Asked about the succession of former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard, former Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla, who left the club in july (read more here), has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that José Mourinho and Johan Cruijff were both seen as candidates to become the new manager:
"In November 2007, Txiki and I came to the conclusion that the team needed a change. The coach and several key players had to leave. Losing against Madrid in December made us accelerate things.
We met in Lisbon with Mourinho. We looked at the option, among other things beause he really wanted to coach Barcelona. Mourinho is a phenomenon and would have been a great coach for Barça. But the option of Guardiola was always the one we worked on with the most firmness. In the first meeting I had with him, he convinced me that he was the best candidate.
Laporta also proposed to appoint Cruijff. As an idea it was good, but I just didn't see it happen. It was an option but if the players aren't doing their job, you won't change that, even when you put the best coach. The Maestro, like we used to call Cruijff, is comfortable giving advice from the outside and offering him the bench would have a been a poisoned candy for him."
Read more:
Meeting with Mourinho
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Mourinho and Cruijff on list to replace Rijkaard
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4 comments:
I would have preferred Mourinho !!
On top of the league qualified in first place with a game to spare in the champions league, looking fit motivated and hungry and you still cannot appreciate guardiola? Maybe you are a madrid fan aware of the beating that barcelona is going to put down in the next two weeks
I thought Cruijff have heart problems that prevent him to handle coaching pressure, so i am surprised to know he was an option, But anyway I prefer the new generation of coaches Methodology when you want to start a new cycle...
Thank god we rejected Mourinho. He's the antithesis of Barca's philosophy. Possibly the most arrogant man in football.
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