Following the result of the recent CIHEFE study, which ranked Barca as the most succesful Spanish club of the last ten years (2000-2010), many people connected to the club can be forgiven for feeling rather proud of the team’s position atop the pile. After all, 12 trophies in 10 years is quite an achievement. And while there are many, many people responsible for the success the club has found over the last decade a special mention must of course go to our current master and chief Pep Guardiola.
As the mastermind behind the club’s most succesful season so far, Guardiola will undoubtedly go down as one of the team’s greatest ever managers. Yet it hasn’t all been cava and croissants for our former number four. In fact, some would even go so far as to say that sometimes Pep has got one or two decisions wrong.
So perhaps now, with performances constantly improving and morale on a high, would be as good a time as any to look back on the occassional things El Mister has misjudged and/or mishandled. Not that there are too many, but in order to shape the successes of our future we must examine the mistakes of our past.
While we could go in chronological order, starting from the first day he took over right up until today, to do that would be to set aside some of the bigger, more obvious issues that have arisen during Pep’s tenure in charge of the team – namely Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The facts surrounding both players’ time at the club have been widely discussed across this site, not to mention countless others, so we won’t rehash the same old details again here. Needless to say some of us adored Samu, some preferred the big Swede, whilst others liked both but always had a certain affection for David Villa. The bigger concern here is just how Pep handled both situations as and when they were taking place.
In terms of Samuel Eto’o, there always seemed to be a mistrust between Guardiola and the Cameroonian that, although didn’t prove costly on the pitch (Eto’o notching over 30 goals in his final season is nothing if not impressive), did appear to deteriorate very rapidly, eventually forcing the striker out in what was deemed by many as an absolutely kamikaze swap deal – with Ibra arriving in his place.
Now much has been made of Pep’s desire to start his reign in charge with a clean slate. All the remnants of Frank Riijkaard’s fruitful (if not fractured) time in charge firmly laid to rest. Out went Deco and Ronaldinho and with that a weight seemed to be lifted from the club. A new cycle could begin. But due to the strange contractual situation Eto’o was in, as well as the fondness many fans still felt for him, those in charge decided to keep hold of the tempramental forward for one more season.
Whether or not this grated on Pep we can’t be sure, but it does seem Guardiola is a very proud man who knows his own mind. As such it was a matter of when, and not if, Eto’o would leave. To give Pep his due he didn’t seem to make life hard for Eto’o during that amazing final season we shared with him; never leaving him out undeservedly or overly criticising him, but when as a player you know you are not wanted, it can’t do much for your morale. Imagine what Samu could have done if Pep would have shown him unreserved support.
Having said that, Eto’o (and his agent) did seem to be pushing the club into an impossible position with their contract demands – almost forcing Laporta and his board to back the striker above the good of the team and future stability of the entire club. Combined with his now infamous personality problems, it quickly became apparent that Pep was right and Samu had to go.
Speaking of personality problems brings us nicely on to the player we got in return for Eto’o's leaving. Of course we’re talking about the one, the only, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The lanky forward arrived quite accustomed to controversy and newspaper headlines but the poor guy can’t have been anywhere near prepared for what was to come his way at Barca.
Going from instant hero to goal-shy laughing stock, Ibra’s star rose and fell in the short space of one small season, with him eventually leaving for AC Milan under a cloud of angry ‘press statements.’ Where his predecessor had nearly always maintained the affection of the fans, Ibra on the other hand seemed doomed to forever stalk the land of indecision, his arrogance and inconsistency proving too much for many supporters. To this day the discussion rages as to whether we should bring the Swede back from Milan but such a discussion is for later down the line.
The question here is whether Pep dealt with the situation in the correct manner. Once again, Pep never spoke badly of the Swede in public In fact he appeared to show more faith and patience with him than many fans. Yet behind the scenes, the story goes that Pep froze Ibra out, turning instead to the more faithful and grounded Bojan when the going got tough come the end of the season. And while it’s great to see Guardiola present himself and the club positively to the press, there does come a time when his niceties and polished routine begins to feel a bit like a political production, coming across as both disingenous and out of touch. ‘We wish him all the best.’ ‘He is a great player.’ ‘It’s not him, it’s us.’
Yes, the situation is made somewhat more complicated due to the nature of Ibra’s loan move to AC, but when the press and fans already know the story then at least treat us with a bit of respect and tell it like it is. Don’t worry, we won’t break down in tears. Just say it. ‘Ibra’s a bit of a crank. He’s a decent player but probably not as good as he thinks he is. We wish him well but really we don’t want him back.‘
Although the above comments are made with our tongue set firmly in our cheek, the matter still stands that this is one part of his gameplan that Pep could certainly improve upon. But we will come to that later on.
For now let’s return to Eto’o and Ibra. In regards to the two ‘tempramental’ forwards, it does seem Pep (and those in charge at the club) were firmly lodged inbetween a large rock and a very hard place. As such, Pep did amazingly well to get the kind of performances he did from the pair given the awkward position he found himself in. Still there were moments during both sagas that could have been handled better – most notably the denials of any move being on the cards when the next day the transfer had suddenly gone through. With just a little more honesty such moments could be avoided, and while it may mean losing the occasional PR battle at least as fans we would know where we stand.
Another player who fell foul of Pep’s favour was Yaya Toure, the big Ivorian seemingly overlooked in favour of the improving yet still inexperienced Sergio Busquets. After an amazing showing during the 2008 – 2009 campaign Yaya was inexplicably sidelined by Pep with little or no explanation as to exactly why. So although the fans’ fondness for Sergio has certainly matured along with the player himself, the question still stands as to why Toure was suddenly deemed surplus to requirements.
During the treble-winning season, Yaya produced performances so good it seemed Patrick Viera had regenerated and landed at the Camp Nou. This is no small complement. He really was that good. He was versatile, tough in the tackle, and passed the ball well. Add to that how good he was at reading the game and the fact that he even managed to chip in with some important goals and it really is hard to understand why Pep took against him.
Certainly there were issues with Yaya’s agent who, a bit like Samu and Ibra’s agents before him, seemed unable to keep his mouth shut. And while it is understandable that Pep would feel frustrated by such behaviour, to force out one of the most talented combative midfield players in the world because of his agent’s idiotic wrangling does seem a bit harsh. Maybe it was a personality clash? Maybe Pep just desperately wanted Masch and knew he could only get him by sacrificing the man from the Ivory Coast? Whatever the case it seems both (or should that be all three) parties got what they wanted – Pep got Mascherano, Yaya and his agent got the big pay day that is Manchester City.
While Masch is still finding his feet at Barca, we can all agree Sergio has certainly stepped up the plate over the past couple of months. Yet personally speaking ,I think the loss of Yaya may still prove to be one of the more notable mistakes of Pep’s time in charge.
But perhaps it will not be one of the bigger names leaving that will prove Pep’s biggest mistake. Perhaps he, and the team in general, will rue the day they allowed the likes of Martin Caceres, Victor Sanchez, and Alberto Botia to find pastures new, with the young Gijon centre-back in particular still hot on the radar of many Barca fans due to the buy back clause in his contract. With his recent form for Sporting catching the eye and with our distinct lack of defenders this season, perhaps Pep should have thought a little longer on Botia. Who said you cannot go back and rectify old mistakes?
Talking of big names there is one huge name that we are overlooking and who, although it pains us to say it, may have to be considered as Pep’s biggest mistake. That’s right - Dymytry Chygrynsky. Not only did the big Ukranian arrive under the pressure of a huge price tag but Pep also made it well known that Chyggy was his preferred choice, pushing Txiki to move for him when many were questioning the money being spent.
Almost inevitably the young man only lasted one season at Barca before being packed off at a discount price back to his old club Shaktar Donetsk. Although his lack of pace and clumsiness were there for all to see it does seem that Chyggy was almost the sacrificial lamb to the alter of Sandro Rossell, the new president wanting to tarnish the transfer records of Laporta and Txiki while also making a quick buck.
If this seems cynical we do apologise but we can’t help but feel sorry for old Chyggy. Barely had he got his boots on and he was back on the plane home. Perhaps, like Botia and Caceres, he will prove those in charge were wrong and come good on the promise Pep saw in him to begin with.
Another player who seemed on the verge of leaving the club after Pep arrived was Bojan Krkic, the manager apparently unimpressed by the qualities of the smiling striker. While we all know the story now – drought, comes good, another drought, comes good again, yet another drought, comes good once more, and so on and so forth – it does seem Bojan had to work extremely hard to get Pep’s validation, the forward only really proving his worth at the end of Guardiola’s second season in charge.
Some of you out there may be saying Pep’s biggest is mistake is persisting in giving Bojan a chance, but for the purpose of this piece we can’t help but wonder what could have been if Pep had put his arm around the youngster earlier on, making him feel valued and an essential part of that treble-winning team. Maybe the loss of Eto’o would not have seemed so worrying and we wouldn’t have needed Ibra at all? Either way Bojan seems to have proved himself to Pep for the time being, giving himself some respite from being considered the biggest mistake – whether it be from those in favour of him or for those against.
Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 where we will look closer at some of Pep’s other notable faux pas, including his dealings (or lack of) in the transfer market and his fondness for the teachings of a certain Dutchman!
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. A taj drugi gol Barce je bio fenomenalan i nije bas izveden na foru. Uostalom, faul je izveden poslije sudijske pistaljke 
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ja lige u p.m. 
