After being ousted from UEFA Champions League at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 at the end of the 2011/12 season.
Pep Guardiola’s decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the 2011/12 campaign has hit the players and fans hard.
With the world of football shocked by the retirement plans of the Catalan manager, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-Puyol-c8331 came out in the open to talk about the topic at hand.
Reflecting on the situation, the Spanish international revealed that his departure has come as a big surprise and he is deeply saddened by the news. He added that everyone in the dressing room wants Guardiola to stay at the Camp Nou for more time.
Continuing on the topic, the no-nonsense centre back told media personnel that the players knew about Guardiola’s decision on Friday morning before the start of training session.
"It is a heavy blow that Guardiola leaves," he said while talking to reporters at a resulting press conference. "Inside the dressing room, we all wanted him to stay.”
"He told us on Friday morning, right before the training session.”
Puyol added that he and his teammates thank him for his excelled service to Barcelona and believes his work with the club will not be forgotten easily.
The 32-year-old defender understood the decision of the acclaimed manager and opined that La Blaugrana will have to continue without him in the future.
He claimed that Guardiola will find himself in the laurels of history and hopes that Barcelona will continue to work in the same manner they managed to do under his tautology.
"We will forever be thankful to him. He has left a lot of things in football. He marked an era and that is very important.”
"Life goes on and we will try to follow our path and do things as well as when he was here."
The outfit from Camp Nou enjoyed unprecedented success under the guidance of the former La Masia academy graduate, adding silverware galore to their trophy cabinet.
Barcelona won three La Liga trophies, two UEFA Champions League titles, Copa del Rey winners medals and two FIFA Club World Cup honours, respectively, in his four years in charge as captain. Accounting the minor super cup crowns makes a total of 13 triumphs
out of 16 contested competitions.
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