Pep Guardiola quits Barcelona
Barcelona endured a difficult end to the 2011-12 season.
First a loss to Real Madrid, then ouster from the Champions League at the hands of a struggling Chelsea and finally the Manager/Coach departing. All certainly have been major blows for the Catalans.
Photo courtesy: http://www.fcbarcelona.com/
A couple of questions that immediately pop in everyone's mind:
1. Who replaces him?
2. Where will he go from here?
The immediate answer to the first one is Tito Vilanova.
But can the assistant coach fill in the void left in by the head coach?
That only time can tell. (Di Matteo is only one example to prove that.)
Athletic Bilbao main man Bielsa was touted as a replacement for Pep for his tactical and attacking approach to the game, but for now, we will have to wait and see if Mr. Rosell needs to approach Bielsa any time soon!
To answer the second question is rather difficult. The coach himself says that he will walk away from football for sometime and perhaps return later. But his immense success at Barcelona means plenty of clubs await with open arms in each top country.
In Italy both the Milanese clubs have been struggling for quite some time now to find the perfect coach. It had been rumored earlier too that Inter were in private talks with Guardiola to hand him the hot seat and that Guardiola too had expressed interest in taking over the helm.
In England, Chelsea are performing surprisingly well under interim coach Di Matteo, but Abramovich will be on the alert to land in someone of the status and caliber of Joseph Gurdiola.
Besides Chelsea, even Manchester United will be keen to track the developments as Sir Alex Ferguson's age has been a worry for many a pundits.
In France, the newly rich PSG have installed Ancelotti, but if they fail to lift the League 1 title this season than Ancelotti's days will surely be numbered and the club owners would definitely try to turn all the stones in the way upside down to get Pep.
That said,
Another big question that cannot be answered is obviously the fate of Barcelona without Guardiola.
From the exterior it seems that he has left a good enough squad that can still compete for major trophies, but a little deeper analysis will show how the mix of an ageing squad (Xavi, Puyol, Villa, Iniesta, etc) and the lack of enough firepower besides Messi can pull down Barcelona from the heights it has scaled in recent years.
Pep had a chance to achieve at Barcelona what Sir Alex Ferguson did at United. Build and rebuild great squads. It surely couldn't have been better than Barcelona with its enviable and probably the best youth set up in Europe!
He must surely have better ideas for himself!
For now we can only say Good Luck to him and the Clubs, Barca for one and the all the ones awaiting to grasp the opportunity for the rest.
Rooney - Chicharito Partnership, The Magic for United
The United team this season has seemed to lack a play maker and many have speculated the addition of a big name to fill in a vital gap in the Red Devils' ranks.
Look back into the season thus far and there are a few important cues that come out coherently. Sir Alex has constantly claimed that he does not need to make any major additions to team. But most pundits (many self proclaimed) call this decision into question time and again. A deeper look into the team and its games over this season would show why Sir Alex cannot be wrong when it comes to the trade of football!
Consider this:
The Magic called Wazza and Chicha! - Sir Alex has played Ronney in many positions this season. That exercise has gone further than understanding whether Wazza can create a better play from the different positions tried. It has proved to be a yardstick to measure his effectiveness and bring out his best! Chicharito is known to terrorize defenses, a primary reason why he could cement his place on and dislodge Berba from the first team berth. The games this season have proven that Wazza can be the chief creator, but then without a dangerous striker, his efforts would all go in vain. The dangerous partnership that Wazza and Chicha have developed thrives on this very tenet. Rooney need not operate as a striker upfront. His role in the hole behind Hernandez becomes a lethal weapon that most opponents would find difficult to shield. A Messi or a Rooney or an RVP can be marked alone throughout the game, but a killer pair would become difficult to stop for even the best of the teams in the trade.
Wazza's creating and Chicha's ghosting are more than enough!
Nani's Brilliance! - One might think, what if Chicha is blocked just as other lethal strikers are in the modern game? That may be a valid question. But there is more to United than the lethal pair upfront. A creative Nani is another weapon in Sir Alex's armory and when unleashed to full potential can change the course of a game single handed. But that is not to say that Nani should alone shoulder the burden in a more telling game. If and when the Magical partnership doesn't click, a change in tactic to employ Wazza as front man and Nani as a creator would keep any opponent gasping! (Whom all will the ooponents mark - Chicha, Rooney or Nani??)
Valencia's super crosses and Jones' marauding runs cannot be undermined too. On the whole, there are plenty of channels and tactical measures under United's belt.
In Sir Alex's favourite formation of 4-4-2 United do not need to add any new creator. Relying on Rooney to sit in the hole, Hernandez to terrorize defenses, Nani to revel in creativity and the collective brilliance of the likes of Valenica, Jones, De Gea and in fact the Whole Team can help United reach the pinnacle and put behind it the Ghost of Champions League elimination!
Tags: Manchester United, Barclays Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Bayern Munich, Bavarians, Red Devils, Blues, Reds, Gunners, Rossoneri, Milan, Barca, Madridistas, Galacticos, Spurs, Champions League Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Antonio Valencia, Phill Jones, David De Gea, Sir Alex Ferguson, SAF
Barcelona endured a difficult end to the 2011-12 season.
First a loss to Real Madrid, then ouster from the Champions League at the hands of a struggling Chelsea and finally the Manager/Coach departing. All certainly have been major blows for the Catalans.
A couple of questions that immediately pop in everyone's mind:
1. Who replaces him?
2. Where will he go from here?
The immediate answer to the first one is Tito Vilanova.
But can the assistant coach fill in the void left in by the head coach?
That only time can tell. (Di Matteo is only one example to prove that.)
Athletic Bilbao main man Bielsa was touted as a replacement for Pep for his tactical and attacking approach to the game, but for now, we will have to wait and see if Mr. Rosell needs to approach Bielsa any time soon!
To answer the second question is rather difficult. The coach himself says that he will walk away from football for sometime and perhaps return later. But his immense success at Barcelona means plenty of clubs await with open arms in each top country.
In Italy both the Milanese clubs have been struggling for quite some time now to find the perfect coach. It had been rumored earlier too that Inter were in private talks with Guardiola to hand him the hot seat and that Guardiola too had expressed interest in taking over the helm.
In England, Chelsea are performing surprisingly well under interim coach Di Matteo, but Abramovich will be on the alert to land in someone of the status and caliber of Joseph Gurdiola.
Besides Chelsea, even Manchester United will be keen to track the developments as Sir Alex Ferguson's age has been a worry for many a pundits.
In France, the newly rich PSG have installed Ancelotti, but if they fail to lift the League 1 title this season than Ancelotti's days will surely be numbered and the club owners would definitely try to turn all the stones in the way upside down to get Pep.
That said,
Another big question that cannot be answered is obviously the fate of Barcelona without Guardiola.
From the exterior it seems that he has left a good enough squad that can still compete for major trophies, but a little deeper analysis will show how the mix of an ageing squad (Xavi, Puyol, Villa, Iniesta, etc) and the lack of enough firepower besides Messi can pull down Barcelona from the heights it has scaled in recent years.
Pep had a chance to achieve at Barcelona what Sir Alex Ferguson did at United. Build and rebuild great squads. It surely couldn't have been better than Barcelona with its enviable and probably the best youth set up in Europe!
He must surely have better ideas for himself!
For now we can only say Good Luck to him and the Clubs, Barca for one and the all the ones awaiting to grasp the opportunity for the rest.
Rooney - Chicharito Partnership, The Magic for United
The United team this season has seemed to lack a play maker and many have speculated the addition of a big name to fill in a vital gap in the Red Devils' ranks.
Look back into the season thus far and there are a few important cues that come out coherently. Sir Alex has constantly claimed that he does not need to make any major additions to team. But most pundits (many self proclaimed) call this decision into question time and again. A deeper look into the team and its games over this season would show why Sir Alex cannot be wrong when it comes to the trade of football!
Consider this:
The Magic called Wazza and Chicha! - Sir Alex has played Ronney in many positions this season. That exercise has gone further than understanding whether Wazza can create a better play from the different positions tried. It has proved to be a yardstick to measure his effectiveness and bring out his best! Chicharito is known to terrorize defenses, a primary reason why he could cement his place on and dislodge Berba from the first team berth. The games this season have proven that Wazza can be the chief creator, but then without a dangerous striker, his efforts would all go in vain. The dangerous partnership that Wazza and Chicha have developed thrives on this very tenet. Rooney need not operate as a striker upfront. His role in the hole behind Hernandez becomes a lethal weapon that most opponents would find difficult to shield. A Messi or a Rooney or an RVP can be marked alone throughout the game, but a killer pair would become difficult to stop for even the best of the teams in the trade.
Wazza's creating and Chicha's ghosting are more than enough!
Nani's Brilliance! - One might think, what if Chicha is blocked just as other lethal strikers are in the modern game? That may be a valid question. But there is more to United than the lethal pair upfront. A creative Nani is another weapon in Sir Alex's armory and when unleashed to full potential can change the course of a game single handed. But that is not to say that Nani should alone shoulder the burden in a more telling game. If and when the Magical partnership doesn't click, a change in tactic to employ Wazza as front man and Nani as a creator would keep any opponent gasping! (Whom all will the ooponents mark - Chicha, Rooney or Nani??)
Valencia's super crosses and Jones' marauding runs cannot be undermined too. On the whole, there are plenty of channels and tactical measures under United's belt.
In Sir Alex's favourite formation of 4-4-2 United do not need to add any new creator. Relying on Rooney to sit in the hole, Hernandez to terrorize defenses, Nani to revel in creativity and the collective brilliance of the likes of Valenica, Jones, De Gea and in fact the Whole Team can help United reach the pinnacle and put behind it the Ghost of Champions League elimination!
Tags: Manchester United, Barclays Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Bayern Munich, Bavarians, Red Devils, Blues, Reds, Gunners, Rossoneri, Milan, Barca, Madridistas, Galacticos, Spurs, Champions League Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Antonio Valencia, Phill Jones, David De Gea, Sir Alex Ferguson, SAF
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