On Saturday, he managed to become the youngest coach in football history to win two Champions League titles, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In 1992, he was a part of the Barcelona side that beat Italian team Sampdoria at the same arena, Wembley in London. This was his third Champions League trophy in his life.
In May of 2008 it was announced that he would be succeeding Frank Rijkaard at the head of the first team. He was, at that moment, coaching the Barça B side that went up from Segunda C into Segunda B, his first year as coach. Ever. He took over a distraught, uneven, boisterous side that finished third in the Spanish League. Not the worst, but the club seemed to be falling apart. Guardiola overhauled the team, sending Ronaldinho to AC Milan, nearly kicking out Samuel Eto'o, and brought up some new faces from Barça B, such as Sergio Busquets, and brought Gerard Piqué back from Manchester United.
Expectations...who knew where expectations were. The season started off rocky, with a loss to recent arrivals in Primera Numancia and a draw to Racing Santander. And then...things started happening. Albeit slowly. Wherever expectations were at the beginning of the 2008-09, I don't think anyone expected to win the treble in May. But once May did arrive, once Barça beat Real Madrid 2-6 at the Santiago Bernabéu, once Iniesta scored that magical goal against Chelsea at Stanford Bridge two days later, the seed was planted. Then Barça beat Athletic in the Copa del Rey final. And the league was won by proxy when Real Madrid lost to Villarreal. And then, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, the third was achieved. Three trophies in one season.
Then came the next three. The Spanish Supercup against Athletic Bilbao. The European Supercup against Shakhtar Donetsk. The World Club Cup against Atalante and Estudiantes de la Plata. Six titles in one year. The next season only the Spanish League was won, and this season, the Spanish Supercup, the League and the Champions League. Ten titles. Ten titles in three seasons. By the age of forty.
This man has lifted the spirits of millions of culés all over the world. He's given us ten titles in three years, helped us win three Champions League titles in five years. He's given the world the most beautiful football it's seen in years, and has proven that only can football be beautiful, but that beautiful football can be effective and efficient, and that playing beautiful football can win trophies.
It has been an indescribable experience watching FC Barcelona play under Pep Guardiola's direction. I became an actual fan in March 2008, though I'd had a soft spot for the club since the late '90s (at that point my heart claimed to love Athletic Bilbao, but I had a brother and a best friend who supported the blaugrana). I can't say I know how it feels to go five years without any trophy whatsoever, but I know that I still loved the club I watched lose in May 2008 and get kicked out of the Champions League in semifinals at the hands of Manchester United. It's not much. But if the 2008-09 season hadn't been as it was, I still would have loved that club. And even despite the recent victories, I will still love it after the cycle is over. Which may be soon, as early this year it was "outed" that Guardiola would be leaving after next season. The greatest coach this club has ever had. Ten titles in three seasons. At the hands of a man who has dedicated just about his entire life to one club. Who has proven himself to be not just the best coach FC Barcelona has ever seen, but one of the best coaches football itself has ever seen. He's someone has turned this club into a bastion of beautiful football and a beacon of joy to people the world over.And he does it while being one of the classiest human beings alive.
Felicitats, Pep. Que t'ho mereixes tant com nosaltres, i t'ho agraïm. Mil gràcies.
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