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FC Barcelona to replace Rijkaard with Guardiola
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - FC Barcelona will replace coach Frank Rijkaard with former team captain Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said Rijkaard, who has been in charge for five years and was under contract until 2009, "had made history with Barcelona." Rijkaard's coaching team, which includes Johan Neeskens, will also leave.
Laporta said he had informed Rijkaard of his dismissal on Thursday and that the coach had reacted "elegantly and also with great feeling."
The 37-year-old Guardiola won six league titles in 11 seasons as a midfielder with Barcelona.
"He has the knowledge, the optimism and the self-confidence to achieve success," Laporta said Thursday.
A member of coach Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" that won the 1992 European Cup, Guardiola has never held a senior coaching position.
Barcelona confirmed the coaching switch on its Web site.
"Joan Laporta has announced that Frank Rijkaard will end his stay at Barca at the end of the season. Josep Guardiola, currently trainer to the B team, will take over as coach of FC Barcelona," the team said.
Rijkaard led the Catalan team to the league title in 2005. In the following year, Barcelona won both the league and the Champions League.
However, Barcelona is about to complete a second straight season without a major trophy and on Wednesday lost to champion Real Madrid 4-1.
The Catalan team trails Madrid by 17 points in third place, guaranteeing its worst finish in five years and making it play in the qualifying phase of the Champions League.
It was also recently eliminated by Manchester United in the Champions League semifinals on a 1-0 aggregate.
Rijkaard has two matches remaining - against Mallorca and relegated Murcia - before he steps down on June 30.
Rijkaard, who won the European Cup as a player with Ajax and AC Milan as well as the European Championship with the Netherlands, was the fourth Dutchman to bring Barcelona a league title after Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal and Rinus Michels.
Rijkaard had previously led the Netherlands to the Euro 2000 semifinals but subsequently stumbled when as manager he took Sparta Rotterdam into the Dutch second division. However, he guided Barcelona to a runner-up finish in his first season - its best position since 2000.
Rijkaard then gained widespread praise for his team's attacking play which featured the brilliance of former world player of the year Ronaldinho and the marksmanship of Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.
However, the Dutchman has appeared unable to deal with divisions which surfaced in the locker room over recent years, with Eto'o publicly criticising Rijkaard and Ronaldinho last year.
This season, Barcelona made a host of new signings including former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, but Ronaldinho made little impact amid suggestions that he had lost interest. Injuries to Eto'o and several other top players hampered Rijkaard's chances of repeating his early success.
Laporta on Thursday accepted blame for "not having taken decisions which would perhaps have corrected the way events have turned out.
"Keeping the coach on after last season's failure has not worked," he said.
Laporta also exonerated sports director Txiki Begiristain from blame for the club's slump.
"The technical secretary does the planning and this season, we planned one of the best squads in the history of Barcelona," Laporta said.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - FC Barcelona will replace coach Frank Rijkaard with former team captain Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said Rijkaard, who has been in charge for five years and was under contract until 2009, "had made history with Barcelona." Rijkaard's coaching team, which includes Johan Neeskens, will also leave.
Laporta said he had informed Rijkaard of his dismissal on Thursday and that the coach had reacted "elegantly and also with great feeling."
The 37-year-old Guardiola won six league titles in 11 seasons as a midfielder with Barcelona.
"He has the knowledge, the optimism and the self-confidence to achieve success," Laporta said Thursday.
A member of coach Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" that won the 1992 European Cup, Guardiola has never held a senior coaching position.
Barcelona confirmed the coaching switch on its Web site.
"Joan Laporta has announced that Frank Rijkaard will end his stay at Barca at the end of the season. Josep Guardiola, currently trainer to the B team, will take over as coach of FC Barcelona," the team said.
Rijkaard led the Catalan team to the league title in 2005. In the following year, Barcelona won both the league and the Champions League.
However, Barcelona is about to complete a second straight season without a major trophy and on Wednesday lost to champion Real Madrid 4-1.
The Catalan team trails Madrid by 17 points in third place, guaranteeing its worst finish in five years and making it play in the qualifying phase of the Champions League.
It was also recently eliminated by Manchester United in the Champions League semifinals on a 1-0 aggregate.
Rijkaard has two matches remaining - against Mallorca and relegated Murcia - before he steps down on June 30.
Rijkaard, who won the European Cup as a player with Ajax and AC Milan as well as the European Championship with the Netherlands, was the fourth Dutchman to bring Barcelona a league title after Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal and Rinus Michels.
Rijkaard had previously led the Netherlands to the Euro 2000 semifinals but subsequently stumbled when as manager he took Sparta Rotterdam into the Dutch second division. However, he guided Barcelona to a runner-up finish in his first season - its best position since 2000.
Rijkaard then gained widespread praise for his team's attacking play which featured the brilliance of former world player of the year Ronaldinho and the marksmanship of Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.
However, the Dutchman has appeared unable to deal with divisions which surfaced in the locker room over recent years, with Eto'o publicly criticising Rijkaard and Ronaldinho last year.
This season, Barcelona made a host of new signings including former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, but Ronaldinho made little impact amid suggestions that he had lost interest. Injuries to Eto'o and several other top players hampered Rijkaard's chances of repeating his early success.
Laporta on Thursday accepted blame for "not having taken decisions which would perhaps have corrected the way events have turned out.
"Keeping the coach on after last season's failure has not worked," he said.
Laporta also exonerated sports director Txiki Begiristain from blame for the club's slump.
"The technical secretary does the planning and this season, we planned one of the best squads in the history of Barcelona," Laporta said.
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