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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 website."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 criticizing 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.................
The Argentinian has been linked to Manchester United, with some speculative reports suggesting that a swap deal with Cristiano Ronaldo could be in the offing in the summer.Blaugrana technical secretary, Txiki Begiristain, has confessed that there will be large scale changes at the club following the Champions League exit and that has led to lists of players to come and go being drawn up.Messi's name has been on a few of those, but he insists that he has no plans to move anywhere and wants to remain at Catalan outfit where he came through the youth ranks with such a flourish."I have never thought about leaving Barcelona. I do not know what the rest of my team-mates will do, but I want to stay here," he stated.Virtually every member of the squad bar Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Gaby Milito, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta have been linked with a transfer in the summer, but in reality only eight will likely leave.Begiristain wants changes to be made, but Barcelona will have to finance a big spending spree if all the outgoing players are to be replaced in equal numbers.
Barcelona finally rediscovered their goal touch, thrashing crisis club Valencia 6-0 Sunday in front of a relieved Camp Nou. The handsome win, however, does not restore Barca to second place. Villarreal are still second thanks to a 2-0 defeat of Getafe earlier Sunday. Villarreal now have 68 points from 35 games, four more than Barca, and are now seven points behind leaders Real Madrid, who will clinch their 31st Liga title if they win later Sunday at lowly Osasuna. Manuel Pellegrini's team beat Getafe thanks to two clever goals just before half-time from little Nihat Kahveci, one of the outstanding players of the Spanish season. Barca kicked off against Valencia in an ambience of pessimism after failing to score for a month. But the goal drought was quickly broken with early goals from Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez. The much-criticized Thierry Henry then took centre stage with two more goals before half-time, with the pathetic Valencia defence shipping water. On the hour, 17-year-old Bojan Krkic came off the bench and added to Valencia's misery with two more goals, completing the rout. "It was good to give the fans something to shout about at last," the teenage idol told radio station Cadena SER. In fourth place, six points behind Barca, are Atletico Madrid, who thrashed Recreativo Huelva 3-0 Saturday. Two points behind Atletico in sixth place, are Racing Santander, who came back from 2-0 down to beat Murcia 3-2. The latest defeat condemns Murcia to relegation along with bottom team Levante, who drew 1-1 with Espanyol. There are six candidates for the third relegation place. Joint third from bottom on 40 points are Huelva and Osasuna. Zaragoza are now on 41 points following Saturday's last-gasp 1-0 defeat of Deportivo Coruna. Then come three teams on 42 points: Valencia, Valladolid and Getafe, all of whom lost Sunday. Valladolid went down 2-0 against sixth-placed Sevilla, for whom Renato scored twice........
Inter Milan's midfielder Luis Figo, who played for Barcelona for five seasons, says the Spanish club's newly appointed coach, former team captain Pep Guardiola, has what it takes to manage the team.
"I think Pep is intelligent enough to make decisions, to make choices, to do a good job," the 35-year-old Portuguese international told radio Cadena Ser.
"I know him well and I know how much he is passionate about football, so I am not surprised that he has become Barcelona's coach," he added.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced Thursday that Guardiola, who manages the club's reserves, would replace Frank Rijkaard as coach at the end of the season, its second straight season without a major trophy.
The 37-year-old won six league titles in 11 seasons as a midfielder with Barcelona but has never held a senior coaching position.
Barcelona were eliminated in the Champions League semi-final by Manchester United and trail Real Madrid in the Spanish league by 17 points in third place with two games remaining after losing 4-1 to the new champions on Wednesday.......
Fired FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard says he is to blame for the team's poor form, not club president Joan Laporta or his players.
"I assume my responsibility and that's natural," Rijkaard was quoted as saying by news agency Europa Press on Saturday.
The Dutchman was speaking publicly for the first time since Barcelona announced Thursday he would be dismissed at the end of the season after five years in charge.
His replacement will be reserve team coach Pep Guardiola. "It has been a great honour for me. I'm concentrating on the lovely things I have experienced, the people I have worked with, the friendship with people I will carry with me in my heart, the new experiences," Rijkaard said.
On Wednesday, Barcelona lost 4-1 at Real Madrid to trail the recently proclaimed champion by 17 points in third place and guarantee its worst finish since the 2002-03 seasonBarcelona is about to complete a second straight season without winning a major trophy.
It was recently eliminated from the Champions League semifinals by Manchester United. Rijkaard said the fault for the team's difficulties did not lie with Laporta.
"People are talking a lot about the president, but he can't score goals. The sports side was run by me and if the results are not what we want, the president has nothing to do with it," he said.
Rijkaard also chose not to criticize his players, some of whom - including Ronaldinho - have been accused of lacking team spirit and not pulling their weight.
"Each of them, according to circumstances, has done his best," the coach said. Under Rijkaard, Barcelona won 166 of its 281 games.
It lost 51 times. The 45-year-old Rijkaard makes his final home appearance in charge when Barcelona hosts Mallorca on Sunday.
Supporters are expected to use the game at the Camp Nou to vent their annoyance with the team and Laporta for Barcelona's poor form.
However, Rijkaard, who led Barcelona to the Champions League and two league titles, is set to receive a fond farewell.
"We shouldn't applaud someone and not yet others. We're all in the same boat and I don't want to be an exception in this sense.
If there is whistling at the stadium it should also be for me because I am one of the team," he said. Rijkaard also said he had "a lot of respect" for Guardiola, who takes charge on July 1.
"He is doing a great job (with the reserve team). He's a man of the club and I think he could some good things," Rijkaard said.
Rijkaard will field a depleted team against Mallorca. Barcelona is missing six injured players - including Ronaldinho, Andres Iniesta and Gabi Milito - along with the suspended Xavi Hernandez and Rafael Marquez.
Rijkaard has been forced to call up two players from the club's reserve side - defender Rafael Romero and midfielder Jose Manuel Rueda - neither of whom has played in the first team. The coach's final game in charge will be at relegated Murcia next weekend.
Barcelona'a Argentine striker Lionel Messi, who has reportedly sparked interest from English Premiership side Chelsea, said on Tuesday he wants to stay at the Spanish club.
"I am a Barcelona player and this is what matters most," he told radio La Red when asked about the press reports about Chelsea's desire to sign him.
"I have heard that Chelsea like me and I am very proud that such a great club are interested in me but I am happy here," the 20-year-old winger added.
Messi, the runner up for the 2007 World Player of the Year award, has already drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, the inspiration behind Argentina reaching successive World Cup finals in 1986 and 1990, winning the former beating the then West Germany and losing to the same opposition in the second finalHe is under contract with Barcelona until 2014.
Messi joined Barcelona's under-14 side in 2000 at the age of 13 and has quickly moved through the Catalan's side's youth squads until finally reaching the first team
Spanish league runners-up Villarreal have signed up Brazilian World Cup winner Edmilson, seen here in January 2008, whose contract with Barcelona was at an end.MADRID (AFP) - Spanish league runners-up Villarreal have signed up Brazilian World Cup winner Edmilson, whose contract with Barcelona was at an end.The 31-year-old centre-back, who can also play as a holding midfielder, spent four seasons at Barcelona during which he won La Liga twice and picked up a Champions League winners' medal.Edmilson, who previously played for Lyon, with whom he won three French league titles, has played 40 times for Brazil and was part of the 2002 World Cup-winning squad.
