Pellegrini was last challenger of Guardiola

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Villarreal manager Manuel Pellegrini (55) was one of the top candidates to replace former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard earlier this year.

When the Barcelona board had made the final decision to dismiss Rijkaard, the Chilean coach was at the start the main challenger of current Inter Milan manager José Mourinho, who had the support of then vice-presidents Ferran Soriano and Marc Ingla. Pellegrini was supported by a group of board members, including people like Albert Perrín and Jacint Borràs who stayed when a part of the board left in July.

Although Mourinho lead the race for quite some time, the Portuguese didn't get the support of Barcelona president Joan Laporta, also because the former Chelsea manager wasn't approved by external adviser Johan Cruijff. Rijkaard would nevertheless have advised the president to sign Mourinho as his successor.

When the Mourinho option was excluded, the name of Barcelona B coach Josep Guardiola was put forward and supported by then board member Evarist Murtra and current sports vice-president Rafael Yuste. Although the board members who didn't believe in Guardiola gathered behind Pellegrini, it was in the end the former Barcelona captain who was appointed as new Barcelona head coach.

Read more:
Guardiola backed by board but not by fans
The bench candidates who did not make it
The race to the bench: Guardiola takes Mourinho's pole

The bench candidates who did not make it

At this moment everybody seems to agree that it will be Barcelona B manager josep Guardiola (37), but in the days before the still unconfirmed (and unofficial) decision on Monday (read more here) there was a lot of speculation on who would replace current Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45), whose dismissal was a sure fact after the Champions League elimination last week.

Mourinho

Last weekend former Chelsea manager José Mourinho (45) was still the man who supposedly divided the Barcelona board. Madrid sports tabloid As even linked names to the opposed groups. Barcelona president Joan Laporta, supported by vice presidents Jaume Ferrer and Alfons Godall and board members Rafael Yuste and Evarist Murtra, was in in favour of Guardiola. Barcelona vice president Ferran Soriano, supported by almost all the other board members, preferred Mourinho.

Madrid sports tabloid Marca claimed on Saturday that Mourinho had rejected Barcelona's proposal to become the next Barcelona manager and to be assisted by Guardiola.

Asked about the rumours saying that Mourinho had already found an agreement with Inter Milan, his agent Jorge Mendes denied any agreement to British televsion channel Sky Sports: "Mourinho has not signed any deal with a club and is still free. It is certain that many clubs are interested but he still has not decided his destination."

Pellegrini

Madrid sports tabloid As claimed on Friday that Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini (54) had received phone calls from Barcelona officials to ask the Chilean coach how he would feel about a possible future proposal from Barcelona.

Catalan sports paper Sport reported that Chilean media claimed that there had been an informal contact between Pellegrini, his agent Jesús Martínez and Barcelona representatives.

Ancelotti

Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio claimed last Thursday that a Barcelona board member had contacted the agent of AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti (48) asking if the Italian would be willing to coach Barcelona next season. This was said to be an individual initiative by the board member, who was opposed to the Guardiola option.

Laudrup

Madrid sports tabloid As claimed on Saturday that Getafe manager Michel Laudrup (43) had received the approval of Barcelona unofficial external adviser Johan Cruijff. After some first contacts, Barcelona president Joan laporta, Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain and Bayram Tutumlu, the agent of Laudrup, would meet this week to start the negotiations.

Getafe president Angel Torres had fed the speculation by stating that Laudrup would leave his club and by telling in an interview with Spanish radio station Radio Marca that now that his club had prepared managers for Valencia, Real Madrid and Barcelona (read more here), they would now make one for Atlético Madrid.

Blanc

During the Monday meeting, Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain evaluated the candidacies of Mourinho, Pellegrini, Laudrup and Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc (42) but concluded that Guardiola was the best option (read more here). The Monday decision is expected to be approved during the board meeting this afternoon.

Guardiola backed by board but not by fans

Although Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain said yesterday in an interview with the official club television channel Barça TV that Rijkaard has done "an extraordinary job" in the last five seasons and that he is "a man of the club", it seems almost certain that current Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45) will leave the club at the end of the season after the Chamions League elimination on Wednesday. This has been confirmed today by Jil van Eyle, a personal assistant of Rijkaard, on his Teaming blog. Which means that the final discussion on his successor is breaking loose.

All media seem to agree that Barcelona B manager Josep Guardiola (37) is being backed by the majority of the Barcelona board. Guardiola knows the club inside out and stands for an attacking, dominant way of playing. The former Barcelona captain has the strong support of Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain and Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Madrid sports tabloid As even claims that Guardiola is already planning for next season under the supervision of Begiristain and is composing the new squad together with former Barcelona player Luis Enrique (37) and José Ramón Alexanko (51), the head of the Barcelona youth academy, who would act as his assistants.

The board is nevertheless divided on the issue and it is expected that the debate could be reopened in the coming days. Some board members believe that former Chelsea manager José Mourinho (45) is the best candidate to replace Rijkaard because he would bring organization and a strong hand to the team. They would now try to put the name of the Portuguese back on the table during a board meeting on Thursday, one day after the match against Real Madrid.

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that a third candidate is Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini (54) cause of his experience, his handling of the Riquelme case and his choice for quality play. The paper estimates that the chances of Guardiola to become the next Barcelona manager are 50 per cent, the chances of Mourinho 30 and those of Pellegrini 20.

An opinion poll by Catalan television channel TV3 meanwhile indicates that around 80 per cent of the Barcelona fans would not support the choice of Guardiola. Catalan sports paper Sport says that the club itself is monitoring all kinds of polls to know the opinion of the fans. Mourinho is generally having a wide lead on all other candidates. Former Barcelona player and manager Carles Rexach supports Guardiola but thinks that the board has put his name out there to know the opinion of the fans and the press before they make a final decision.

As claims that the results of several polls have made Guardiola doubt if he should accept the job or not. El Mundo Deportivo says that Guardiola would have preferred another season with little pressure but that he could not say ‘no’ if the formal offer comes. Francesc Aguilar, sub director of El Mundo Deportivo, relaunched today the idea of making Guardiola the assistant of Mourinho.

Read more:
The race to the bench
Board member leaked Guardiola preference
Principal agreement with Mourinho

Guardiola or Laudrup

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that, with the Barcelona board having decided that they don't want a change in the style of the team, there are only two candidates left to replace current Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45) as of next season: Barcelona B manager Josep Guardiola (37) and Getafe manager Michael Laudrup (43).

Josep María Casanovas, the founder of Sport, described the elimination process in his column yesterday as follows: "Van Basten fell off the list when he preferred to go to Ajax. Mourinho had the sympathy of some board members but was rejected because of his character and his way of playing. Benítez was just a passing rumour. Pellegrini has been closely analized but stays in the waiting room. Laurent Blanc, the manager of the moment in France, had some sympathy but little more. The name of Lippi was considered but was disapproved because the Italian Calcio style has never worked in the Liga. The possibility of bringing in a young Spanish manager, like Marcelino or Emery, wasn't supported by anyone."

At this moment Guardiola would have the most support in the board. Some board members nevertheless think that the former Barcelona defensive midfielder lacks some experience and that appointing him would therefore be a risk both for Barcelona and Guardiola. They prefer Laudrup who is having an excellent season with Getafe.

While Barcelona has not yet contacted Laudrup, who plays tonight the final of the Spanish cup with Getafe against Valencia, they would have asked Guardiola to make a report about how 'his' Barcelona would look like. Guardiola has already handed his report to Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain, who has spread it to the board.

( you can read the headlines of the report here )


Read more:
Guardiola takes Mourinho's pole
Could Guardiola be the emergency solution?
Everybody loves Michael

The race to the bench: Guardiola takes Mourinho's pole (3)

If current Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45) will have to leave at the end of the season, Barcelona is expected to look for a manager with the same profile as the Dutchman, namely a manager who has an attacking style on the pitch, who looks for the dialogue with the players and who gives a worthy image of the club off the pitch. Barcelona president Joan Laporta again made that clear on a meeting with the penyes on Sunday, describing the way the team should always play: "We should choose to control the game. Our team likes to have the ball and play with it, seeking the victory by doing so."

Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini (54), Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc (42) and Getafe manager Michael Laudrup (43) all seem to be high on the list of candidates. Although some fans apparently did not forget how Laudrup left for Real Madrid in the summer of 1994 (read more here). Yesterday there were some anti-Laudrup slogans visible in the Camp Nou, one of them reading: "Laudrup, traitor. We don't want you anymore."

The number one candidate nevertheless seems to be current Barcelona B manager Josep Guardiola (37). It is believed that Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain is putting Guardiola forward as the main option to replace Rijkaard. Last year, it was also Begiristain who offered his former team-mate the opportunity to start his career as manager with Barcelona B. Apparently with the aim to make him gain experience and to give him a more important role in the near future. Although an appointment this summer would come earlier than anyone could have expected back then.

Guardiola is said to be a manager who tries to combine quality football with sacrifice, hard work and tactical strength. He values the indiviual talent but even more so the team work. The former Barcelona captain knows the club inside out and has charisma and a strong character, which all should allow him to deal with the fans, the press and the players.

Despite being a true Barcelona legend, Guardiola did not think he was too good to start his second career in the Spanish fourth division. Barcelona B is in the race for the promotional play off to return to the third division. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that the initial plan of Guardiola was to promote with Barcelona B and then stay with the team for one more year.

If offered the job of head coach of the first team, Guardiola knows that the risk of burning himself too early is real. Although the board is divided on the issue and no candidate has the support of all board members, Barcelona president Joan Laporta seems to approve the choice of his sports director, so the offer could well come in the next weeks.

(this is the third and last part of this contribution, the first part was published on Saturday, the second part was published yesterday)

Pellegrini focusing on Villareal

Asked about the rumours linking him with a summer move to Barcelona (read more here), Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini (54) said at a press conference that he wants to stay focused on Villareal: "One cannot control the news that comes out. This is something to which I don't want to attach great importance, because it's really no big deal. Of course one should feel proud when one's name is linked with a great club, but this should not be a reason to get distracted."

Catalan sports paper Sport says that Barcelona is one of the few clubs that Pellegrini would like to coach one day. A few weeks ago, the Chilean manager would have rejected a big offer from an important club because the latter was not on the list of his favourite clubs. The contract of Pellegrini expires in 2010. The manager has a buyout clause of 2 million euro°.

Pellegrini is on the list

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini (54) is on the long list of possible succesors to current Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45).

Last month, when Barcelona played against Villareal, Barcelona president Joan Laporta would have talked to Villareal president Fernando Roig about Pellegrini and would have asked Roig about the contract situation of the Chilean. Pellegrini is said to have a buyout clause of 2 million euro°, although it is believed that Villareal could let the manager go for free, since the Villareal president and his manager have an excellent relationship and Roig is aware that this could be a unique opportunity for his coach.