FCBARCELONA.CAT

17.06.2008 14:00

Guardiola considered the ideal man for Barça

Anna Segura

Both president Joan Laporta and director of football Txiki Begiristain agreed at Pep Guardiola’s presentation that their new head coach “transmits enthusiasm” and has got people excited about the forthcoming season.

“He brings together all the conditions to become one of the best coaches Barça could have” said president Joan Laporta at the start of his speech in Sala París, where a large crowd has gathered to see Josep Guardiola being presented as the first team manager of FC Barcelona.

The president said that his board was unanimous in its support for the new leader, “because of his knowledge of football, but also because of what he knows about the club”.

A new era

Having played together for so many years in the Dream Team, Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain will be working together again, and the director of football admitted that “this is a very special day.” He said he was “calm, confident and enthusiastic” that Guardiola has been named as the man for the job.

The president went on to say that Guardiola “is the perfect person to manage Barça over the next few years … it is the start of a new era and everything is starting to generate a sense of excitement”.

Serious but spectacular

One of the reasons for sitting Guardiola on the FC Barcelona bench, claimed Joan Laporta was "a style of play that so many of us Barça supporters like, serious football, but one that also takes spectacle into account, and Guardiola knows how to find that balance”.

Txiki looking for group effort

Txiki Begiristain also mentioned that Guardiola is a man with a profound respect for the club and that he “generates ambition as a coach, he makes a group, he works collectively … he immediately led us to believe that he is the right manager”.