Barcelona's coach: On Cesc, Arsenal, Ibra, and next season's team
Pep Guardiola had lot to say regarding Barcelona's team for next season and all the news surrounding the club. I tried to paraphrase the interview by categorizing the similar comments and deleting redundancy caused by semilar questions he had to respond to. This is based on our friend Pep -not the coach- effort on his twitter. You can read the interview live script on Barcastuff twitter.
This is the the interview content without my own opinion. Followed by my five cents and impressions:
Villa:
"Villa can play in the center or on the left wing. Wherever he has played, he has always scored. Villa is a player who moves well, and creates space. Let's hope he'll continue scoring and that he'll be happy here."
Adriano
"We thought that signing a player just to let Alves rest every now and then wasn't right. Abidal can play as centre-back, that's why we preferred to sign Adriano. Adriano is very versatile. He is 24-25 years old, he knows the league, and has a lot of energy. A great transfer."
Holding midfielder:
"I'm not aware that we're interested in Alou Diarra as possible substitute of Touré. We're looking for someone with the profile of Touré. Or we could play Keita in that position. It will depend on the finances."
Yaya
"Touré is a unique player but he wanted to leave. He is a big loss for us. We've done all we can to make him stay but I understand he wants to play more. I thank him for what he has given us and I hope that he will find what I wasn't able to give him."
Chygrynskiy:
"Chygrynskiy? I know I'm alone on this one but I didn't want to sell him. The president said we needed to sell for economic reasons. The sale of Chygrynskiy was needed to pay the salaries of the employees? They told me something like that. The economic criteria of the president and the club are moreimportant than my opinion. So I understand the sale of Chygrynskiy. I'm just an employee of the club. I feel part of the new structure of the sport’s area but the club made the decision. I'm a man of the club. Although it might not seem like that with people suggesting I'm deciding everything around here"
Henry
"It has been an immense pleasure to have worked with Henry. We keep good memories from his time at the club. I wish Henry all the best in New York."
Loaned players
"We plan to loan out the same players as last season. Today, I've talked with some of them."
Marquez
"Will Marquez leave? That's possible. He will make the decision. I cannot guarantee him a lot of playing time."
Ibra
Ibrahimovic and his agent will choose what they think is best for his future. He has to be a key player. We've talked. Last season he did very well. I didn't ask anyone to try and sell him.
Bojan
I'm delighted Bojan continues and that he proved me wrong at the end of last season. I hope this year I will be able to give Bojan the playing time he deserves.
Cesc
Signing Cesc would cost us a lot. And I understand that because he's important for Arsenal. If Arsenal doesn't want to negotiate for Cesc, we can't negotiate. We want Cesc, but it seems Arsenal and Madrid want him too. I don't know how things stand now.
The team and the competition
Small squad? Well, we don't have a penny left, so we can't sign new players. Maybe we'll have a couple more, plus the youth. I'm not worried about a small squad. I'm working better this way. Maybe we need something in midfield but Cesc is expensive.
Abidal could be an option as center-back. Besides, we also have some youth coming. (Keita as a Holding midfielder as mentioned above).
We need to be competitive again. We need to make ourselves small to be great again. We'll try to defeat Madrid with modesty and enthusiasm. Last season, both could have won the league. Time will judge on next season's league. 99 points vs. 98, that's a small difference. It's about details, as in the CL semis. Winning the league will again be very difficult. We will have to compete for every victory.
Barca B
I have a lot of faith in the players of the B team. Their promotion is great news. Luis Enrique and his team did an incredible job. There are great players in the B team but they are the ones who should do it now.
We will try for the B team to play before the first team so people can first go and support them.
World cup:
Not even drunk I would have believed two years ago that Pedro and Busquets would win a world cup, a trophy I don't have. We will see how the world cup will affect our players and performances. The players and I want to repeat last season. I don't feel that world cup as mine. It's exclusively the world cup of the players and the coach. It has been a long process. It's not right to exclusively link Spain's world cup win with Barça. There are many other factors involved.
Players’ international friendly
Spain friendly on 11 Aug? It wouldn't be logic since they only return from vacation 9 Aug but the federation decides. What if I'd give them two more days of holiday?
Pep and the board
"I don't know why the press always speculates I'm having a bad relationship with the president. Last year Laporta, now Rosell. The new structure has been decided by the club. The president listened to my opinion, but the club makes the decision. I don't feel left alone. Manel [Estiarte] is here, Tito, the players. And I'll keep on calling Johan when I need advice.
Contract renewal
I'm very happy and thankful to be able to continue another year. I don't make any promises, only that we will work hard. I feel more comfortable working with a short-term contract. I need to know there's a good understanding with the players. I asked the board for a one-year contract but the years don't really matter. The day I feel I can't make the team work, I leave. The president talked about the stability of a long-term contract but results are the only guarantee for stability.
There won't be a problem with my renewal this year. There are no elections, so things will be calmer. The renewal was postponed because the president had 1000 things to do. We closed a deal in few minutes. There are few clauses.
I prefer short-term contract and I'm grateful the board has respected my wish. There's no better place than here.
Cruyff
It would be good the president meets with Cruyff because he has been an important person in the history of the club.
Cruyff should always be linked with Barcelona. Something went wrong. Johan doesn't deserve this. He'll talk with the president.
Games Schedule
"I don't think the hours of the games will change. The television stations are deciding, they have the right to do so"
The fine
Fining me is just bad for them. The images are there. They're not saying the truth, fine or no fine. They falsified the referee reports and I guess they can't go back now.
Mourinho
"Mourinho? The more good players and coaches, the better for the Liga. His character? Every has his own."
My five cents
Pep interview shed some lights on the overall environment in the club at the moment and the team to expect for next season.
In a way, he confirmed what we’ve been repeating on this blog since a while. He is considering Villa as a quality option on the left flank –something the world cup already demonstrated. Its also good that they took in consideration that we can’t sign a pure backup for Alves. I would have preferred a player who can play both as a Right back and a Center back instead of Adriano as that would have met our direct needs without other modifications. But in the post where we welcomed Adriano I mentioned that there might not be any good option in the market to fit that demand. So we signed Adriano.
Pointing out that Abidal is an option for the center back is also good. But it’s yet to be seen how far we can use two offense oriented fullbacks with only a holding midfielder in front. We can’t do it Spain’s world cup way, because it means changing the whole structure. There are numerous options; we will come to that in another article about next season tactical potentials. Keita is another name that Pep mentioned to enhance some positions’ depth. It’s true that he can serve as a holding midfielder. But if Hleb will be loaned (as pep said regarding all ex-loaned players) then beside the youth, Keita is the only available backup for Iniesta and Xavi. To count him as a backup for Busquets as well is a bit too much. Moving Messi to play deeper in some games is an option. But that will not provide the minimal depth needed. Signing a midfielder is a must. And I am sure we will.
Also, glad to know that Adriano was Pep’s choice. I had no doubt about it for the kind of utility players Adriano is.
Marquez is leaving. It seems inevitable. I would have liked to keep him for one more season especially that he can play as a Center back and as a holding midfielder. But Pep can’t give him any guaranties. Fair enough.
Talking about guarantees, the same thing applied on Ibra. I am a believer in Ibra’s qualities, a player who was the backbone for different teams in different leagues playing different styles. His attributes makes him the best combination of offense pivot for Barcelona. At the same time, we are talking about a coach who achieved everything for the club so far, the coach who brought this player in the first place. It’s a challenge for the coach to create the perfect structure to benefit from this immense kit he has in his squad. It’s also a challenge for the player to fight to prove his worth. If Ibra and his agent demands any guarantees, they can’t expect any. If Ibra wants to stay and succeed, no one can stop him. Nor even a club president hiding in the bush waiting for an opportunity. If he wants it easy, Man city is out there.
Talking about determination, take Bojan as an example. If a young child-like Krkic had the patience and spirit to keep working for his spot, Ibra need to know the requirements of being in a big club like Barca. That psychological remark pep made about Bojan was extremely smart. You can imagine Bojan’s moral now. There are no automatic starters. Let the battle begins.
In the same context, Pep enlightened us more regarding Yaya’s case, though it was not that mysterious. He is a great player. He lost the starting role for a player who performed better. It was a matter of form more than being a matter of quality. He wanted the guarantees Pep can’t and shouldn’t give. He picked another choice where he felt it fits him better. Good luck.
I will not comment about Cesc. While his praise for Henry is a given. A player who was a crucial member in the squad that brought the best of Barcelona in the history of the club.
Chygrynskiy’s transfer brings us to the work environment in the club this summer. Regardless of how we evaluate the player’s qualities, there are some issues about the transfer that bring lot of concerns to the table. Pep didn’t want to sell him. And it seems he was not completely convinced regarding the economic needs behind selling him “The sale of Chygrynskiy was needed to pay the salaries of the employees? They told me something like that.”. Rosell approached the case from a position where Pep can’t actually win an argument: “The economic criteria of the president and the club are more important than my opinion.” When the president says if we don’t sell we bankrupt, what can the coach argue about? At the end of the day he is “just an employee of the club…Although it might not seem like that with people suggesting I'm deciding everything around here".
Chegrnskiy’s transfer can barely pay the salaries of Messi and Bartra. That tells enough. There should have been some other ways to pay the salary of the clubs plumber for one month other than selling an asset that the coach feels he can be great for many years, especially if you take in consideration that the money arrived couple of weeks later.
No doubt, Pep is taking the “professional employee” profile here. He is not in a conflict with the current board. But it’s safe to say that he is not as empowered and its not the same friendly environment. He didn’t waste a chance to take his position in the cruyff-Sandro case. Not only that but this comment is interesting:
“I don't feel left alone. Manel [Estiarte] is here, Tito, the players. And I'll keep on calling Johan when I need advice.”
He barely has a clue about some operations that he is contradicting himself Sandro-style. In one sentence he says we don’t have a penny and in another he says Cesc is too expensive (which means that there is more than just a penny in the pocket but just not enough for Cesc-60M price tag). “Maybe we need something in midfield but Cesc is expensive.” Is the best remark he made. It’s still too easy to get confused, we had 50 million-Adriano= 40 Millions + any new transfer we make (sell). May be Sandro was just bluffing when he said we have 50 M, but it can go both ways: 5 million instead of 50, or may be 500.
Yet, if we will not sign, we must not sell. And maybe we must not be as enthusiastic to loan out every player we can.

I would like to have at least two more midfielders right now. A new DM signing, and perhaps one of:
Marc Crosas/Thiago/JDS/Hleb/Marquez. A new CB would be nice, but if we can't afford one, then Fontas should just be promoted. If I was the coach, I would try to buy V. Kompany (or any other good DM who can play CB), promote Fontas, and take Hleb back.