Pep Guardiola: A man who achieved everything in a single season
In July 2008, after a series of bad performances Barcelona took an unusual step and promoted Guardiola from Barca ‘B’ coach to succeed Frank Rijkaard and coach one of the most potential soccer team on the globe.
As a player Guardiola had been a result of the celebrated Barca youth academy and blossomed into one of the best midfielders in the game. He won six league titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, a European cup and few other silverwares in his 400 appearances for the club between year 1990 to 2001.
As a player he could have earned more respect internationally but was unfortunate due to his injury concerns. Both in Euro96 and 1998 World Cup, he missed due to injury but he did pick up a Bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics and won nearly 50 caps for the Spanish side.
Playing as a defensive midfielder, he went onto become a key member of the 'Barcelona Dream Team' put together by Johan Cruyff and picked up the Cup Winner's Cup under Bobby Robson as well.
The ex- Nou Camp midfielder had been a grand performer, but his comparative immaturity in management and administration raised many eyebrows: How he would handle to pilot a dressing room filled with star names like Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol?
The Catalan fans need not have worried as Guardiola proved himself a more than proficient alternative for Rijkaard in his first season at the tiller, picking up a far-fetched six-trophy haul and uplifting himself among the finest coaches in the game.
His first year as a manager in 2008-09 season, in his first very game with Catalans, he started proving himself and things were on a cruise from that point onwards for the young coach. Guardiola has charisma which only the few of managers in the world have in them. The most attractive aspect of the Pep is his desire to win everything.
After wining this years La-Liga title, press, fans and even critics got astonished when the coach in front of a huge Barca crowd apologised for his loss in Champions League Semis. One should consider it a gesture of hunger for trophies for a coach as no other team in the history has been able to lift back to back Champion League trophies. It is his hunger and love for the game that has made him such a successful manager at a young age. The feat he achieved in the first season with Barca by wining all possible trophies (six) in a single season, got his name marked in the legends of Football but the unbelievable thing for his friends and colleagues is that he did it not as a player but as a coach of a team who was in full trouble the very previous season.
Not only did he bring wining ways back to the club, the most amazing thing is that he did it by playing the most attractive of football a fan could imagine to see. Along side that, he also created a team which is now known to be the most dangerous team in the world with huge stars coming out of Barca youth team. People are talking about a lot of things Pep has achieved but one aspect of his great coaching capabilities still remain in dark. Currently Barca has produced amazing stars which all have come from the youth team of the club.
Before joining A team, Pep coached the B team of Barca and so the credit for bringing the new talent on Nou Camp pitch also must go to him. With the likes of producing players like Pedro, Bojan, Messi and Jeffren, one must say the young man has already written his name alongside Barca’s legendary coaches.
Guardiola rightly picked up the recognition and his 4-3-3 system (one of the most feared in the world) and his personal approach during training, in contrast to Rijkaard, has won him the respect of both the players and the fans. He remains one of the best young coaches in the business.
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