Page 67 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

Ronaldinho had disappeared from the line-up and didn’t even make the bench these days. He
played his last game in a Barcelona shirt, the 1-2 defeat to Villarreal, two months before the end of a
second trophyless season. A series of suspicious injuries were to blame for Ronnie’s absences and,
during that period, he was more of a regular at the Bikini Club than at the Camp Nou.

He also missed the semi-finals of the Champions League against Manchester United at the end of
April. Barça were held to a 0-0 draw at home against United and then lost 1-0 to a Paul Scholes goal
at Old Trafford. Immediately afterwards, in Manchester airport’s departure lounge, on the way home
from the match, the imminent departure of Frank Rijkaard became clear. On one side of the lounge
was Laporta, visibly worried and deep in discussion with Ingla and Beguiristain; and on the other
side, isolated and alone, was the Dutch coach.
Five days later the board made the formal decision that Pep Guardiola would be the new coach of

FC Barcelona. Remarkably, it was to be the first time that a kid from La Masía had progressed
through all the junior categories to finally end up as the boss of the first team. On Tuesday 6 May
2008, Laporta asked Pep’s friend and club director Evarist Murtra to accompany him to the Dexeus
clinic in Barcelona to congratulate Guardiola on the birth of his third child, Valentina. There he told
Pep that he would be the next Barcelona coach.
Cristina, Pep’s long-time partner, was concerned. ‘Don’t worry,’ said Pep. ‘It’ll all turn out fine,

you’ll see.’
Guardiola, in typical fashion, kept the big news of his promotion to himself, not even warning his
parents that he was about to fulfil his dream until a few hours before Laporta made the official
announcement two days later. ‘The day that the deal is done you will be the first to find out,’ Pep kept
telling his dad, Valentí, who, like all Barcelona fans, had heard the rumours. ‘In the meantime, just
worry about Barça B.’
So, on 8 May 2008, with the season still not finished for Rijkaard but with the Dutchman’s

blessing, Laporta released an official club statement: Josep Guardiola i Sala would be the new first-
team coach. It was the morning after the guard of honour for Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.
‘We went for him because of his football knowledge,’ Laporta told the press. ‘He knows a lot
about this club and he loves attacking football. In fact he is the Dream Team in one package. He has a
football brain – but at the same time he’s educated, always alert, always curious, always thinking
football. The imprint we have always liked at Barcelona.’

Curiously, Pep was not even present during Laporta’s press conference and the club had publicly
announced their deal with him without ever having finalised the details of his contract. Not that the
issue of money was ever going to stand between Guardiola and the Nou Camp. He was offered a two-
year deal and he accepted. His agent, Josep María Orobitg, tried to negotiate a third year and a single
bonus for winning the three main titles but they didn’t reach an agreement. ‘Whatever you do is good
for me,’ Pep said to his representative. He just wanted a fair deal and agreed a modest fixed sum plus
variables. In fact, if he failed to secure the bonus, he’d end up being the fourth worst paid manager in

La Liga. Not a problem. ‘If I do well, they should pay me; if I don’t then I’m no good to them, I’ll go
home and play golf,’ Pep told Orobitg.
There was going to be an official media presentation once the season had finished in June, this time
with Pep Guardiola present as he’d insisted upon waiting until he had finished what he had started
with Barça B. They had beaten Europa 1-0 at home in their final game and were proclaimed
champions of regional group V of the third division; but they would still need to secure a place in the

national Second B division via the play-offs. After impressively overcoming the two ties at El
Castillo in Gran Canaria and at Barbastre, promotion was assured.