Barcelona will replace current coach Frank Rijkaard with former club captain Pep Guardiola at the end of the season, according to reports in the Spanish media today.
It is claimed Barcelona's delegate commission, including club president Joan Laporta and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, met on Monday and recommended Guardiola as new first team coach in place of Rijkaard.
Returning? Pep Guardiola could be the new coach of Barcelona replacing Frank Rijkaard at the Nou Camp
Barcelona-based daily Sport said the decision would be ratified by the rest of the board and made official at the end of the season, but the club has refused to comment on possible changes until the end of the season.
Rijkaard, whose contract runs to 2009, has denied reports he will step down as coach following the team's failure to win any silverware over the past two seasons.
Local-born Guardiola made his name at Barcelona as a midfielder in the early 1990s under manager Johan Cruyff.
He quickly established himself as a favourite at the Nou Camp and became one of the key players in Cruyff's so-called "Dream team" which won four consecutive La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994 and the European Cup in 1992.
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Overall Guardiola won six league titles, two Copa del Rey, four Spanish Supercups, one Champions League and a European Cup Winners Cup.
He was also part of the Spain side that won the gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics and won 47 caps for the senior national team, scoring five times.
Guardiola left Barcelona in 2001 to join Serie A side Brescia but his career in Italy was disrupted when he tested positive for nandrolone in Nov 2001, and he served a four-month ban.
He strenuously denied any offence and finally cleared his name in October last year.
After spells in Qatar and Mexico, Guardiola announced his retirement as a player in Nov 2006. He was appointed coach of Barcelona's B side last June.
05-09-2008, 12:28 PM
Guardiola 'to replace' Rijkaard at Barcelona
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