Rijkaard to leave Barcelona and be replaced by Guardiola
Thursday, 08 May 2008 20:50
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Barcelona have announced that Frank Rijkaard will leave the club at the end of the season and be replaced by Josep Guardiola.
The news comes a day after Barcelona suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Real Madrid, who they had to form a guard of honour for in recognition of Real winning the Spanish league title.
Rijkaard has paid the price for a second season of failure in which Barcelona have failed to win a trophy and have conceded the league to Real both times.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said at a press conference: "The administration of the club has decided that at the end of this season Frank Rijkaard will cease to be the coach of Barcelona and the position will be occupied by Josep Guardiola.
"Josep has the knowledge, the optimism and the self-confidence to achieve success," added Laporta, who himself has come in for criticism from the Barca fans.
Guardiola is one of the most distinguished players in the history of Barcelona having spent 11 years at the Nou Camp and captained the club for much of that time.
The 37-year-old has been incharge of the Barcelona B Team since June 2007 and has also worked in the famed youth academy, which has produced the likes of Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas.
Rijkaard, who won two league titles and the Champions League with Barcelona, has said he would like to take a break from the game when he left the Nou Camp, but it will be interesting to see if he does that as he has long been linked with the likes of Chelsea and AC Milan. 