Speculation On the Next Barcelona Manager By eurofootballweb2 on July 19, 2013 First of all, we want to wish Tito Vilanova the best of luck and a speedy recovery from his illness. Now that he has stepped down from position of Barcelona manager, the speculation and rumours shall begin regarding the next manager. RAC1, the main Catalan radio station has reported that the new Barcelona manager will be someone from outside, not within the club. Here are some options that Barcelona could be considering: 1) Marcelo Bielsa Many consider Bielsa as a very good tactician. He’s considered to be one of the more innovative coaches in the world, and one need not look further than Athletic Bilbao’s playing style to see this. He managed both the Argentine and Chilean national teams. His 2010 run with Chile in the world cup was perhaps their most impressive in history. He is nicknamed Loco Bielsa, or Madman Bielsa due to his controversies in the world of sport and politics. Bielsa holds a 48% winning percentage in his managerial career. It may not sound so impressive but a majority of the matches he managed were in the Spanish League where Real Madrid and Barcelona have an utter dominance. He is known to have a very unique methodology and is very meticulous. He is known to check out the pitch measurements before deciding on a formation. He analyzes many videos of football matches and is reported to have the most “cultured library of football in the world”. Bielsa led Athletic Bilbao to two cup finals in the 2012 season. They faced Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Europa League final where they lost 3-0. They faced Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey where they also lost 3-0. 2) Frank De Boer Frank De Boer is the current manager of Ajax football club. He started his managerial career with the Ajax youth team in 2007. The former Dutch international was also a very successful Barcelona and Ajax player during his playing career. He also played 112 matches for the Dutch National team. He was appointed as manager of the first team in 2010, and has already won 3 championships in the Eredivisie since then. His first game in charge was against AC Milan at the San Siro in the champions league which they won 2-0, and he went on to win the league title in the same season. His credentials speak for themselves, and he would likely fit in as Barcelona manager. After all, Barcelona and Ajax share the same roots and footballing philosophies. 3) Andre Villas Boas Andre Villas Boas, also known as AVB is the Portuguese manager of the Tottenham Hotspur. He is one of the few top-level managers who never had a playing career. He began his managerial career under the wings of Jose Mourinho at FC Porto as the assistant manager. In the 2009-10 season, he moved on to Academica as head coach. Academica were at the bottom of the Portuguese league but AVB introduced a new and attractive playing style and got them out of the relegation zone finishing 11th, 10 points clear. He then moved on to FC Porto where he won the Portuguese league in his first season in charge, going undefeated all season. He also won the Portuguese cup and the UEFA Europa League in the same year. His tenure at Chelsea was not a successful one, as he was sacked after a 3-1 defeat to Napoli in the champions league. He then moved on to Tottenham where the fans immediately took to him. Tottenham and Villas-Boas claimed a victory at Old Trafford for the first time in 23 years. They finished 4th on the Premier League table ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Tottenham became a real force in England. AVB’s playing style suggests he would fit in well at Barcelona, as he like his teams to keep the ball on the ground and he is a proponent of attacking football. 4) “Rubi” Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia Technically, Rubi is somebody that is “within” the club, as he just recently joined the backroom staff, but this could be a very real possibility, especially considering the timing of his appointment. He was the coach of second division Spanish club Girona last season and took them from 15th position all the way up to 4th on a very limited budget against much bigger clubs. Girona narrowly missed out on promotion as they lost to Almeria in the playoffs, but he saved them from relegation and nearly got them promoted within the same season. He has been praised for his tactical aptitude. 5) Michael Laudrup The former Barcelona player and current Swansea manager could be a perfect fit for the job. He won nine trophies during his playing career at Barcelona and is considered a club legend. He was one of the best passers and playmakers the game has ever seen and brought much joy to Barcelona fans. His first managerial job was at Brøndby in 2002 where he led them to winning the Danish Superliga championship. In 2006 he took over Madrid’s third club Getafe and had them playing some wonderful attacking football. He also had short stints at Spartak Moscow and Mallorca before being appointed manager of Swansea. In his first season in charge of the south Wales club, Laudrup won the League Cup, the first major trophy in Swansea’s 100- year history. Their short-passing game under Laudrup is very similar to Barcelona’s. He recently signed a new contract which keeps him at the club until 2015, but has a 5 million pound release clause, which Barcelona may try to activate. Cules would be delighted to see their former club legend back at the Camp Nou.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 06:55:42 +0000
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