After a 3-year spell at the club, Luis Enrique has announced he will not continue as manager of Barcelona FC next season. The Spaniard made the announcement in a press conference shortly after his side beat Sporting de Gijon 6-1 :
“I won’t be Barcelona coach next season. I need to rest. The way I do this job is why I have to leave. There are very few hours to rest. I would like to thank the Club. They have been three unforgettable years.” He said
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said, “We accept the decision of Luis Enrique. He has been a great coach. He has given us successes, but still can bring us more. The players are motivated to do it. We will try to announce Luis Enrique‘s successor on July 1 and focus on the trophies at hand for now.”
The former player joined the Blaugrana in the summer of 2014, following the exit of Gerardo Martino and has won 8 trophies at the club. He is the second manager in European history (after Guus Hiddink) to win a Treble and follow it with a Double.
Ronaldinho is back at Barca!
Spanish giant, FC Barcelona have confirmed the return of Ronaldinho to the club. The football legend who spent five seasons at the club and played 207 times for the Catalans between 2003 and 2008, scoring 94 goals and winning the 2005-6 Champions League as well as back-to-back Liga titles has agreed to be a Club ambassador & representative at various events & activities.
A club statement read: “FC Barcelona and Ronaldinho have reached an agreement whereby the Brazilian will become a Club ambassador and representative at various events and activities over the coming years.
“Ronaldinho will also form part of the Legends project, a team of former players who, through matches around the world, will help to globalise the Barça brand and its values, and will take part in clinics, training sessions and institutional events, among other activities organised by the Club.
“Through FCBEscola, FC Barcelona and Ronaldinho’s football academies will be seeking different ways to collaborate both in terms of the brand and possible associations with the same. The player will also appear in the opening and closing ceremonies at some schools and take part in activities in which he will share his experience in educational talks.
“Ronaldinho will also take part in FC Barcelona Foundation events related to UNICEF. The Masia 360 project will be another one of the Club projects where the Brazilian will be present, helping with the training and coaching of the athletes involved.
“The agreement will be signed on Friday at 5.30pm CET at the Camp Nou directors’ box with the presence of Ronaldinho and president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Then, the media will be to take photos of the Brazilian star at the club museum.”
Reacting to the news, Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique said, “I think it is great that Ronaldinho is a Club ambassador. Linking Barça to joy is always a good thing”
Lionel Messi Named World Playmaker Of The Year
Barcelona star, Lionel Messi has been named the World Playmaker Of The Year by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). The award was won by Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos in 2014.
Top 10 players
1. Lionel Messi – 168 points- Barcelona
2. Andres Iniesta – 91 points – Barcelona
3. Andrea Pirlo – 54 points – New York City
4. Eden Hazard – 22 points – Chelsea
4. Kevin de Bruyne – 22 points VFL Wolfsburg/Manchester City
5. Ivorian Yaya Toure – 13 points – Manchester City
6.Toni Kroos – 11 points – Real Madrid
7. Luka Modric – 11 points – Real Madrid
8. James Rodriguez – 10 points – Real Madrid
9. Javier Pastore – 10 points – PSG
Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique was named the World’s Best Club Coach in 2015.
Top coaches
1. Luis Enrique – 165 points – Barcelona
2. Pep Guardiola – 86 points – Bayern Munich
3. Massimiliano Allegro – 43 points- Juventus
4. Unai Emery – 39 points – Sevilla
5. Marcello Gallardo – 33 points – River Plate
6. Carlo Ancelotti – 19 points
7. Diego Simeone – 12 points – Atletico Madrid.
Messi, Iniesta, others hail phenomenal Joe Hart
Manchester City goalkeeper’s magnificent performance against Barcelona last night is one that would never be forgotten in a hurry. Infact, it is still a trending topic in sports circles.
Unarguably the man of the match, but for his decisive saves, Barcelona would have increased the scoreline and humiliated the English Champions. His 10 decisive saves are the most for any goalkeeper in a Champions League match this season. Unfortunately his heroics couldn’t see his team through as they crashed out of the Champions League last night.
Barcelona stars and coach, Messi, Iniesta took to the club’s website to hail his outstanding performance.
“He was phenomenal, he stopped everything. We have to congratulate him on a great game because he’s a fantastic goalkeeper.” Messi said.
Andres Iniesta added: “Hart was key to keeping them in it and was great in one-on-one situations. Outstanding.”
“The score could have been a rout. Hart was incredible but we weren’t really on towards the end. We had a lot of chances, which is not normal in this type of game. We deserved to win by a bigger goal difference.” Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique affirmed.
Former English player and sports broadcaster, GaryLineker opined that, “But for a truly astonishing display of goalkeeping from Joe Hart, our Premier League champions would be going home humiliated.”
Messi and coach Luis Enrique haven't been on talking terms for 7 weeks
According to reports, the spat between Barca playmaker, Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique is yet to be resolved. The feud started after the Blaugrana’s loss to Real Sociedad several weeks back. The Argentine attacker was so angry with the coach for introducing him at half time that he refused to turn up for training the following day.
Barca’s heavy defeat to Malaga during the weekend seems to have worsened matters. Spanish newspaper reports that Enrique hasn’t spoken to his players after it. His relationship with Messi hasn’t been better as both parties have reportedly not spoken to each other for 7 weeks.
Luis F. Rojo of marca.com writes,
“It is a fact that the Barcelona manager is not very keen on talking to his players after a match, but the Málaga game was out of the ordinary. And as he did not speak with the players, he did not speak to Leo Messi, as in any case they have not spoken for some time. In fact, not since the defeat against Real Sociedad at Anoeta when they became estranged. Since then their relationship has been non-existent. The situation has been helped by a run of good results, but now Barcelona have lost again it remains to be seen what will happen.
4 months after biting incident, Luis Suarez to make official Barcelona debut in El-Clasico.
4 months after he sunk his teeth in the back of Italian player, Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, picked a 4-month ban& £66,000 fine, Uruguayan forward, Luis Suarez is about to make his long-awaited official debut for his new club, Barcelona.
Barcelona FC Manager, Luis Enrique has confirmed that the former Liverpool player would get some minutes on pitch.
“He will play some minutes, how many? That’s a million dollar question. It is an important event for him and he will have some time on the pitch.”
Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique sets strict rules, players will be fined if they turn up late for matches
And just like Manchester United coach, Louis Van Gaal who fines his men each time they arrive a minute late to breakfast and asks them to hand in their mobile phones the night before a match, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has also made his own laws as regards punctuality amongst his players.
The new rules for players state that turning up late on Barcelona match days of Barcelona matches will attract a £300 fine. The amount will double to £600 and £1,200 for the second and third offences respectively. That’s not all! Turning up late for training, meetings or appointments will also attract a £150 fine
Barcelona's new coach, Luis Enrique rushed to the hospital for surgery.
Ardent football fans and barcelona fans would understand why this news is super scary. Barcelona’s new coach, Luis Enrique was recently rushed to the hospital after he complained of serious pain, Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reports. He was later diagnosed with appendicitis and then underwent surgery.
Well, there’s really nothing to worry about as his surgery was successful, the 44-year-old will remain in hospital for a few days.