotion with a very talented team playing in the segundas.

  Pep may be a good choice someday, but there are other candidates available who are better suited for the Barca job *right now.*

• FCB // May 6, 2008 at 0:16

  my dads friend works in an embassy in madrid and he is friends with laporta! my dad talked to him 2day and he told me that he talked to laporta and he said that he is really close friends with rijkaard and he doesnt want him to leave but he is being pressured to find another coach…..they considered mourinho at first but mourinho didnt want to coach if he couldnt bring all of his assistants with him to barcelona so they didnt agree cuz of that so now they want guardiola.

• blaugranafan // May 6, 2008 at 0:20

  Why shouldn’t a coach be allowed to hire his own coaching staff?

• FCB // May 6, 2008 at 0:21

  i dont know, its wrong…but i believe hes just using that as an excuse….they never wanted mourinho in the first place

• Varughese // May 6, 2008 at 4:58

  Those who came with a great coaching reputation have always failed in Barcelona, so this might turn out as a better choice.

• morzzan // May 6, 2008 at 5:29

  I dont want to sound distasteful but doesnt experience matter? Strategies and tactics can be made only through lots of experience, this move however contradicts the entire idea. Like someone else said earlier, its an unnecessary risk, and worse case scenario, ‘changes in coaching’. Like Madrid did earlier this decade, that is worse than probably anything that can happen. I think he might find it difficult to manage a dressing room with so many stars and such less experience in handling a similar situation.
  Lets hope he is good.

• morzzan // May 6, 2008 at 5:41

  FCbarcelona.cat just said that Toure will be available for the game against Madrid………..

• Youssef Gazia // May 6, 2008 at 5:47

  After a few months of bad results from Laudrup, he will be remembred to be a tratoir. I think its a good decision considiring that he will know how to treat millonair football players.

• Joe Henry // May 6, 2008 at 6:08

  I’m sure he is a good coach but its the time i worried about. Barca fans want trophies fast. They will push him insult him on every lose. If Frank the coach that gave us 2 outstanding seasons, we give him a very hard time, Needless to say I give him a real hard time. As for the so cold “leaker” well, I think it is done of purpose to tell the Barca fans in way also to say its not for sure we are still thinking about it. You can’t tell a coach your fired before one of the biggest games in the League. I wouldn’t worry to much Nic !

• Joe Henry // May 6, 2008 at 6:13

  Nic What do you think about him is he good ?

• Shahenshah // May 6, 2008 at 6:47

  You know Barcelona loves to take risks like that. Anyone remember Rijkaard leading Dutch club sparta to relegation in his first season as a club coach? I am pretty sure many Barca fans felt it was a risky move to grant Rijkaard the managerial position after what he had done in the Eridivise yet still Barcelona went with their choice and it all worked out. Rijkaard had Ronaldinho and together they dominated.

  Now Guardiola has Messi. He already stated he has plans and strategies for the club so I am guessing his eager and ready to start. He has the pedigree to take command of Barcelona. Born a Catalan, rose from the youth ranks of Barcelona to lead the team wearing the captain’s armband, it is clear the club has decided to chose a pure bred blaugrana and I see no fault in that.

• John // May 6, 2008 at 8:17

  Only time will tell…. but my gut feel is that it is an appointment to soon for Guardiola….. Better to have had JM for two years and then have Guardiola!

  If the expected clear out of players takes place then it maybe better to keep Rijkaard and move Guardilola in as his number 2! That way all the bad apples (Ronnie Et al) will have been shipped out and Rijkaard can re - build!

  I have been 0ne of Rijkaards biggest critics but the change must bring a perceived improvement in experience and expertise… The appointment of Guardola does not do this…

• Darren // May 6, 2008 at 8:42

  Can anyone guess who will be his 2ic?

  I hope it’ll be enrique. My fav player of all time

• Calrity // May 6, 2008 at 8:54

  hmmm..to be fair to pep, Frank Rijkard didn’t have that much a of a brilliant record him self, had a bad spell with the dutch national team and i dunno how he got that as his first post, then another spell at sparta then becoming the 2nd most successful coch in barca’s history…

  while records reputation and managerial years is undoubtedly the factor, the tactics and character is what rijkard seems to have come little of short, and i am sure that it’s cruyff behind this move, and well while the majority might not take his week in week out columns i still consider him a real great football mind m therefor im sure he had analyzed all the aspects of Pep’s coaching abilities and considered he was the best fit for the job, i wish him the best cause i think mainly he does bring in the charisma that only puyol ,eto’o & valdez seem to bring to the team in every match ….

  but i also have my but, i think the right move since Pep was chosen to coach the first team, he shouldve been the one replacing the ailing aging ghost that is neskens, im pretty sure he wouldve not only gained more insight into the coaching realms but had more presence than mr neskens , who i only noticed his presence when he wasn’t available..i seriously dont think Frankie is doped up alone..

• Varughese // May 6, 2008 at 9:42

  Shahenshah :

  Absolutely agree with you.
  That was what I was also poining to. Rijkaard’s managerial skills were practically non-existent till he took over Barca. This also could turn out to be the same. It may be because the fans give them a little more breathing space. If the guy is of huge reputation, then they start demanding sucess from the word go….

  I don’t like the way everyone is ridiculing Rijkaard. He should be allowed to leave the club with respect. He may have brought us two trophyless seasons, his tactics might have looked stupid - but for those who remember the time before he came will agree that he has done a great job. Actually he has done a tremendous job, considering the fact that we even lifted a European champion league after this much time.

• Jay // May 6, 2008 at 9:58

  Welcome Pep.

• Angus // May 6, 2008 at 10:20

  He’s done very well with the B team and due to a lack of outstanding coaches accross the world he is really the only one they can put in the position. He was a great Barcelona player and could’ve been better were it not for injury. He’ll install some passion and pride back into wearing the shirt. Personally I think he’ll have a lot of respect from the players and with him having taken the B team so far he will be aware of the talent coming through. It’s the sensible option.

• blaugranaboy // May 6, 2008 at 11:50

  i said it a few days back i think pep is not a bad choice at all, i support it 100%. and before i continue on this morzzan, why do u continue to write on this blog!!!! ur a madrid fan, coming on here after osasuna, “we played great” “we are champsions”, people here dont want to hear it. and why are u here hoping for pep to do well, choose a club man. or u waiting for who will be better next year?

  back to pep, im very happy with the appointment. i know many here love JM, and have wanted him for months. ive wanted him at moments, but overall, he is a dick. he is one of the most ridiculous, rude, and managers that say the stupidest things ever. at chelsea he made some of the most infuriating comments ever and is such a hypocrite. people say he is a great manager, and his record can dispute that, and i cant really dispute that. plus most his remarks are always defended with “he is defeding his team”, which is also true sometimes. but i hate chelsea and often i wanted to jump into my screen and tackle him after some of his behavior. so i always found it tough to come to grips with having him sit the bench. and even though i believe he could have played our style of football, he never has!!! chelsea was BORING and those that say porta wasnt, give me a break, it was overall defensive with some nice play inbetween, his game plan was always dont concede first.
  plus i think he would have caused a split in upper management and i think he could have made changes that the catalan republic would not have liked. i just could see him changing VV, which some here would approve, but i think players like xavi, iniesta and others would not enjoy it. i can also see him buy essien and lampard and reduce xavi role despite him being our best and most loyal golden boy. i just got the vibe things like that would happen. he would prob make us win, but shuffle the squad immensely and many barca favorites could have suffered his change.

  and someone says barca wants trophes quick. so do all big clubs. barca have gone through many dry spells and that doesnt change support. pep doesnt have to come and deliver a trophy next year. all i want and i think most want is just better football and and team that looks to be enojying the game, motivated, and shows desire to win. he has the squad to push for the championship and do well in the CL. its not too tough to make a starting 11 that can win with our team, most of u ppl do it every week. guardiola just has to show his strength, his legendary stature, and that will leak into the players. i hope luis enrique is number 2 cause he was always one that never gave up. pep also looks more strict that frank was, which is needed. im sure his tactical knowledge is fine, honestly, football tactics arent rocket science. what makes a great manager is ur ability to make ur players want to win for u, the club and themselves. to command their respect to play the way u ask and to play with discipline and desire. pep just has to do that.

  personally im sad frank is gone. the last few months he has shown great heart and determination on the side line and u could see a genuine desire in his eyes to win and a frustration even sadness when we lost. i blame a lot of this years poorness on many of our stars that decided this club wasnt good enough for them anymore, others that were sad tehy were “running to much”, basically they decided to basically become bums. that hurts team moral and losing ur star would be hard for any manager to handle. but he is gone, i thank him immensely, i will always remember how players use to love him and when messi hugged him after getting injured in standford bridge, that epitamized frank relationship with barca before it fell apart.

  im looking forward to the era under Pep Guardiola, one of my personal favorites ever. i believe we can have success under his guidance. with some personel and attitude changes, i see a bright future.

• Barca Fan_Miki // May 6, 2008 at 12:00

  It’s better to stay Rajkard then appointing sombody how hed no expirience this is a big risk and if Pep doesen’t succed Laporta will be in big problems.we could have Mourinho but ……………..The board i think that made a big mistake but lets don’t make early conclusions maybe he will prove him self as good coach!!!

• Frede // May 6, 2008 at 13:27

  Let’s take it easy. This is not an official story yet. If Pep is taking over, i will be happy. My first choice would be Laudrup, but I guess Pep is pretty much the same..
  Just thank god, that we’re not having JM in the club. This club is known for its sympathy, and “The Chosen One” (i think im gonna puke..) stands for the exact opporsite thing.
  Big game tomorrow - let’s stay focused.

• Nic // May 6, 2008 at 14:10

  Of the three main candidates I prefer Guardiola. I always backed Rijkaard to continue but with so many against him it is probably better for him to leave now. I’ve said many times that I think Mourinho is a great coach, however that does not mean I think he would be good for Barça. He is probably too much of a character and he would be hated by a lot of people from the beginning. Some of the press would just be dying to knock the cocky git off his pedastal, it would end even worse than it did with Van Gaal.
  Laudrup has done pretty well at Getafe but I’ve also mentioned before that I think he’d have problems here. I don’t particularly care that he signed for Madrid, afterall Cruyff had let him know he didn’t want him any more. My problem with Laudrup is his reaction when Camp Nou booed him when he came here with Madrid. He claimed he couldn’t understand why the fans booed him and for me that shows he doesn’t understand the club and its fans. I really don’t think he could take the pressure of the job.
  As for Guardiola it is true he hasn’t done much as a coach yet but I don’t think that is particularly important. For those who say he should wait a couple of years, I ask: what could he do in those two years to improve his experience? Maybe he could go off and ruin his reputation by being like Koeman and trying to introduce his ideas to a club that has a different philosophy.
  Pep understands Barça and those inside the club know him. He played here under Cruyff, Robson and Van Gaal and then had a spell in Italy, I think that gives him the necessary experience for the job. He has a passion for Barça that is unrivalled but he also has a cool head. he knows the local press and they would most certainly give him more leeway than Mourinho would get. The same is true of the fans, while he might not be everyone’s first choice for the job I believe everyone will respect him from the beginning and give him a fair chance. I think he is capable of restoring the pride and passion and the hunger and motivation into the team. If Luis Enrique comes in as his number two, all the better.

• Dr.Osmo // May 6, 2008 at 14:27

  El Clasico-Barca squad: Valdés, Pinto, Puyol, Xavi, Messi, Henry, Márquez, Touré Yayá, Abidal, Zambrotta, Thuram, Gudjohnsen, Sylvinho, Ezquerro, Edmílson, Oleguer, Bojan y Giovani.

• Jay // May 6, 2008 at 14:55

  But this whole thing is serious disrespect to Rijkaard. I feel very very sorry for the man who has given us so much.

• Joe Henry // May 6, 2008 at 15:15

  @ Jay, Yes he did give is so much Jay. But he did take away as well. But if he is going i said this before but it is also good to say again. I’m the bigest critic for Frank yet at a time like this it’s nice to say good bye with the good things he did :-
  -He Always gave the youth a chance.
  - He gave us Messi, Bojan & Giovani dos Santos.
  - He always gave the players trust.
  - Season 2005/2006
  - Season 2004/2005
  - Ronaldinho’s progress to the world best players.
  - Also Eto’o our head our best striker
  Yet Jay Good Mangers do this :-
  - Extended players contracts by making him happy ( Even thou i cant blame it on him but Ronnie and Deco is leaving )
  - Win Championships ( We didn’t take any thing for two years now )
  The only thing he did and he didnt totally did correct as well is bring SOME players skills up like Bojan or Giovani. ( The only thing he did this season ).

• Shahenshah // May 6, 2008 at 15:32

  lets not forget Rijkaard is the only manager who has managed to beat Madrid twice in one season.

• blaugranaboy // May 6, 2008 at 15:49

  its comical how people think good managers deliver trophies every year. wenger! fergie had two dry years! (well FA cup i think but thats rubbish) benitez hasnt won the league in 5 or 6 now. bad manager? he has the same amounts of CL as frank right i think.

• Hilal // May 6, 2008 at 16:45

  Blaugranaboy, it has nothing to do with losing, losing is part of football. You cannot always win. However if you look at the managers you listed; Wenger, Fergie and Benitez. What makes them good managers is not that they always win, because as you said they do not. What makes them good is that their players will almost always give their all in games, they make clever substitutions which actually impact games and they learn to adapt their style and formation to suit different opponents. That is what makes them great managers and that is what separates them from Rijkaard because he clearly cannot do any of the above. Keeping Frank and getting young players would probably work for a year or two, but what happens when the players lose motivation again. I like the idea of Pep, he is Barca through and through, yes he lacks experience, but from what I have read of him so far and what he plans to do he is already an improvement on Frank. On paper we have the best squad in the world, and it will probably be even better next season. All we need is manager with heart and desire which he can project onto his players, a little bit of tactical awareness and the willingness to change what doesnt work.

• Treet // May 6, 2008 at 17:13

  Why replace Rijkaard?…Barca’s poor performances are not his fault…injuries are primarily to blame. The fitness people need to be looked @ very carefully for almost every player in the side had an injury this season. Rijkaard is the only manager currently who suit’s Barca

• Joe Henry // May 6, 2008 at 18:00

  Hilal I agree with you 1oo%. Adding Arsenal has NO stars. We have tons expected to win every thing. Arsenal is expected to win nothing. The team is not yet build yet they play 10 times better and give all they got like Hilal said.

• george // May 6, 2008 at 18:50

  I do not agree with replacing Rijkaard. I think, you guys in Spain have forgotten what have done Rijkaard! He’s won wonder champions league and 2 league title. I think the only exception is Spain when blame in everything only coach. Simple you forget everything after one lost! This year barca never had all the players available, there were a lot of injuries. You think Rijkaard will play? The last year there is a big doubt how Real won the title. Club never change a winner coach, but they did. Does it mean something? I think yes! barca has 4 wonderful player, but Ronaldinho does not want to play, Henry plays not well all the season, Eto’o was in African cup nations and also had injury, and finally messi had 2 injuries and if I am not mistaking at least month for each! If you think Rijkaard should play behind them then invite also Van Basten and Gullit and they will!
  If I were Laporta I would give Rijkaard to finish his contract that is leave him at least a year!
  And also you must have more respect with people who give you many pleasant moments!!!

• Barca 4 lyf // May 6, 2008 at 18:51

  IF YOU WANT 2 REPLACE A COACH OF RIJKYAARD QUALITY YOU NEED A GOOD EXPERIENCED ONE LIKE MOURINHO NOT PEP!!!!

• blaugranaboy // May 6, 2008 at 19:38

  hilal man i know this, ur not educating me on what a good manager. if u read my first post i basically voiced what u said about getting ur playres to play for u, which is why i agree with the appointment of guardiola. but i was just commenting on that one post saying that just not winning a trophy in two years validates u a poor manager. i know frank lost control of the team and the players and that is what made him a poor manager the last 2 years, nothing to do with the trophies. and changing tactics i dont agree with. theyh worked perfectly well when players ran and cared. in fact i was very upset and disappointed fergie played like some classic juventus team vs us, i know he won, but i dont like adapting styles. and like i said i dont care for pep to win everything all next year, i just want to watch my boys every week and be happy watching committed attacking football, not dying with frustration.

• blaugranaboy // May 6, 2008 at 19:46

  wasnt trying to be hostile with that opening sentence

• blaugranafan // May 7, 2008 at 1:44

  Speaking for myself, I accept the point that Pep may turn out to be a good manager, but I think a lot of people are overly downplaying the role of experience. And justifying Pep’s appointment vis-a-vis arguments based on uncertainty (”we just don’t know”; “the future is uncertain; he *may* turn out to be a good coach. so let’s give him a chance”) rings hollow. I confess that I’m perplexed why so many people who opposed a midseason coaching change are willing to take a bet on an unknown quantity in the offseason. If the uncertainty argument is going to be used, I think if people want to be honest with themselves, it’s fair and important to first consider a similar question that isn’t being asked: “What would have happened if Frank had been ousted midseason and replaced by someone else?” Would that person have been able to shake things up at Barca? Would we have improved results in the league and won a Copa and CL double? We’ll never know for sure, but maybe.

  As terrible as this sounds, I don’t think the timing issue will be an issue at all, because we’re going to embark on a multi-season rebuilding project. The team is an inconsistent mess, and expectations will be far lower next year. Heck, we have to qualify for the CL! I’m not really expecting silverware next year; just to be competitive. There’s a lot of work to do. It would be realistic to expect and demand some sort of trophy within the next 2-3 years.

  morzzan’s always been a good sport. He’s a fan of football who, despite being a Madrid fan, wants a strong Barca because he wants real competition and thinks only the best should win. He’s never been rude; cut him some slack.

• Joe Henry // May 7, 2008 at 12:27

  I like to add that Frank is going down like a Man. He is not saying you don’t want me FINE go to hell or something. No he is saying before I go I want to give the fans a gift by the win over Madrid. If he does Well I would really like to remember him as the coach I really respected for doing so. We will see in the next 24 hours any way

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