New Delhi: : Ball boy at Camp Nou, star youth footballer, incisive midfielder, captain, coach of the reserve team and now first-team manager: Josep 'Pep' Guardiola i Sala, still just 40, has inhabited the Futbol Club Barcelona (FCB) for nearly three decades.
Just three years into the hot seat at FCB, Guardiola has won all major club silverware. But come May 28 and he will have an opportunity to rub salt into Manchester United's wound of 2009 by once again showing them the door in the Champions League final.
For a club that had won everything on offer with a 4-3-3 formation under Frank Rijkaard, Guardiola dared to shift the focus to possession play. Alves, Iniesta and Xavi earned recognition for their new coach's new policy and the rest, they say is history.
Three La Liga titles on the trot, the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup, Guardiola has confirmed that winning tournaments is a left-hand job for him.
But while they beat Real Madrid in the two legs of the Champions League semis this year, Jose Mourinho's men outplayed the Blagaurana to win the Copa Del Rey, indicating that the invincible can indeed be put to test. And who better than Sir Alex Ferguson to prepare a blueprint to challenge Guardiola's tactics at Wembley.
But ask Guardiola's opponents in his playing days and they will be quick to point out his win-at-all-costs attitude.
A cool man at the surface, Guardiola is believed to let his temper fly in the dressing room. Thus, he gives an impression that he is content at being a kingmaker, working studiously in the background and letting his wonder boys spell their magic on the pitch.
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