El Pivote (The Pivot) is a totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
El Pivote is back with a bang, taking issue with a renowned Spanish football expert and adding flesh to the bone of the possession conundrum.
El Pivote (The Pivot) is a weekly totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
El Pivote is back with a bang to fully discuss the controversial decision from Víctor Valdés to announce that he will not be renewing his contract at the club past 2014.
FC Bayern Munich’s official site announced a few minutes back that former FC Barcelona manager Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola (41) will take Jupp Heynckes’ place as coach from the next season.
We are all extremely thankful to Josep Guardiola i Sala, a man that changed and achieved so much at our club. But there is one group of people that might be a little more thankful than anyone else, a group of people whose lives and careers took a new turn when Josep Guardiola decided to let them make their debut for FC Barcelona. During his four years as coach of our beloved club, Pep gave no less than 22 youth team players their chance to make the dream of debuting for Fútbol Club Barcelona a reality. Five of these players also made their B team debuts under Pep.
Twenty-two players in four years is a large number, and it means many changed lives. In this series, I will take a look at all 22 of these players, examine their career trajectories and how Pep and the chance to debut in the first team impacted their footballing careers and their lives.
After covering Abraham, Fontàs and Gai Asulin before the break, the Gràcies Pep series is now back. It’s now time to look into the stories of Jonathan Soriano, who was ready to leave football before joining Barça and is today one of the big stars Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg; Jonathan Dos Santos, the boy who was always in the shadows of his brother and his teammates, but who has always been there, working the hardest; and Marc Bartra, the blaugrana kid who has been at the club since he was 11 and who might be the answer to one of Vilanova’s biggest problems.
Josep Maria Orobitg, Pep Guardiola’s representative, recently rejected speculation about possible negotiations between the coach and the Brazilian national team, a rumor that has been circulating for weeks by the media and through social networks. “There has never been any contact with the Brazilian Football Federation (Confederación Brasileña de Fútbol – CBF),” underlined Orobitg in an interview published by Brasilian sports daily Lance.
Welcome to the second part of our Blaugrana Library series. We want to share with you good books about FC Barcelona and its players, coaches, and tactics. Today we will take a closer look at books about two legends: Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi.
We are all extremely thankful to Josep Guardiola i Sala, a man that changed and achieved so much at our club. But there is one group of people that might be a little more thankful than anyone else, a group of people whose lives and careers took a new turn when Josep Guardiola decided to let them make their debut for FC Barcelona. During his four years as coach of our beloved club, Pep gave no less than 22 youth team players their chance to make the dream of debuting for Fútbol Club Barcelona a reality. Five of these players also made their B team debuts under Pep.
Twenty-two players in four years is a large number, and it means many changed lives. In this series, I will take a look at all 22 of these players, examine their career trajectories and how Pep and the chance to debut in the first team impacted their footballing careers and their lives.
After covering Xavi Torres, Muniesa and Botía in the last post, it’s time to look into the stories of Abraham, who since leaving Barça has come to know the feeling of getting relegated more than once; Andreu Fontàs, who received offers from “everyone” except the club he was ready to pay to play for, Barça; and Gai Asulin, the superstar that never was.
We are all extremely thankful to Josep Guardiola i Sala, a man that changed and achieved so much at our club. But there is one group of people that might be a little more thankful than anyone else, a group of people whose lives and careers took a new turn when Josep Guardiola decided to let them make their debut for FC Barcelona. During his four years as coach of our beloved club, Pep gave no less than 22 youth team players their chance to make the dream of debuting for Fútbol Club Barcelona a reality. Five of these players also made their B team debuts under Pep.
Twenty-two players in four years is a large number, and it means many changed lives. In this series, I will take a look at all 22 of these players, examine their career trajectories and how Pep and the chance to debut in the first team impacted their footballing careers and their lives.
After covering Busquets and Thiago in the last post, it’s time to continue our examination of the players who debuted under Josep Guardiola. In this post, we’ll look at Xavi Torres, who captained Guardiola’s first squad with Barça B; Marc Muniesa, another captain whose football career looks bright, despite an early obstacle which almost finished his playing days before they even began; and Alberto Botía, who went from playing 15 games in the fourth division at 17 to a regular first team player in first division side Sporting Gijon today, thanks to Pep.
We are all extremely thankful to Josep Guardiola i Sala, a man that changed and achieved so much at our club. But there is one group of people that might be a little more thankful than anyone else. A group of people whose lives and careers took a new turn when Josep Guardiola decided to let them make their debut for FC Barcelona. During his four years as coach of our beloved club, Pep gave no less than 22 youth team players their chance to make the dream of debuting for Fútbol Club Barcelona a reality. Five of these players also made their B team debuts under Pep.
Twenty-two players in four years is a large number, and it means many changed lives. In this series I will take a look at all 22 of these players, examine their career trajectories and how Pep and the chance to debut in the first team impacted their footballing careers and their lives.
We start at the beginning, with two boys who were the first youngsters to make their first team debuts under Josep Guardiola. They are well known to fans by now, Sergio Busquets and Thiago Alcantara. They are also two players that had Guardiola as coach the longest, as both Busquets and Thiago made their B team debuts under this man we call Pep.
There have been numerous articles on Pep’s departure from FC Barcelona. To round things out, we are pleased to feature a very personal piece from Ivan, a medical doctor from Split, Croatia, in this edition of We’ve got mail.
Josep Guardiola decided that his FIFA World Coach of the Year 2011 for Men’s Football award should stay where it belongs and dedicated it to FC Barcelona. The award he received on January 9, 2012 at the FIFA gala held in Zurich is currently on display in the FC Barcelona Museum.
Josep Guardiola spoke at a press conference before the last La Liga game this season. As usual, he praised the rival team, in this instance Real Betis. “They are a demanding team, and they can do damage to you if you aren’t at your best,” he said, underlining that “it will serve as a good preparation for two week’s time. We have another final.”
Pep Guardiola’s parents, his father Valentí and his mother Dolors, spoke this Monday on Catalunya Radio’s ‘El Matí’ program following their son’s last match as manager at the Camp Nou.
They began by thanking everyone for the support that their son received during his four years as head coach of Barça. “The tribute this Saturday was very beautiful and very gratifying,” said Guardiola’s father, who admitted that his son “deserved it” and that it “demonstrates that [Guardiola] has fit in well with the general public, whether or not socis.” “This has filled us with satisfaction,” stated Valentí Guardiola.
Josep Guardiola spoke at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s derby with Espanyol, which will be his last home fixture as first team manager. On the response to his departure, he said that “I have never liked goodbyes. But I have been a very public person, the manager of a team like FC Barcelona and whether I like it or not, I’m always going to be on the front page and it’s only normal for things like this to happen … I just hope that the people react as they have always reacted – naturally.”
Today we want to share with you a short documentary called Paraula de Pep (Word of Pep), which is about Guardiola’s press conferences during the 2008-2009 season, compiled by Catalan television TV3. It was broadcast two days before the 2009 Champions League final. Click continue reading to watch the videos.
Josep Guardiola is the ultimate Barça boy. He grew up loving the club, he joined the youth system at the age of 13. He became famous when he as a 15 year old ball boy who entered the pitch to celebrate with his hero. He got promoted to the first team and became a vital player in Cruyff’s “Dream team”. He later became captain before leaving the club with tears in his eyes in 2001. Pep returned to coach the club’s B-team in 2007, and took over the first team in 2008. During his first season, Guardiola’s Barça would win six titles. Before he announced that he was leaving the club in 2012, he had not only helped FC Barcelona to win 13 major trophies, but he also made them the best football team in history and changed football and the way the sport is viewed forever.
The day was May 8, 2008. The season had been tormenting for FC Barcelona fans and on that day, Joan Laporta made an announcement that then Barcelona B coach Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola would be the successor of Frank Rijkaard as the first team coach. Eyebrows were raised, the Internet was scoured for information. Many people had no idea who this fellow was. The Laporta board had taken an immensely risky decision. Looking back, lets just say that it paid off, and how!
“I promise you that we’ll work hard. I don’t know if we’ll win, but we will try very hard.
Speaking after his side’s elimination from the Champions League, FC Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola expressed disappointment at the result, but not with how his team played over the two legs of the semi-final against Chelsea. “It wasn’t meant to be this year. The first thing that goes through my head is immense sorrow,” said the Barça manager. Despite the great disappointment, the blaugrana boss analyzed the two-legged tie with the following words: “forgive me if I’m not clairvoyant, but I have the perception that with time I’ll say: ‘we played an excellent tie.’ We played exceptionally well for 180 minutes, we did everything we could to be in the final. We’ve never worked this hard to be in a final.”
In a rare display of uber optimism, Pep Guardiola stated that he is confident that Barca will do the necessary to conquer Chelsea and make it to the second consecutive Champions League final. “Believe me when I say we will make it tomorrow,” said Guardiola. “I believe this for hundreds of reasons; these players will beat Chelsea. I know there’s a wish for us not to make it, but let us believe that we will.”
Josep Guardiola started his press conference simply. “Good evening, first I congratulate Madrid for the victory and the league title they have achieved.” Despite losing the game against Madrid (1-2), Guardiola believes that his team played a good match. “It’s difficult to do an analysis of the match after so many emotions, but I have the impression that we played a good game against a powerful team. We controlled their counterattacks well and they didn’t create a lot of danger.” The manager admitted that the defeat means that Barça are no longer in the running for the league title this season: “a competition that we’ve fought for has slipped away.”
Last night at a press conference after the game against Chelsea, FC Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola underlined that his team has to play a perfect game at the Camp Nou next Tuesday in order to qualify for Champions League final in Munich. He described the upcoming match as “a great challenge, one worthy of a Champions League semi-final.” Despite losing the game, Guardiola praised the performance his players put in at Stamford Bridge and noted that Barcelona tried “to play the best way possible, where they never lost the desire to score.” According to Pep, no matter what happens, his side has “already won this year” because they have been playing at such a high level for so long. “Getting to this point is in itself a success,” he stated.
FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola gave a press conference before the Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League semi-final clash away to Chelsea. The Catalan coach reminded everyone that match “is against one of the best teams in recent years,” and that “it will be a tie with very few goals where small details will decide which team makes it to the final”. Continue reading »
Speaking at a press conference before the League game against Athletic Bilbao, Josep Guardiola had words of praise for the opponent team. “Athletic is a sensation of Europe and deserves admiration from the whole world,” said Pep. Guardiola talked a lot about football and Saturday’s opponents, more than about his future, polemics from Madrid, Mourinho, or Milan. The Barcelona coach once again underlined his great respect for Marcelo Bielsa and his team.
As per tradition, Josep Guardiola addressed the press before the second leg of the UEFA Champions League game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The FC Barcelona manager underlined that his side “must play a good game; we can’t go out to defend, we have to try to win and qualify for the quarter-finals”. The 41-year-old Catalan reminded the reporters gathered that Barcelona in recent years went into the second leg of the round of 16 either with a draw or a defeat. “This year’s trap is that we’ve earned a better result than last year, so I imagine you won’t be asking me many questions about the game tomorrow because people think it’s done against Leverkusen,” said Guardiola.
Hugo Benitez/El Flaco wrote an excellent piece on the Swedish football site SvenskaFans describing the story of how our Club came to play in its characteristic way. From the very start, the style was thanks to a man named Laureano Ruiz. With the author’s permission, totalBarça has translated his great piece, which can be found below. The original article, in Swedish, can be found here.
In his press conference after the manita victory against Levante, coach Pep Guardiola praised Isaac Cuenca’s football but perhaps not his appearance, in one comment that appeared as yesterday’s Quote of the Day here on totalBarça. Our readers responded to this quote, and now it’s the turn of Carme Torres, Isaac Cuenca’s girlfriend, to react to the statement from FC Barcelona’s coach. Her comments, originally found here in Mundo Deportivo, are translated below.
It was all blaugrana when the Liga Futbol Profesional announced its awards for the 2010-11 season. The Catalan club, which has won La Liga for three years running, dominated the awards, missing out on only one category. Victor Valdes was judged the best goalkeeper, Eric Abidal the best defender, Xavi the finest midfielder, Iniesta the best attacking midfielder, with Messi as the best striker. The Argentine was also LFP’s Player of the Season. Apart from the players, even Pep Guardiola was presented with a swanky trophy for best manager. The only award that the team missed was the revelation of the season, which was handed out to Iker Muniain. Watch a video of the presentation and more images of the players with their trophies after the jump.
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