Article: Josep Guardiola’s greatest achievement: Barça B (Part 4/4)

This is the fourth part of four that I wrote for @Footballcantera about Josep Guardiolas first season coaching as he took over Barça B in 2007.

The success

Growing up at La Masia himself, Guardiola knew exactly how to motivate his players to get the most out of them. He would often play the “It’s an honor to play for Barça” card, or similar. Making his players take note of the shirt they were wearing and ensuring they knew they were not only representing a fourth division team, they were representing Barça. As the season went on Pep would find solutions to the teams problems, relying on instinct and experience to motivate, inspire and get the best out of them. When the team reached the promotion play-offs, he told them “We’ve made it this far together, now it’s time for YOU to win promotion.”

Another way he would motivate his players was by taking them to lunch if they won three games in a row. It became more expensive than he’d thought as he would end up taking the team out three times that season.

Sometimes he would motivate his players by given them challenges. When the youngster Gai Assulin returned after making his first team debut with the Israeli national team, Pep would tell him: “This weekend – go out and score a goal.” Gai would make two assist and score the third goal in the game that weekend.

Guardiola had a lot to transmit to his players, but he was still humble. And knew that defensive work wasn’t his strong side, so when needed he would take help. Juanma Lillo saw all the games of Barça B team that season and directly after each game Guardiola would call him for advice. Each week Pep would also go to the defensive training session set up by Rodolf Borrell (now at Liverpool) who coached one of the clubs youth teams. Pep went there to observe and learn.

Article: Josep Guardiola’s greatest achievement: Barça B (Part 1/4)

This is the first part of four that I wrote for @Footballcantera about Josep Guardiolas first season coaching as he took over Barça B in 2007.

A couple of weeks ago it became clear that Europe’s most wanted coach, Josep Guardiola will coach Bayern Munich next season. Guardiola has had his share of fans as well as his critics. According to some he is the best coach in the world, to others he didn’t have to do anything at Barça to achieve success, his players did it for him. During his four years coaching FC Barcelona, Guardiola would win 14 trophies. Some say he never had to make hard decisions, he’d never been really challenged. It’s easy to win titles if you have the best team in the world at your disposal.

But what if you are in charge of a fourth division team lacking desire, a team without a soul, without a future. That’s how Barça B was described in 2007, the year Guardiola became their coach.

“What Pep did with Barça B is still of greater merit than what he did later with the first team” – It’s the words of Juanma Lillo former coach and considered as Guardiola’s mentor.

Juanma Lillo speaks the truth, however not many really know the story of what Pep did and what he achieved his first year coaching in charge of a fourth division team. Because even if Josep Guardiola would come to win fourteen trophies and become the most wanted coach in Europe, it’s a story that shows his talents coach. I will try to take you through it in a series of four parts.

– The begging for a ticking time bomb
– The letting go and building of a team
– The rules
– The success

Article: Josep Guardiola’s greatest achievement: Barça B (Part 2/4)

This is the second part of four that I wrote for @Footballcantera about Josep Guardiolas first season coaching as he took over Barça B in 2007.

The building of a team

Josep Guardiola was presented as head coach of FC Barcelona B at Camp Nou on 21th June 2007.

“I am no one as a coach, that’s why I face this opportunity with such uncontrollable enthusiasm. I’ve come here prepared to help in any way necessary. I know the club and I hope to help these players and the idea of football that you have to grow. In fact, the best way of educating the players is to make them see that they can win. I hope the sense of privilege I feel is felt by everyone in the team.” – Guardiola to a full media room at the Camp Nou on his first day as head coach of FC Barcelona B on June 21, 2007 that day.

He knew the challenge he had taken on wasn’t an easy one, and he had been reminded by everyone around him that the fourth division was; hell. And it wouldn’t take long before his first and one of his hardest challenges as a coach came. As the B-team had been regulated to the fourth division the C-team had to disband. Meaning that Guardiola’s first order of business was consolidating two squads of players into one

https://youtu.be/D1GGsur6NqQ