Together with Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45), his assistants Johan Neeskens (56) and Eusebio Sacristán (44) will have to leave at the end of the season. The situation of Barcelona goalkeeping coach Juan Carlos Unzué (41) is unclear: it is not yet decided if he will stay or if Barcelona B goalkeeping coach Carles Busquets (40) will take over.
Rijkaard's successor Guardiola is expected to take a part of the Barcelona B technical staff with him to the first team. His currect assistant Tito Vilanova (picture, at the left) will most probably continue to act as Guardiola's right hand next season.
Former Barcelona captain Luis Enrique (38) was mentioned as a possible candidate to return to Barcelona as assistant coach, both in case that Guardiola or Mourinho would become the next Barcelona manager, and felt ready for the job (read more here).
Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo nevertheless claims that Luis Enrique has received some offers in the meantime and would be close to accept an offer from the Spanish football association to work with several youth teams. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Guardiola has urged Barcelona to sign his former team-mate as Barcelona B manager.
Juan Manuel Lillo (42) is being put forward as another possible assistant. Lillo was Guardiola's coach when the latter ended his career playing for the Mexican club Dorados and has in the past been coaching Salamanca, Oviedo, Tenerife and Zaragoza when they played in the Spanish Liga.
Since a few months he is the coach of second division team Real Sociedad, who he still can lead to the Primera División. Asked about the rumours linking him with a move to Barcelona, Lillo, whose contract with Sociedad expires in June, said at a press conference that he's now totally focusing on his club and will not pronounce on his future before the season ends mid-June.
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3 comments:
I still stand by my argument that Barca should extend an olive branch to Henk Ten Cate and welcome him back in the fold. He did a masterful job during his time here of helping to bridge the gap between the players and Rijkaard. And I don't think there's any coincedence at all that once Henk left you started hearing more and more rumblings of locker room squabbles and a lack of cohesion amoungst the players...I also believe just as importantly Barca need to invest in a top flight strength and condition coach/staff because the players were dropping like flies last season and that can't be just do coincedence either. I would urge the training staff to invest in some hyperbaric chambers for the atheletes to speed up their recovery time from injury as well. It just baffles me that Barca can invest millions of dollars on these world class atheletes and spend nickles and dimes on the strength & condition staff?! That's like purchasing a Ferrari and having your next door neighboor tune it up.
Ten Cate, well, we cannot know what would have happened if he would have stayed.
But the condition coach is the essence of the story this season. Too many injuries and no condition. It's not a coincidence that the team collpased since February/March (remember the great cup ties we played in january with Sevilla and Villareal, that was Champions League class). But in March it was just all over. Manchester was good, but you saw in the second half in the return game that we couldn't go for that equalizer anymore.
I would also add that you can't just pin it on all the off season "promotional touring" the team does. Because all the top teams, (i.e. Real, Man U, Chelsea) do the same and yet for the most part came away unscathed. Aside from the poor conditioning I also think on a broader scope this speaks VOLUMES as to how weak and inexperienced Barca's bench was this year. You can't come into a new season as manager and expect the same "11" to start for you game in and game out. Therefore you need to have a solid bench with a mix of egoless veterans and hungry youngsters ready to push the starters for minutes. As a result theere was way too much pressure thrust on Bojan to come off the bench and produce immediately. "We" needed a player like Larrson (experienced and unselfish and willing to accept his substitute role) while bringing Bojan along slowly and at his own pace. When key players go down and you wind up pinning your hopes on teenagers, (i.e. Bojan, Gio, etc.) to come rescue your season you are a desperate team in serious need of reinforcements both in starting lineup AND off the bench!
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