The Next Villa Manager Part 3

[JulieB]

That's it, I'm not going to convince myself someone will be our manager until I see a picture of them holding a Villa shirt. McClaren, Hughes, Benitez, Ancelotti and Martinez have all been nailed on to be our manager at some point.

Oh come on... this is priceless!

[thejoker]

i know i'll get konocked down again so dont know why im saying this but same source has said that coyle is still our number one target.

Same source as what...?

[dudevillaisnice]

i know i'll get konocked down again so dont know why im saying this but same source has said that coyle is still our number one target.

Bloody hope not.

+1

no thanks to Coyle.. never liked him and can't stand him.

[nik986]

i know i'll get konocked down again so dont know why im saying this but same source has said that coyle is still our number one target.

Same source as what...?

Head of PE at school has a brother in law who is aphysio at villa.

[islingtonclaret]

i know i'll get konocked down again so dont know why im saying this but same source has said that coyle is still our number one target.

Same source as what...?

Nobody knows who our number one target is, so...your source is 100% wrong.

[thejoker]

I'd quite like Coyle. A top top manager in the making...I'd quite like to get him before Spurs (or similar size club)

[coda]

Where's Coyle holidaying this summer?

[steaknchips]

It was the year 2003, the year new Club President elect Joan Laporta hired Frank Rijkaard as manager of FC Barcelona. Real Madrid had just won two of the past 3 La Liga titles and were succeeding in the early 2000′s. Barcelona were a club in crisis and they were in debt. Before the hiring of Rijkaard, Barca ended the season in 6th place and had not won La Liga or a single trophy since the 1998-99 season. The Nou Camp was no longer full of joy but instead with anger and pessimism because of the direction the club was heading.

So it was time to rebuild and start fresh, and that started at the top with Laporta and Director of football Txiki Begiristain. June 23, 2003 Rijkaard was hired and that is where the building blocks started. Real Madrid were deemed the Galactico’s in other words superstars, signing big names such as Ronaldo from Brazil,Zidane,Claude Makalele and former Barca legend Luis Figo. Madrid were getting all the press clippings and attention from what Club President Florentino Perez was building at Madrid but Barca had plans of their own. Barca rated Manchester United winger David Beckham as their number one target and Ronaldinho second. Beckham snubbed a move to Barca and chose Madrid. Ronaldinho on the other hand was playing his club football for Pairs St. Germain and was coming off a World Cup victory over Germany the previous summer.

Barca outbid Manchester United and signed Ronaldinho on the 19th of July that year. It will be set in stone and forever remembered by Barcelona fans. More players came along as Rijkaard signed defender Rafael Marquez from Monaco,Edgar Davids(Juventus),Ricardo Quaresma(Sporting Lisbon),Giovanni van Bronckhorst(Arsenal), but Rijkaard struggled early on in his first season as old players who did not meet the standards of Barca,and the fans were phased out. Rijkaard rebuilt his new-side by building his team around Ronaldinho while implementing Barca youth players such as Xavi,Puyol,Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta.

Barca hit rock bottom falling as low as 16th in the table and lost to Rivals Real Madrid in December. Fans were calling for his and Laporta’s resignation. It took patience and strategic planning, as Barca were climbing out of debt while trying to field a winning team and restore the Barca glory from years past. Barcelona would go on to finish the 2003-04 season in 2nd place, just 5 points behind La Liga champions Valencia. Meanwhile Real Madrid placed 4th as this was a sign to come. Expectations were raised following a strong finish by Rijkaard’s side after the 2003-04 season as Barcelona were now favorites to win the league.

Rijakaard would continue to build his quad and that would start with offloading Ricardo Quaresma to FC Porto for midfielder Deco. Rijkaard also wanted a top notch finisher up front to compliment the service from the midfield. The man Rijkaard wanted was Mallorca scoring machine Samuel Eto’o, and he got him. The next signing would be Ludovic Giuly, a talented Frenchman who played for Monaco. The 2004-05 season was a success as Barca won La Liga for the first time since the 98-99 season but no European glory.

The tactics used during his tenure as manager of FC Barcelona best exemplify Frank Rijkaard’s commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team’s 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a 4-1-2-2-1 formation, a system which encouraged the creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks. Within this system the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield which frequently advanced to participate in the attack.

The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents’ half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking. Rijkaard’s puzzle was coming together after the 2004-05 season and expectations were even higher as they were now targeting the Champions League. Rijkaard brought in role players to fill specific needs on the pitch such as Henrik Larsson,Mark Van Bommel,Edmilson, and Maxi. He also added depth to the bench, because it is a long season where injuries always occur and many matches are to be played. The 2005-06 season would be Rijkaard’s best to date, as the team had stars who played a beautiful style of football that was captivating the world of Football.

The main star was Ronaldinho, who was Rijkaard’s foundation to success. Samuel Eto’o was scoring goals at a rapid pace, and finished the previous season one goal shy of the pichichi behind Villareal’s Diego Forlan. Deco, Ronnie’s partner in midfield would help lead Barca to win the Champions league over the favored English team Arsenal headed by Thierry Henry. Barca would win La Liga for the second consecutive season, along while winning the Supercopa. It was a vision and a plan that Laporta and Rijkaard put together when they arrived in 2003 that had all come into fruition.

The titles, the trophies, the glory, but first and foremost, the Catalan community and the fans of Barcelona. The players were enjoying individual success as well. Ronaldinho would win his second consecutive FIFA World Player of the year award(2004-05,2005-2006). Et’o won the Pichichi award, netting 26 league goals. Rijkaard became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabéu, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal and Luis Aragonés were unable to accomplish.

His no nonsense policy on and off the field, and the sparkling football played by his team, won him many plaudits and Rijkaard was among the five nominated coaches for UEFA’s Team of the Year 2005. On 8 March 2006 he was also honoured by UEFA for his contributions to the European Cup Competition throughout his career as player and manager. At the start of the 2006-07 season Barca were once again favorites and they were now the talk of Spain and around the world. They would make a few signings by bringing in Juventus defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram.

They also signed forward Gudjohnsen from Chelsea. This would also be the season where we would see Lionel Messi inserted into the starting lineup. Rijkaard gave Messi his debut in a friendly on 11/16/03 in a friendly match against FC Porto at just the young age of 16. Messi would come off the bench for a couple of seasons and impressed Rijkaard. The season ended in a huge disappointment as Barca would let their lead in the table slip with just a month of the season to go, and finished second to Rivals Real Madrid. The only trophy Barca won was the Supercopa. The summer 0f 2007 Barca made a splash with the signing of Thierry Henry from Arsenal.

It was big news as everyone wanted to know what formation would Rijkaard use, and who was going to be left on the bench. Barca also would bring in Yaya Toure,Eric Abidal and Gabi Milito, and Rijkaard once again went to they youth system for Bojan and Gio Dos Santos. The 2007-08 season was a huge letdown as the team was hit by injures to Ronaldinho,Henry,Eto’o,Messi,Milito and Deco. The team was different every week as it was hard to find chemistry with the players because of the injuries. The locker room was unsettled as reports were surfacing about the divided locker room. Barca would go on to finish the season 3rd in the table and not win a single trophy. Thierry Henry,Barca’s biggest signing would lead the team with 19 goals even though he was injured.

The team had all the right pieces but they failed due to massive injures and unrest in the locker room. After losing to Manchester United in the semifinal of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, Rijkaard was asked whether he would quit at the end of the season seeing as though he had not won anything for two successive seasons. Rijkaard replied:

“I have no intention of leaving. It would be different if the players were saying it is time for me to go but that is not the case.”

On 1 May 2008, it is reported that Frank Rijkaard allegedly confided to a colleague that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. But 24 hours later Rijkaard stated in a press conference that he has no intention of leaving Barcelona.

On 8 May 2008, the day after Barcelona’s dismal 4-1 defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta announced that at the end of the 2007-2008 season, Frank Rijkaard will no longer be head coach of the first team.

Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting; Rijkaard was succeeded by Josep Guardiola. Joan Laporta made it clear that Frank Rijkaard’s achievements “made history” and praised him for his time at the club. It was time to say goodbye to Ronaldino and Deco as they were sold to Milan and Chelsea. Eto’o was reportedly on his way out as well but he stayed one more season and led Barca to another La Liga title along while scoring the decisive goal to win the Champions League once again defeating defending champs Manchester United.

Eto’o also finished the season a few goals shy of the Pichichi award behind Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid just as the same before in the 2004-05 season. Eto’o the last of Rijkaard’s original three, was forced out by Joan Laporta and new coach Guardiola and will now be playing for Inter Milan. Lionel Messi would go on to thank Frank Rijkaard by saying, “he was the man who believed in me, he gave me the chance to start at Barca, he believed in my abilities on the pitch and he showed me how to become a man. We won glory with Rijkaard and for that I can never forget he was a inspirational coach and I will always remember and thank him for everything he has done for my career.”

By

Ben Kesington

Im one for delving into stuff over the net and came accross this interesting article.. Its about Rijkaard and what he achieved at Barca etc.. Some may like a read as he remains a target for the managerial possition..

link to original article

[villanesque]

Maybe Hou rented his spot out to Randy for the face to face meeting with Carlo. This way Hou makes a little on his beach rental property Randy gets to conduct business privately and out of the eye of the press and Carlo can sign on the dotted line without the Roma and juventus fans trying to chase him down and kill him for lying and being anti serie A. Yep it's all crystal clear now!

[nik986]

i know i'll get konocked down again so dont know why im saying this but same source has said that coyle is still our number one target.

Same source as what...?

Nobody knows who our number one target is, so...your source is 100% wrong.

may well be the case, but any info i'll always pass on

[Valhalla]

Steve is in talks to go back to his homeland. I just don't know where to turn.

gutted

[limvillian]

I thought Randy had a holiday home in Corsica and that's how he first met Houllier?

[VillaAlex]

Steve is in talks to go back to his homeland. I just don't know where to turn.

gutted

Schteve ruled it out

[steaknchips]

It was the year 2003, the year new Club President elect Joan Laporta hired Frank Rijkaard as manager of FC Barcelona. Real Madrid had just won two of the past 3 La Liga titles and were succeeding in the early 2000′s. Barcelona were a club in crisis and they were in debt. Before the hiring of Rijkaard, Barca ended the season in 6th place and had not won La Liga or a single trophy since the 1998-99 season. The Nou Camp was no longer full of joy but instead with anger and pessimism because of the direction the club was heading.

So it was time to rebuild and start fresh, and that started at the top with Laporta and Director of football Txiki Begiristain. June 23, 2003 Rijkaard was hired and that is where the building blocks started. Real Madrid were deemed the Galactico’s in other words superstars, signing big names such as Ronaldo from Brazil,Zidane,Claude Makalele and former Barca legend Luis Figo. Madrid were getting all the press clippings and attention from what Club President Florentino Perez was building at Madrid but Barca had plans of their own. Barca rated Manchester United winger David Beckham as their number one target and Ronaldinho second. Beckham snubbed a move to Barca and chose Madrid. Ronaldinho on the other hand was playing his club football for Pairs St. Germain and was coming off a World Cup victory over Germany the previous summer.

Barca outbid Manchester United and signed Ronaldinho on the 19th of July that year. It will be set in stone and forever remembered by Barcelona fans. More players came along as Rijkaard signed defender Rafael Marquez from Monaco,Edgar Davids(Juventus),Ricardo Quaresma(Sporting Lisbon),Giovanni van Bronckhorst(Arsenal), but Rijkaard struggled early on in his first season as old players who did not meet the standards of Barca,and the fans were phased out. Rijkaard rebuilt his new-side by building his team around Ronaldinho while implementing Barca youth players such as Xavi,Puyol,Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta.

Barca hit rock bottom falling as low as 16th in the table and lost to Rivals Real Madrid in December. Fans were calling for his and Laporta’s resignation. It took patience and strategic planning, as Barca were climbing out of debt while trying to field a winning team and restore the Barca glory from years past. Barcelona would go on to finish the 2003-04 season in 2nd place, just 5 points behind La Liga champions Valencia. Meanwhile Real Madrid placed 4th as this was a sign to come. Expectations were raised following a strong finish by Rijkaard’s side after the 2003-04 season as Barcelona were now favorites to win the league.

Rijakaard would continue to build his quad and that would start with offloading Ricardo Quaresma to FC Porto for midfielder Deco. Rijkaard also wanted a top notch finisher up front to compliment the service from the midfield. The man Rijkaard wanted was Mallorca scoring machine Samuel Eto’o, and he got him. The next signing would be Ludovic Giuly, a talented Frenchman who played for Monaco. The 2004-05 season was a success as Barca won La Liga for the first time since the 98-99 season but no European glory.

The tactics used during his tenure as manager of FC Barcelona best exemplify Frank Rijkaard’s commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team’s 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a 4-1-2-2-1 formation, a system which encouraged the creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks. Within this system the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield which frequently advanced to participate in the attack.

The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents’ half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking. Rijkaard’s puzzle was coming together after the 2004-05 season and expectations were even higher as they were now targeting the Champions League. Rijkaard brought in role players to fill specific needs on the pitch such as Henrik Larsson,Mark Van Bommel,Edmilson, and Maxi. He also added depth to the bench, because it is a long season where injuries always occur and many matches are to be played. The 2005-06 season would be Rijkaard’s best to date, as the team had stars who played a beautiful style of football that was captivating the world of Football.

The main star was Ronaldinho, who was Rijkaard’s foundation to success. Samuel Eto’o was scoring goals at a rapid pace, and finished the previous season one goal shy of the pichichi behind Villareal’s Diego Forlan. Deco, Ronnie’s partner in midfield would help lead Barca to win the Champions league over the favored English team Arsenal headed by Thierry Henry. Barca would win La Liga for the second consecutive season, along while winning the Supercopa. It was a vision and a plan that Laporta and Rijkaard put together when they arrived in 2003 that had all come into fruition.

The titles, the trophies, the glory, but first and foremost, the Catalan community and the fans of Barcelona. The players were enjoying individual success as well. Ronaldinho would win his second consecutive FIFA World Player of the year award(2004-05,2005-2006). Et’o won the Pichichi award, netting 26 league goals. Rijkaard became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabéu, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal and Luis Aragonés were unable to accomplish.

His no nonsense policy on and off the field, and the sparkling football played by his team, won him many plaudits and Rijkaard was among the five nominated coaches for UEFA’s Team of the Year 2005. On 8 March 2006 he was also honoured by UEFA for his contributions to the European Cup Competition throughout his career as player and manager. At the start of the 2006-07 season Barca were once again favorites and they were now the talk of Spain and around the world. They would make a few signings by bringing in Juventus defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram.

They also signed forward Gudjohnsen from Chelsea. This would also be the season where we would see Lionel Messi inserted into the starting lineup. Rijkaard gave Messi his debut in a friendly on 11/16/03 in a friendly match against FC Porto at just the young age of 16. Messi would come off the bench for a couple of seasons and impressed Rijkaard. The season ended in a huge disappointment as Barca would let their lead in the table slip with just a month of the season to go, and finished second to Rivals Real Madrid. The only trophy Barca won was the Supercopa. The summer 0f 2007 Barca made a splash with the signing of Thierry Henry from Arsenal.

It was big news as everyone wanted to know what formation would Rijkaard use, and who was going to be left on the bench. Barca also would bring in Yaya Toure,Eric Abidal and Gabi Milito, and Rijkaard once again went to they youth system for Bojan and Gio Dos Santos. The 2007-08 season was a huge letdown as the team was hit by injures to Ronaldinho,Henry,Eto’o,Messi,Milito and Deco. The team was different every week as it was hard to find chemistry with the players because of the injuries. The locker room was unsettled as reports were surfacing about the divided locker room. Barca would go on to finish the season 3rd in the table and not win a single trophy. Thierry Henry,Barca’s biggest signing would lead the team with 19 goals even though he was injured.

The team had all the right pieces but they failed due to massive injures and unrest in the locker room. After losing to Manchester United in the semifinal of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, Rijkaard was asked whether he would quit at the end of the season seeing as though he had not won anything for two successive seasons. Rijkaard replied:

“I have no intention of leaving. It would be different if the players were saying it is time for me to go but that is not the case.”

On 1 May 2008, it is reported that Frank Rijkaard allegedly confided to a colleague that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. But 24 hours later Rijkaard stated in a press conference that he has no intention of leaving Barcelona.

On 8 May 2008, the day after Barcelona’s dismal 4-1 defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta announced that at the end of the 2007-2008 season, Frank Rijkaard will no longer be head coach of the first team.

Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting; Rijkaard was succeeded by Josep Guardiola. Joan Laporta made it clear that Frank Rijkaard’s achievements “made history” and praised him for his time at the club. It was time to say goodbye to Ronaldino and Deco as they were sold to Milan and Chelsea. Eto’o was reportedly on his way out as well but he stayed one more season and led Barca to another La Liga title along while scoring the decisive goal to win the Champions League once again defeating defending champs Manchester United.

Eto’o also finished the season a few goals shy of the Pichichi award behind Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid just as the same before in the 2004-05 season. Eto’o the last of Rijkaard’s original three, was forced out by Joan Laporta and new coach Guardiola and will now be playing for Inter Milan. Lionel Messi would go on to thank Frank Rijkaard by saying, “he was the man who believed in me, he gave me the chance to start at Barca, he believed in my abilities on the pitch and he showed me how to become a man. We won glory with Rijkaard and for that I can never forget he was a inspirational coach and I will always remember and thank him for everything he has done for my career.”

By

Ben Kesington

Im one for delving into stuff over the net and came accross this interesting article.. Its about Rijkaard and what he achieved at Barca etc.. Some may like a read as he remains a target for the managerial possition..

link to original article

One thing I would like everyone to notice in this article is that Rijkaard was ALWAYS bringing kids through...ALWAYS thinking of the future of the club...He dosnt sit back in the past and is always trying to move into the future of modern football.. You could say Messi plays a huge part in his future of a future player, he certainly added alot of imput into the player's game.. People talk of Hughes, Martinez etc but if we are serious about the next appointment...Yes a gamble it may be..But I dont think we go too far wrong with Rijkaard and his vision..

[nik986]

It was the year 2003, the year new Club President elect Joan Laporta hired Frank Rijkaard as manager of FC Barcelona. Real Madrid had just won two of the past 3 La Liga titles and were succeeding in the early 2000′s. Barcelona were a club in crisis and they were in debt. Before the hiring of Rijkaard, Barca ended the season in 6th place and had not won La Liga or a single trophy since the 1998-99 season. The Nou Camp was no longer full of joy but instead with anger and pessimism because of the direction the club was heading.

So it was time to rebuild and start fresh, and that started at the top with Laporta and Director of football Txiki Begiristain. June 23, 2003 Rijkaard was hired and that is where the building blocks started. Real Madrid were deemed the Galactico’s in other words superstars, signing big names such as Ronaldo from Brazil,Zidane,Claude Makalele and former Barca legend Luis Figo. Madrid were getting all the press clippings and attention from what Club President Florentino Perez was building at Madrid but Barca had plans of their own. Barca rated Manchester United winger David Beckham as their number one target and Ronaldinho second. Beckham snubbed a move to Barca and chose Madrid. Ronaldinho on the other hand was playing his club football for Pairs St. Germain and was coming off a World Cup victory over Germany the previous summer.

Barca outbid Manchester United and signed Ronaldinho on the 19th of July that year. It will be set in stone and forever remembered by Barcelona fans. More players came along as Rijkaard signed defender Rafael Marquez from Monaco,Edgar Davids(Juventus),Ricardo Quaresma(Sporting Lisbon),Giovanni van Bronckhorst(Arsenal), but Rijkaard struggled early on in his first season as old players who did not meet the standards of Barca,and the fans were phased out. Rijkaard rebuilt his new-side by building his team around Ronaldinho while implementing Barca youth players such as Xavi,Puyol,Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta.

Barca hit rock bottom falling as low as 16th in the table and lost to Rivals Real Madrid in December. Fans were calling for his and Laporta’s resignation. It took patience and strategic planning, as Barca were climbing out of debt while trying to field a winning team and restore the Barca glory from years past. Barcelona would go on to finish the 2003-04 season in 2nd place, just 5 points behind La Liga champions Valencia. Meanwhile Real Madrid placed 4th as this was a sign to come. Expectations were raised following a strong finish by Rijkaard’s side after the 2003-04 season as Barcelona were now favorites to win the league.

Rijakaard would continue to build his quad and that would start with offloading Ricardo Quaresma to FC Porto for midfielder Deco. Rijkaard also wanted a top notch finisher up front to compliment the service from the midfield. The man Rijkaard wanted was Mallorca scoring machine Samuel Eto’o, and he got him. The next signing would be Ludovic Giuly, a talented Frenchman who played for Monaco. The 2004-05 season was a success as Barca won La Liga for the first time since the 98-99 season but no European glory.

The tactics used during his tenure as manager of FC Barcelona best exemplify Frank Rijkaard’s commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team’s 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a 4-1-2-2-1 formation, a system which encouraged the creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks. Within this system the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield which frequently advanced to participate in the attack.

The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents’ half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking. Rijkaard’s puzzle was coming together after the 2004-05 season and expectations were even higher as they were now targeting the Champions League. Rijkaard brought in role players to fill specific needs on the pitch such as Henrik Larsson,Mark Van Bommel,Edmilson, and Maxi. He also added depth to the bench, because it is a long season where injuries always occur and many matches are to be played. The 2005-06 season would be Rijkaard’s best to date, as the team had stars who played a beautiful style of football that was captivating the world of Football.

The main star was Ronaldinho, who was Rijkaard’s foundation to success. Samuel Eto’o was scoring goals at a rapid pace, and finished the previous season one goal shy of the pichichi behind Villareal’s Diego Forlan. Deco, Ronnie’s partner in midfield would help lead Barca to win the Champions league over the favored English team Arsenal headed by Thierry Henry. Barca would win La Liga for the second consecutive season, along while winning the Supercopa. It was a vision and a plan that Laporta and Rijkaard put together when they arrived in 2003 that had all come into fruition.

The titles, the trophies, the glory, but first and foremost, the Catalan community and the fans of Barcelona. The players were enjoying individual success as well. Ronaldinho would win his second consecutive FIFA World Player of the year award(2004-05,2005-2006). Et’o won the Pichichi award, netting 26 league goals. Rijkaard became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabéu, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal and Luis Aragonés were unable to accomplish.

His no nonsense policy on and off the field, and the sparkling football played by his team, won him many plaudits and Rijkaard was among the five nominated coaches for UEFA’s Team of the Year 2005. On 8 March 2006 he was also honoured by UEFA for his contributions to the European Cup Competition throughout his career as player and manager. At the start of the 2006-07 season Barca were once again favorites and they were now the talk of Spain and around the world. They would make a few signings by bringing in Juventus defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram.

They also signed forward Gudjohnsen from Chelsea. This would also be the season where we would see Lionel Messi inserted into the starting lineup. Rijkaard gave Messi his debut in a friendly on 11/16/03 in a friendly match against FC Porto at just the young age of 16. Messi would come off the bench for a couple of seasons and impressed Rijkaard. The season ended in a huge disappointment as Barca would let their lead in the table slip with just a month of the season to go, and finished second to Rivals Real Madrid. The only trophy Barca won was the Supercopa. The summer 0f 2007 Barca made a splash with the signing of Thierry Henry from Arsenal.

It was big news as everyone wanted to know what formation would Rijkaard use, and who was going to be left on the bench. Barca also would bring in Yaya Toure,Eric Abidal and Gabi Milito, and Rijkaard once again went to they youth system for Bojan and Gio Dos Santos. The 2007-08 season was a huge letdown as the team was hit by injures to Ronaldinho,Henry,Eto’o,Messi,Milito and Deco. The team was different every week as it was hard to find chemistry with the players because of the injuries. The locker room was unsettled as reports were surfacing about the divided locker room. Barca would go on to finish the season 3rd in the table and not win a single trophy. Thierry Henry,Barca’s biggest signing would lead the team with 19 goals even though he was injured.

The team had all the right pieces but they failed due to massive injures and unrest in the locker room. After losing to Manchester United in the semifinal of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, Rijkaard was asked whether he would quit at the end of the season seeing as though he had not won anything for two successive seasons. Rijkaard replied:

“I have no intention of leaving. It would be different if the players were saying it is time for me to go but that is not the case.”

On 1 May 2008, it is reported that Frank Rijkaard allegedly confided to a colleague that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. But 24 hours later Rijkaard stated in a press conference that he has no intention of leaving Barcelona.

On 8 May 2008, the day after Barcelona’s dismal 4-1 defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta announced that at the end of the 2007-2008 season, Frank Rijkaard will no longer be head coach of the first team.

Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting; Rijkaard was succeeded by Josep Guardiola. Joan Laporta made it clear that Frank Rijkaard’s achievements “made history” and praised him for his time at the club. It was time to say goodbye to Ronaldino and Deco as they were sold to Milan and Chelsea. Eto’o was reportedly on his way out as well but he stayed one more season and led Barca to another La Liga title along while scoring the decisive goal to win the Champions League once again defeating defending champs Manchester United.

Eto’o also finished the season a few goals shy of the Pichichi award behind Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid just as the same before in the 2004-05 season. Eto’o the last of Rijkaard’s original three, was forced out by Joan Laporta and new coach Guardiola and will now be playing for Inter Milan. Lionel Messi would go on to thank Frank Rijkaard by saying, “he was the man who believed in me, he gave me the chance to start at Barca, he believed in my abilities on the pitch and he showed me how to become a man. We won glory with Rijkaard and for that I can never forget he was a inspirational coach and I will always remember and thank him for everything he has done for my career.”

By

Ben Kesington

Im one for delving into stuff over the net and came accross this interesting article.. Its about Rijkaard and what he achieved at Barca etc.. Some may like a read as he remains a target for the managerial possition..

link to original article

One thing I would like everyone to notice in this article is that Rijkaard was ALWAYS bringing kids through...ALWAYS thinking of the future of the club...He dosnt sit back in the past and is always trying to move into the future of modern football.. You could say Messi plays a huge part in his future of a future player, he certainly added alot of imput into the player's game.. People talk of Hughes, Martinez etc but if we are serious about the next appointment...Yes a gamble it may be..But I dont think we go too far wrong with Rijkaard and his vision..

Can you please be more clear with who you think should get the job?

[TRS-T]

Steve McClaren

Roberto Martinez

Who is the better manager?

[villatillidie1980]

This is just bloody crazt now, I have never known anything like it!! To be fair it sounds like we are doing everything right, yet people like Dave 'I will tell the world' Wheelan are not making things easy!!

UTV

[brummybloke]

just got back from work, i will have a lot of reading to do to see where we are now, hopefully people have moved on from pretending martinez would be a good appointment by thinking that despite his career so far in management, that he would pull it around from a 16th placing for 2 years dragging wigan down from 11th and the 3rd worst stats in the league.

lets hope we get someone at LEAST moyes standard.

now to read 70 odd pages of posts

[NowDoINotLikeThat]

Awww Schteve looks so happy there

[wiganvillain]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Not quite the right question

Who would be the better manager for the Villa, not the same thing