Pep Guardiola holds the European Cup in 2011. (guardian.co.uk)
Today marks the end of an era, at least of sorts, at Camp Nou. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has announced at a press conference that he will not be returning to the La Liga giants once his contract expires at the end of the season. It's been a tough couple weeks at Barca, losing El Clasico at home to Real Madrid and being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Chelsea. Still, rumors have been swirling about this for months, and apparently Pep himself has been thinking along these lines for awhile. According to RivalsDM, Guardiola met with Barcelona leadership on Wednesday and told them he wanted to leave. The club asked him to reconsider, but he stuck with his choice.
Guardiola had a remarkable run as manager at Barca. He began his coaching career at Barcelona B in 2007, and became first team boss in 2008. Since then he has won the Champions League twice, La Liga three times, the Copa Del Rey, three supercopas, two UEFA Supercups, and 2 FIFA Club World Cups. That's pretty impressive no matter how you slice it.
He also had a stellar career as a player for Barcelona, winning the Champions League, the Copa Del Rey, and multiple La Liga titles. He also played for Spain when they won Olympic gold in 1992, during which he scored a goal in the final.
Guardiola will certainly leave his mark at Camp Nou, and once again Barca have gone inside the club to replace him, announcing that his assistant Tito Vilanova will manage the club next season. It's been a popular move. The rumor mill didn't even really have time to get started, but some names that were bantered about were: Ernesto ValVerde, Laurent Blanc, Marcelo Bielsa, and failed Chelsea project Andre Villas Boas. Barcelona clearly has the formula though, and they stuck with it by promoting from within.
The Puddle would like to congratulate Guardiola on his stellar success at Barcelona and wish him well in the future. He is certainly a top manager and one of the good guys in world soccer.
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