Page 66 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

brought him so much joy, the culmination of a dream, at the Champions League final in Paris a few
years earlier, the second European Cup for the institution. He wanted to be remembered as a
president who had kept faith with a single coach throughout his tenure. There was also the perfectly
understandable fear of handing over control of one of the biggest clubs in the world to a man whose

managerial experience amounted to about eight months with a team four divisions down from the top
flight. And while all of the board were now convinced, there were just as many friends and
journalists telling him, ‘Don’t do it, Joan, it’s suicidal, it’s reckless.’ And then, of course, in a city as
political as Barcelona, there was also the fact that Pep had backed his rival in the 2003 elections.
Nevertheless, Laporta finally relented and at least agreed to take Pep out to dinner and discuss the
future.
In February 2008, they met in the Drolma restaurant of the aptly named Majestic Hotel in the centre

of Barcelona, a Michelin-starred venue that was to provide the setting for one of the defining
moments in the history of the club.
After the pair had worked their way through a bottle and a half of fine wine, Laporta finally felt
ready to tackle the elephant in the room. According to the Barcelona journalist and expert on the club,
Jordi Pons, the conversation went as follows:
‘In principle, if everything goes well, Frank Rijkaard will continue managing the team, but if not;

well, we’ve thought about you. You could be Frank’s replacement,’ suggested the president, testing
the water.
‘If Frank doesn’t continue ...’ Pep mused out loud.
‘As it stands right now, Rijkaard will carry on if the team qualifies for the Champions League final.
But if he goes, you will be the coach of Barcelona,’ Laporta clarified.
‘You wouldn’t have the balls to do that!’ blurted Guardiola at his purest, most honest.
Pep recalls that the wine might have played a small part in his reaction.

‘But would you take it or not?’
Pep gave Laporta one of his trademark cheeky grins – the kind we’ve frequently seen in press
conferences and that many a time got a skinny lad out of trouble in a village square in Santpedor.
‘Yes,’ Pep said. ‘Yes, I would do it because you know I would win the league.’
The day after that meeting, Pep’s alcohol-inspired boldness was turning into self-doubt. He
confided in his faithful assistant, Tito Vilanova, repeating to him the previous night’s conversation

he’d had with the president: ‘If they dismiss Frank, they want me to take over the first team. Do you
think we’re ready?’ His friend didn’t hesitate to answer: ‘You? You’re more than ready.’
Laporta – as he had told Pep over dinner – presented Rijkaard with an ultimatum: he needed to
bring home the Champions League trophy to save his career at Barcelona. At that moment, the
Dutchman, aware that Guardiola was the chosen one to replace him, responded with a selfless gesture
that illustrates perfectly why he has retained the love and respect of so many, including his president.
Rijkaard suggested that, for the good of the club, it would be a great idea to include Pep immediately

as a member of first-team staff to smooth the transition and prepare for the following season. Pep
preferred to stay put and finish the job with his B team.
Nevertheless, Ingla and Txiki set out a plan for the rest of the season which saw them working and
consulting simultaneously with both Rijkaard and Pep, talking about players, injuries and recoveries
and principally how to shake up the working model of the club. The primary goal was to
professionalise the first team. With the approval of both coaches, negotiations intensified for the

purchases of Seydou Keita, Dani Alvés, Alexander Hleb, Gerard Piqué and Martín Cáceres.
Not much was improving behind closed doors at the first team, though.