FC Barcelona: Pep Guardiola's Top 10 Masterstrokes

Pep Guardiola was named as the best coach of the year by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (also known as IFFHS). The news was published on the FC Barcelona webpage.

Guardiola wins the award a second consecutive time. He finished 201 points above greats such as Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson.

The award comes at a point when there has been talk about the future of Guardiola with La Blaugrana. The time has come to talk about the accomplishments of Pep Guardiola as head of FC Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola was appointed coach of Barca in 2008. Since then the club has looked forward and is enjoying a rebirth worth discussing.

An invitation is sent to the readers of B/R to sit back, relax and enjoy the 10 masterstrokes of Pep Guardiola at Barça.

UEFA Champions League

Under Guardiola, FC Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League two times in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. Both victories were against Manchester United FC.

The 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Stadio Olimpico Rome, Italy

The first encounter between Barça and Manchester United pitted Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo. The result of the match was 2-0 in favor of FC Barcelona.

Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi scored the two goals which left Manchester United out in the cold. The victory occurred during Guardiola's first season as coach.

The 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Wembley Stadium London, England

La Blaugrana repeated history by facing Manchester United but with different scenery. The finals were played in England, and FC Barcelona faced a team in their home country.

The results were a 3-1 victory over Manchester United. The authors of the goal were Pedro Rodirguez at 27 minutes, Messi at 54 and Villa at 69.

UEFA Super Cup

FC Barcelona won the 2009 and 2011 UEFA Super Cup under the leadership of Pep Guardiola. The matches were eventful and exciting.

2009 UEFA Super Cup, Monaco

Pedro Rodriguez was the scorer of the only goal (of the match) for Barça in extra time at 115 minutes. The goal ended the resistance of FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the match.

2011 UEFA Super Cup, Monaco

Leo Messi scored the first goal for Barça within 39 minutes. Cesc Fabregas scored the second goal in the 88th minute. FC Porto had to contend with a third defeat within the last eight years.

200-Game Mark with 72 Percent Victory

Pep Guardiola reached the 200-game mark as FC Barcelona coach with historical results. The following accomplishments are other examples of Guardiola's masterstrokes.

12 Out of 15 Titles

Guardiola has won 12 out of 15 titles which were the following: three for La Liga, two UEFA Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Supercups.

72 Percent for Victories

La Blaugrana won 143 of its 200 matches under Pep Guardiola. The club lost 17 matches and suffered 39 draws.

Guardiola surpassed previous coaches such as Helenio Herrera who had a 70.6 percent winning rate in 143 matches. He is ahead of other coaches such as Ferdinand Daucik, Frank Rijkaard and Johan Cruyff.

Other Accomplishments

FC Barcelona scored 99 goals in 44 UEFA Champions League matches. Barca also scored 500 goals, with the highest scorer being Messi.

Spanish Supercup

FC Barcelona won the Spanish Supercup three consecutive times in the years 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012. La Blaugrana defeated Club Atletico Bilbao (2009-2010), Sevilla FC (2010-2011) and Real Madrid (2011-2012).

2009-2010

La Blaugrana defeated Club Atletico Bilbao with three goals. The authors of the goals were Messi and Bojan.

2010-2011

FC Barcelona played against Sevilla and won thanks to an own goal by Konko and three goals by Messi.

2011-2012

Iniesta and Messi combined to score three goals for Barça over the two by Ronaldo and Benzema.

Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas signed with FC Barcelona for the price of £35 million or $53.9 million. The buy-out clause signed by Barça was £200 million or $308.5 million.

Fabregas has participated in the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Spanish Supercup and UEFA Super Cup. His record since arriving at Barça includes the following: 18 games started, 10 substitutions, 15 goals, five assists, seven yellow cards, 35 shots, 19 shots on goal, 15 fouls committed and 30 fouls served.

It remains to be seen what will transpire, but the future looks bright for Fabregas and FC Barcelona.

World-Class Stature

FC Barcelona acquired world-class stature since the arrival of Pep Guardiola. The People's Republic of China was one of the countries that felt their presence.

Barça played an exhibition match against Beijing Guo'an FC in the year 2010. While the result was a Blaugrana victory, it was a win-win situation for everybody.

In the year 2011, FC Barcelona concluded a deal with Tencent, a Chinese Internet company. The agreement was made in order to strengthen the presence of Barça in Asia.

FC Barcelona made its presence felt in Miami during an exhibition match against Chivas of Guadalajara on August 2011. While Barca lost, the team was the center of a lot of publicity.

FC Barcelona played against Manchester United in Washington DC. La Blaugrana played against Club America in Texas.

The UEFA Champions League match between FC Barcelona and FC BATE Borisov in Belarus was another example of world-class stature. The people of Minsk (capital of Belarus) gave FC Barcelona a warm welcome.

The sky's the limit for the ever-increasing popularity of FC Barcelona.

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez was the first signing for La Blaugrana of the 2011 summer transfer window from Udinese.

The record for Sanchez during his time with Barça was the following: eight games started, four substitutions, five goals, two assists, 25 shots, 13 shots on goal, 17 fouls committed, 30 fouls served and three yellow cards.

Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano signed with FC Barcelona in 2010. After leaving Liverpool FC, Mascherano went on to participate with Barça in events such as the UEFA Champions League.

The following is his total record during the 2011-2012 season as reported in ESPN Soccernet: 29 games started, one substitution, three shots and one shot on goal. The negative side was: 37 fouls committed, 26 fouls served, 10 yellow cards and two red cards.

4-3-3 Tactic

Pep Guardiola is able to achieve a lot in his period as Barca coach using the 4-3-3 formation. The 4-3-3 formation is used by Barça in order to obtain a tactical advantage over its opponents.

The striker is the key in order to maintain the ball. The striker then brings the players next to him into the match.

The midfielders are to go on the offensive on the side of the strikers. The intention is crossing the ball for the striker and advancing midfielders.

The defensive midfielders block the opposing team before kicking the ball to the home players. The home team can also change to other formations after using the 4-3-3.

The result is (according to Jonathan Wilson of SI) a tactic that leaves the opposing team surprised.

El Clasico 2011 Surprise Victory

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona faced each other in El Clasico 2011 on a cold December day. Real Madrid was predicted to be the winner.

The first half with a goal by Karim Benzema appeared to give Real Madrid an advantage. The second half gave FC Barcelona a surprising victory with Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas scoring.

The own goal by Real Madrid's Marcelo helped the equation as well.

Conclusion

This attempt to discuss Pep Guardiola's masterstrokes brings FC Barcelona to the beginning of 2012. The masterstrokes were not just about tactics in world football, it dealt with other factors in Barça.

I would like to thank the readers of B/R for taking the time to read about Guardiola's masterstrokes. It remains to be seen what the year 2012 will bring.