Guardiola to take sabbatical from football
April 27th, 2012 - 9:30 pm ICT by IANSLondon, April 27 (IANS) Pep Guardiola, who announced Friday that he would quit as Barcelona coach at the end of the season, will be taking a year away from the game.
The club appointed his assistant Tito Vilanova as his successor.
Guardiola also ended all speculations that he would be taking over the reigns as Chelsea manager by saying that he never met anyone from Chelsea and is not interested in coaching for now.
“I never met with Roman Abramovich nor any Chelsea representative,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by the British media.
“I’m not interested in coaching now. My desire is to do other things. Maybe sometime in the future I will go back to a bench, but I don’t know at the moment.”
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is said to be interested in signing Guardiola for the vacant managerial spot at Stamford Bridge. Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo can breathe a sigh of relief as he looks to cement his place as Chelsea’s permanent manager.
The decision to quit comes after the Spanish giants were dumped out of the Champions League semi-final by Chelsea Tuesday and also losing to bitter rivals Real Madrid at home Saturday to end all hopes of retaining the league title.
Guardiola’s last match at the helm of the Catalan club will be the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao May 25. His contract ends at the end of the season and he rejected Barcelona’s offer to extend his tenure.
- Guardiola to quit at the end of season - Apr 27, 2012
- Guardiola quits Barca, deputy Tito to take over (Lead) - Apr 27, 2012
- Jose Mourinho extends contract with Real Madrid - May 22, 2012
- Guardiola humbled by praise from colleagues - May 01, 2012
- Guardiola prepares for last league game as Barca coach - May 11, 2012
- Di Matteo appointed permanent Chelsea coach - Jun 14, 2012
- Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona vie in Copa del Rey final - May 24, 2012
- Successful operation for Barcelona assistant coach Vilanova - Nov 23, 2011
- Barca look to avenge defeat at Stamford Bridge - Apr 23, 2012
- Alves angry Barcelona not refuting rumours - Jun 11, 2012
- Barca look to avenge Stamford Bridge defeat at Nou Camp (Lead, superseeding previous story) - Apr 23, 2012
- Guardiola refuses to give up on La Liga title - Jan 29, 2012
- Real Madrid a win away from Liga title - May 02, 2012
- Real Madrid and Barca set for eighth 'Clasico' in 9 months - Jan 17, 2012
- Barcelona squad at limit for Malaga trip - Jan 20, 2012
Tags: athletic bilbao, bitter rivals, champions league, contract ends, copa del rey, copa del rey final, football london, giants, helm, interim manager, last match, owner roman abramovich, pep guardiola, real madrid, roberto di matteo, sigh of relief, speculations, stamford bridge, tito, vilanova