Anyone Still Prefer Mourinho?

Today, Hell No Pep is the prefect guy for the job. But In my defense I didn't know him ! A question Nic, Did you vote for Pep Last season ?

easy answer, NO!

i admit to saying id prefer jose over frank during the really horrible points last year. but i recently saw the "special one" (puke) on tv and just thought to myself, thank god we didnt get him. he is just so unplesant and annoying. and i dont even give him much for doing well at inter. he has such an amazing squad with like top players in each position 2 or 3 times. they play horrible, boring football and without zlatan they would be lost.

thank god pep is here. i read an article saying he only wants to coach for 2 yrs and then move into higher management. hopefully that isnt true. i would love a sir alex type story beginning right now, with a manager we can call our own for years and years to come. im a big believer in consistency. he seems the coach to never let a player eclipse the team, as r10 did the previous years. it may just be a dream, but hey, i would honestly just love it.

Hi Joe, no, I voted for Rijkaard. The following is what I said at the time Guardiola's appointment was leaked to the press on May 6th:

"As for Guardiola it is true he hasn't done much as a coach yet but I don't think that is particularly important. For those who say he should wait a couple of years, I ask: what could he do in those two years to improve his experience? Maybe he could go off and ruin his reputation by being like Koeman and trying to introduce his ideas to a club that has a different philosophy.
Pep understands Barça and those inside the club know him. He played here under Cruyff, Robson and Van Gaal and then had a spell in Italy, I think that gives him the necessary experience for the job. He has a passion for Barça that is unrivalled but he also has a cool head. he knows the local press and they would most certainly give him more leeway than Mourinho would get. The same is true of the fans, while he might not be everyone's first choice for the job I believe everyone will respect him from the beginning and give him a fair chance. I think he is capable of restoring the pride and passion and the hunger and motivation into the team. If Luis Enrique comes in as his number two, all the better."

To see what we all said at the same time follow this LINK

Barca took a BIG gamble in the summer and it certainly paid off, BIG time!

Gaurdiola is the best manager we could have and i'm very glad the board decided to install him as our manager. his attention to detail, and the way that he handles the players is top class. I would be delighted if he would become our own ferguson, he certainly has the ability. With Gaurdiola at the helm for years to come, FCBarcelona would win countless trophies and the club would grow in stature as one of the world's truely great clubs.

Gaurdiola took to the job like a fish does to water. This is because he knows the club inside out, what the club symbolises, what structures and philosophies are in place. He also had first hand knowlegde of why Barca imploded in the last 2 seasons, being so close to the team. His Professionalism, tactical genius and humble attitude are things that I greatly admire, and the reasons that I see him staying at Barca for a while and us winning a lot of silverware in the future.

The records broken all ready speak for themselves

What would the other managers acheive, had they been appointed?

Thank you Nic for answering. We had great memories with Frank Rijkaard. Even memories we are yet to have with Pep. I guess the problem with Frank during his last seasons is that he wasn't hungry for Victory anymore. Maybe that is why Pep is doing really well. Its his first time doing all of this. Maybe that is why Mourinho is doing really bad in Inter, he thinks he is the best and he isn't hungry for any titles as well. It was all for the best after all. I wonder Will Pep be as good Next year if we win the League and the CL ?

Just wanted to add That Mourinho is at the top of the table yes ! But the team isn't looking good. As a Manager I don't think he is doing that well ! Just like the Ex-Madrid Manager ( Bernd Schuster ) He won the League but he was really a bad Manager.

I have to admit that I was NOT a big fan of Guardiola but I'm so glad that Barça did not choose Mourinho instead. I'm sure he was dying to be the headcoach at Barça . He is just " too full of himself " !!

Good article to write...Where's Winterhunt?

Pep's success is easy to breakdown.

1) He has players respect.

He is a legend of the club...players have to respect him. Pep isn't far out of the game, he is still in touch with today's football & current players even played with him (Xavi...etc).

2) Pep understands the Barca expectations.

Pep knows how the media pressure Barca. He also knows what is expected of the club - the way the club is expected to play etc. He is doing a great job of shielding out all the negative stuff and keeping the motivation at a high level.

3) Pep run's a tight ship, but is fair.

Pep is a hard task-master, but only if you do the wrong thing. He is encouraging players to enjoy their football, and showing that if you deserve it, you will get rewarded (See Gudi this season, or Busquets, Sanchez, Pedro etc). Players are playing FOR him, not neccesarily for the MONEY.

4). Rotations = squad happy

Rotations, as I briefly touched on above, is doing great. It's keeping player performances high, and it's also giving them valuable minutes of rest. Think about how much game time Messi has played this season versus last season...I guarantee the game time is significantly down...but look at what we are getting in return...

5) Rotations = No injuries

Going on above....No injuries = Barca Success. This also means we can afford to bleed the younger kids in easier games with no real big time pressure - they are being called up because Pep believes in them, not because we have 10 players out injured. This alone is GOLD in the later stages in the season...particularly as we battle for the CL, Copa Del Rey, & La Liga.

6) Pep enjoys player freedom.

Pep is quite simply - letting the players have a huge amount of freedom with their creative play. This is meaning more goals and far less conceeding as the team is naturally full of creative genuises.

7) Pep Challenges Players to bring out their best

Pep also stimulates the players - and as a return we are seeing the best Barca squad yet.

Just to finish off - Pep has challenged the players to bring out their best...and look what is to show for it. Think about all the Dramas with Eto'o & Henry - now look at what they have produced this season....brilliant man management.

So yes..no Mourinho thanks. I didn't vote in last seasons poll, but I was always happy with the appointment of Pep...Mourinho I don't think would've suited the way Barca play.

Also, as a side note. Guys FC Barcelona Atlètic (Barca b) are currently having a good run and are only a few points off a playoff spot...good work Luis Enrique...was looking shaky at the start of the year!

i've always hated him with my whole life, he depicts all what i hate about football: success at all cost over entertainment,fair play, and humility. hell, a referee retired because of him after receiving death threats to his family because of mourinho's accusations.... i was always telling my brother that i just wish chelsea will win all the tournaments in club competitions and italy or another boring country win all the competitions for countries and u will see the effect on the position of football as the no 1 sport in the long run

i agree modern football favours his by-all-means, aggresive style, but at least spain won a major competition beautifully and man utd won the premier league with some flowing football(thgh they went defensive in crucial times in the champions league).....

i can already imagine meeting him in the champions league with him already complaining about the referee, diving, red card or something though i hope manu knock them out, he has not done anything mancini has not done
even with all the attacking weapons they have(like 10 forwards in total), attacking-wise, like galliani said they have been leaving off episodes from their few world-class attackers(ibracadabra, maicon who you must note have his favoured characteristic - strength)...all flair attacking players(quaresma, mancini, figo, obinna, jimenez n co) in inter hardly get games cos he deems them useless. some actually are

if he was in barca, i'm sure iniesta, xavi, busquets, bojan would be estranged(he would just be using them a lil cos of the fans), messi would surely be injured(remeba robben) because of his techniques, our midfield will be composed of wrestlers.

some people might cite his porto's teams partly attractive style which i also give credit but since he has started coaching big clubs, i feel he is always under pressure because of what he says and his arguments that he's d best.hence he results to use any means neccesary and therefore loves players that share his views

boys...a bit off topic...messi has scored 19 goals so far in all competitions (correct me if im wrong)...have we passed the hal-way mark of the season? i dont think we have but not too sure and cant be bothered checking, if someone knows help me out...you guys reckon he can surpass ronaldo's 42 goal mark? id love that...would shut the arrogant ****er up!!

Hi mate....halfway mark is two more games away (19 games).

Regardless of if he passes it or not...2 points to consider:

1) Messi wouldn't of played as many minutes as Ronaldo
2) Messi would have more assists than Ronaldo.

I think it's a pretty fair assumption to say that Messi is, and always has been, the better all round player.

I did vote for Pep in the pole. When his name came up in the press I immediately hoped he would take over Rijkaard. I didnt want to see Rijkaard leave but I knew it was time for a change and I still hope all the best for Rijkaard in his career.

All those times when there was debate who would replace Rijkaard I hoped that it wouldn't be Mourinho. I hate that guy. I hate his personality, I hate his playing mentality and so on. I respect him as a coach as he is good, I have to admit that, but I just dont like him at all and I'm happy he wasnt selected as Barca's coach!

@aussie barca

No, we have not gone passed the halfway point yet since we still have not played the same team twice and your tally of Messi's goals is accurate.

@Layi,

I agree 100% with you. I have never been a great fan of JM either. He kills great football with his defensive propensity. His "alta pressura" has its limitaions. It is enjoyable only if combined with great creative play out of the middle.

@Nic

I think this is a great question to ask. But I also think that Pep has been more a "lucky" coach than a genius coach.While I am certain to create some contreversy with these statements, I am sure that I will be given a proper read.

First, FCB Darren does a great job listing a number of excellent points on his player and team management style. FCB Darren is absolutely correct with all of the above and to his credit such a style will obviously lead to greater performance by the players. However, looking back, I am left wondering if we would be discussing this article had a few games gone diffenrently:

A-what if Getafe managed to hold on and take all 3 points?
B-What if the game against Atletico Madrid had started differently?
C-What if Real Madrid had managed to win the classico?
D-What if the penalty at Espanyol was never awarded?
E-What if the ref had called the offside on our second goal against Mallorca?

The truth is that these things could have gone either way. Of course, it sounds unfair for me to pick moments in any one game to observe possible outcomes since these things didn't actually happen. My point being that yes he manages players well and yes he has a great system of play but more important to the aforementioned are the fact that Begiristan (check my spelling) and Laporta did a great job in building the team we have today with the players we have today and Pep has greatly benefited from all that plus BARCELONA has been lucky a few times this year.

Diatus,

I can kind of see where you are coming from with your "what if" arguaments but really i cant agree with them. The reason why we ended up winning these games has very little to do with luck and a lot to do with our unrelenting desire to win. For every what if arguament you make there is a counter arguament. We proved a few nights ago that the win against athletico was no fluke and that was with a MUCH weaker team. How many penalties have we NOT been given this season? How many times have we hit the post (more than any other team in the league)? What if Gudjohnson had scored that goal that hit the post? we wouldnt have needed to score the goal that was offside! What if Casillas hadnt made 2 or 3 amazing saves against us? Well i dont think them winning would even have been a consideration. Sure luck plays a part in football but luck is not WHY we won these games, it might have helped a bit but it was the desire that Pep has instilled in our players. Create enough chances and you will score, that is the nature of the game. I think it is a bit unfair to say that Pep has been lucky and even if we had lost an extra game or drawn an extra game our record would still be outstanding. The fact that we have not just shows the desire this team has to win. Their heads never go down and they are constantly searching for another goal. If we get a bit of luck along the way, fantastic, but u cannot say we are lucky or that our current position is down to luck

well said hilal

the what if argument wasnt actually that impossible, but its an exercise that has little relevance because things happened as they did. and who knows if one thing had happened or not. maybe the game vs at mad did not start a crazy 3-0 before they had tied their shoes, but we could just as well have won the game, whether it was by 6 or just 1.

i would def not say pep is a lucky manager. if anything he has inherited a less talented team than before, minus r10 and deco (not my fav but some loved him). i think he selected his players, like those of keita and caceres that many would never have put on our squad, those were def not txiti signings. so i think this man has planned well, gelled extremely well with the players, has worked the team hard in training both mentally and physically. and they say luck favors the prepared. and i just think we are the most prepared team right now.

No, I think both of you are missing part of my point. Yes, you are right that the "what if" argument has its limitations and that for every "if' there is a counter. Blaugranaboy is even right in questioning such an exercise since it is very irrelevant at this point but don't you agree that he had all the elements at his disposal to succeed!!!?

I was one of his early supporters and I still am but Laporta and Begiristan have done a great job building this team and one has to give them part of the credit. So, when I say more "lucky' than genius I do not mean that the guy is not good, I am simply saying that he walked into a good situation with the "right stuff" and has had a few things go his way.
I am just a bit reticent to praise too much at this point anyway, since we have a long season ahead...don' t you agree?

Diatus....ok i see what you are saying. I misunderstood you a little in your previous post. I definitely agree that he definitely had all the elements at his disposal to succeed, especially with a team that had underachieved for so long. With the quality of players he has at his disposal it can be argued that it makes it easy for him to do well. That being said it is not only the fact that we are winning, but the way that we are winning; the way we press teams, the way we pressure the ball, the way we move on and off the ball, the level of fitness the determination to win the game, those things are all Pep. Another manager might have come in and been successful but would he have incorporated all of these elements? Would we have seen the same determination to win every ball and make every run and still manage to play some of the best football we have ever seen? Im not so sure. Of course it is still too early to really judge, we have won nothing. However for a manager as young and "inexperienced" as him to come in and produce the turnaround that he has and with the style as well....you cannot help but praise the man. I hope we can give him the same praise in 2 or 3 years and I hope we have many titles to go along with the praise

Hilal,

I will concede that point to you. You are absolutely right about the things you say and I am willing to give ALL the credit to Pep but you also have to remember that last year was really the only year we truly stunk it up in terms of desire to win. So, it is almost part of our culture to want to win since we've always done that. Henceforth, one (at least me) can only go so far when it comes to crowning Pep the Pope of football (not that you are or that anyone else is).At best he simply reminded the players and maybe the entire club what Barcelona football is all about (on and off the pitch)!!!

pep is definitely more 'genius' than 'luck' in my opinion
all your if statements can also apply to the greatest team of all time
luck is always a factor, but for a team to achieve these type of results, even the least-respected physio or ball-boy must be working as hard as possible not to talk of the head coach.
just the way he keeps the players level-headed with constant rotation and unpredictability is enough to constantly praise him.
there are so many teams whose president and transfer gurus have done all what they can, bought as much as possible but they still dont succeed because they need that important link, a genius head coach that understands all the factors involved. laporta and begiristain did their work and deserve credit for that but they didnt do 1% of guardiola's work, if they could do it, they could have appointed a coach they could control and you know where that will likely take us. dont think is work is any easier because of the amount of talent, the galacticos era and 'fantastic 4' era was not long ago
you work hard for your luck

Layi,

how could you compare the work Laporta and Begiristain to that of Pep...you've got to be kidding me. These are apples and oranges...go back and please take the time to read the my post...please stop everything else and REALLY read it...Hilal got it!!!! but you are talking about blind (lottery) "luck" which no one is talking about here. It is not always as clear cut as it seems... that is obviously is false choice (luck vs genius)!!!!

then you didn't REALLY read my post also
-point out from my post where i compared laporta/begiristain....i merely stated that everybody does their work
-i barely even understand your 2nd statement about 'luck vs genius'
though i didnt make any choice between the two as you can see from my 1st sentence

i've read your post again and i dont think i'll change anything i've said

*mistake, meant
- point out from my post where i compared laporta/begiristain's work with guardiola

Diatus - I do concur with many of your points. Despite all the dramas with Laporta & begiristain early this season, they have done a wonderful job assembling the playing squad we have today - so I can see where you are getting at about Praising Pep too much.

I can also see where you are coming from regarding Luck and the what if stuff - while I don't necessarily think it's down to luck, certainly at least a few times through the year, you need some to land your way.

If you want to talk about luck with Barca this year...it has to be with the low injury count. That is the stuff that can derail your title bids before it even gets off the ground (Madrid, for example).

Layi

maybe I am interpretring your words the wrong way but saying:

"laporta and begiristain did their work and deserve credit for that but they didnt do 1% of guardiola's work"

sounds to me like a comparison. If it is not then one could equally say that Pep has not done 1% of laporta and begiristain's work. Since that too sounds inadequate then you see what I mean when I say that one cannot account for any of them with the same performance measure...again apple and oranges!
Remember, Laporta and Begiristain have been building this team for a few years now and Pep has just coach the team for 19 or 20 games. So, the point I was making again was for the forum to acknowledge the two execs and their efforts and to simply argue that there are many coaches out there who could have brought this team together as well as Pep has. Therefore, while I give him his dues..., he is no genius to me...just a good coach!

then u misinterpreted....that wasn't a comparison, like i said before, i meant nobody does somebody's work for him, the 3 all have to be hardworking and be on their toes while performing their specific functions for us to be successful.

don't worry,...i hope you will soon see the genius of pep(which i hope he is cos we certainly can't be 100% sure from our seats up here) along the way
but guessing from how you feel laporta and txiki have laid everything down for any incoming coach, it would be very hard for him to prove to you that he's really a genius and that only a few are capable of what he's capable of

Hilal,
Two weeks ago, a Dutch TV station ran a video of the times that Barça hit either the post or the bar . It was 12 times and that was two weeks ago !!

Guardiola has proven himself to be a "good "coach . I would NOT go as far as calling him "genius" though . That he is not !! He has at his disposal some of the best players in the world at their positions . How can you go wrong with Messi , Xavi , Eto'o , Iniesta , Toure and Alves ?!

"How can you go wrong with Messi , Xavi , Eto'o , Iniesta , Toure and Alves ?! " Well you only need to look at the last 2 years to see how you can go wrong with all these players. While I agree that it is still far to early to be calling Pep a "genius" I also think he is more than just a "good" coach, especially for Barcelona since he encompasses everything we stand for. He is the best coach for Barca. I do not think any other coach could have achieved what he has in the last few months, certainly not with the style and class he has done it with. It may not make him a genius but it does make him the perfect fit for Barca.

Perhaps we should just wait and see how much Guardiola can achieve as a coach over an extended period of time before throwing superlatives at his direction !!

Hilal,
Messi missed three months in 2006-2007 and six weeks the following year. Although I do not agree with the assumption that Barça rely on Messi too much , I believe though that Barça can only go as far as Messi takes them . He is an oustanding talent and he can change games singlehandedly. Perhaps his absence due to injury was negatively felt by Barça . Alves was not a part of Bará's lineup until this season.

FCB, yes Messi was injured and I agree that he is a huge influence in our team. That being said you cannot put our failure in the last 2 seasons down to his injury or any other injuries for that matter, they played a part for sure but it was the lack of determination, the poor fitness levels and the overconfidence that were our downfall. These are all managerial issues that Pep has solved. He also seems to have solved or at least improved the injuries by implemented a much better training and preparation regime. Maybe if we had employed the same methods 2 or 3 years ago Messi could have avoided some of the muscle injuries he suffered, injuries that are caused by poor preparation and over exhaustion. This is all not taking into consideration the improved tactics over last season.

Alves is one player and while he is a truly fantastic player what makes us so much better now is not any individual players but the way the players work for each other as a team, again this is down to Pep.

I still think we need to give Pep more time since really we have won nothing yet, however he does deserve credit for what he has achieved so far. We are at this moment the best team in Europe. We have scored by far the most goals and we have the best goal difference by miles. All this and we are playing the best football as well. It cannot be underestimated how much of this is as a result of what Pep has done. The majority of the players are the same ones as last season, yet we play like a completely different team.

This was really a nice and healthy discussion.

Well said Diatus....its nice to have these friendly discussions

Ditto !!