Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola yesterday announced he would be standing down at the end of the season to "recharge his batteries" with his assistant Tito Vilanova confirmed as his replacement by Barca president Sandro Rosell.
Guardiola, who has presided over a period of unprecedented success at the Nou Camp — the club have claimed 13 trophies in his four years at the helm, admitted he has been pondering his future for some time.
ADVERTISEMENT
At a press conference, he said: “Four years is an eternity as Barca coach. In the month of October I announced to the president and to the sporting director that I thought my spell was coming to an end. “I have given everything and I have nothing left and need to recharge my batteries. The demands have been great and I have not been able to rest much. I have to recover and the only way I can do that is by distancing myself. Otherwise, we would have ended up damaging each other.”
Guardiola’s announcement comes in the aftermath of a miserable week that saw Barcelona being knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea and also falling to a demoralising defeat at the hands of Real Madrid at Camp Nou — virtually ending their chances of defending their Spanish title. Guardiola confirmed he will now take a sabbatical from the game despite being linked with numerous jobs across Europe. “I don’t know what I will do now but I will not go straight to coaching,” he said.
Guardiola golden reign at Camp Nou...
>> 2 Champions League triumphs (2009, 2011)
>> 2 European Supercup triumphs (2009, 2011)
>> 2 World Club Cup titles (2009, 2011)
>> 3 Spanish league titles (2009, 2010, 2011)
>> 1 Spanish Cup (2009)
>> 1 Spanish Supercup (2009)u00a0