We will probably never know for certain when exactly was the moment when Pep Guardiola decided to quit as manager of FC Barcelona. But the Guardiola who spoke to the media after Barca’s defeat by Chelsea on Tuesday was I think no longer committed to another season. Some commentators suggested he was exhausted. To me, Guardiola looked liberated.
Much has been said of Guardiola as a person who , both as player and manager, had always chosen his next move on his own terms. And yet circumstances I think combined with the ego to make of that game a particularly cathartic experience: the realisation that in that evolution in the history of FC Barcelona, of which Guardiola had been such an integral part, the time had come for a different manager to take Barca into the future. A great team like Barca looked tired and lacking a winning formula.
Guardiola over the four seasons he has been at the helm has given Barca his life and soul. Winning seventeen titles has involved blood, sweat, and tears, with Mourinho proving a particularly taxing opponent, showing little respect, stirring animosity, suspicion, envy, fuelling hate- not the football Guardiola wanted to be involved in then, now, or in the next season, but one he found himself forced to face up to in defence of his club’s integrity.
The Guardiola years have brought moments of extraordinary joy and satisfaction, but there has been suffering too- and that is football . And yet Barca under Guardiola may have got to such a level of excellence , immersed as it was in collective adulation, as to lose sight of its hidden frailties. Such was its narcissism.
But none of this should take away from Guardiola’s huge contribution to Barca’s greatness, and the development of Spanish national football. At his best Guardiola showed a rare combination in football of grace, style, and nobility touched with mysticism, like a beautiful, illuminated apostle of the game, painted by El Greco. Without him Barca will struggle to regain such heavenly heights despite Guardiola’s unwavering belief that those youngsters, like himself and Tito Vilanova , who emerge from La Masia have an indestructible Barca strain in their DNA.
Firstly as a Chelsea supporter I truly regret this fantastic & marvellous manager has left the game.
Secondly, I found the speech he gave to the Catalan Government on receiving his medal of honour last year as an example of the highest in humanity, an outlook on life that even Zen teachers would find inspiration from.
Thirdly, his action is very interesting and worthy of analysing. He wants change when the immense majority of us would not even dream of jumping the boat. That is a brave decision and coherent on a super human level.
Finally, I think he also must have realized that he either could go beyond the limitations within the present structure, or just look for another challenge. I believe the Barça style, in spite of its beauty and appeal, is ultimately sterile and it now needs a transformation. I do not think it is a coincidence he announced he would leave after the Chelsea game, where domination was over 80% but the true goal was not achieved. Something is amiss and he could not / would not change to amend. The style needs more flexibility and Pep was not prepared to go that way, nor did he feel he had the energy any more, so he quit.
tot el millor i Godbless!
Captain Terry your analysis is always interesting. It’s odd watching that marvelous chelsea’s performance last semifinal everybody should have become chelsea supporter and close down all the others clubs because it is pointless to support a style without future. Nevertheless there are some stubborn “catalan” people that is listening the same stuff over 20 years, and is incredible they are trying to reach the perfection in a game created in England. It’s a pity you can not play the final in Berlin (Mou said after the semifinal against Bayern that it will b in Berlin)
Best Regards
David