Guardiola Extends Contract with Barcelona
Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona and Spain player and manager of Barcelona since 2008, has signed a one-year extension to his contract as manager for the club. The contract is similar to the one-year extension he signed one year ago.
Since taking charge of his former club in 2008, Guardiola has led the Catalan team to a total of 7 trophies.
Of these, two successive La Liga victories and the victory against Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final are the most remarkable.
Guardiola, who played as a defensive midfielder on the first Barcelona team to win a European cup under manager Johan Cruyff, also led his club to a Copa del Rey victory in 2009.
A long-awaited signing
The signing of the new contract had stalled due to Barcelona’s presidential elections, which saw Joan Laporta be replaced by Sandro Rosell in June.
It was speculated that current Champions League holders Inter Milan, whose coach Jose Mourinho recently left for Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid, were interested in the services of the Spaniard.
But it would take a lot for Guardiola, who played for Barcelona between 1990 and 2001, to leave a club he has such a strong history with.
Built the team
When taking over as Barcelona manager in 2008, Guardiola announced an overhaul of an aging team that had been presided over by Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard since 2003.
Rijkaard’s team had won 2 La Liga titles and 1 UEFA Champions League title since 2003, and included world class players such as Brazilian striker Ronaldinho and Portugese midfielder Deco.
But Guardiola wished to start on a clean slate, and sold the pair to Italian club AC Milan and English side Chelsea respectively. Star striker Samuel Eto’o was also set to leave, but his dedication during the team’s pre-season led to Guardiola letting him stay.
Like Rijkaard, though, the then 37-year-old manager decided to build his team around Catalan players Carlos Puyol, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. There was also no doubt that Guardiola would continue to utilize Argentine forward Lionel Messi, who predictably excelled under the new leadership.
During Guardiola’s first season in charge, Messi scored 23 goals, leading the club to Guardiola’s first La Liga and Champions League victories as manager.
By the end of 2009, Guardiola became the first manager to claim 6 trophies in a year – the Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
With such an astonishing record, it is not surprising that Barcelona’s new president Rosell has placed his full confidence in Guardiola to lead the team for another season.
Prior to the recent FIFA World Cup, Barcelona signed Valencia’s star striker David Villa for £34.2 million. With his exceptional scoring ability, Villa will ensure that Barcelona’s attack remains the best in the world alongside the likes of Messi and Iniesta.
Villa’s arrival may cast some uncertainty over Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s future at the club. Ibrahimovic, who joined the club in the summer of 2009, is a natural center forward in Barcelona’s 4-3-3 formation, a position Villa also claims.
It may be that Guardiola has opted to alternate two types of strikers in the position – the powerful and distinct Ibrahimovic complementing the speed and effectiveness of Villa – but such a decision would undoubtedly risk a potentially negative rivalry between the two forwards.
Barcelona are also considering a long-planned move to sign Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fabregas, though recent economic calamity in the club may prohibit what would be an expensive bid.
Rosell recently approved a $129 million emergency loan for the club, and also sold midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Dmitro Chygrynskiy to raise funds, but has denied the club is in a financial crisis.
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