KeithG Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Barcelona president Sandro Rosell today shocked the Spanish media with a lunch time announcement informing the football world that young Irish manager Aodhagán Clifford has been appointed as the Head Coach of the club following the departure of Pep Guardiola just three days ago. Rosell informed the astonished journalists that Clifford will be in charge of first team affairs until at least 2012 starting of today. "Having spent the past four hours in negotiations and discussions with Clifford, I am certain that this is the way forward for the club as we maintain our position as the best team in Spanish football." He added that "This young Irish manager has the potential to emulate the success of Guardiola and take the club even further than what was achieved by his predecessor" This announcement comes as a huge shock as Clifford is an inexperienced and relatively unknown manager. Arsene Wenger, who was strongly linked with the job has declined to comment on the appointment of Clifford. It is to be believed that Wenger had flown to Spain for talks with club officials but it now appears that Clifford was the preferred choice. We will be following Clifford's managerial journey on a monthly basis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithG Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 July 2010 - Pre-Season Clifford's pre-season campaign began on the 8th of July 2010 with a home friendly against Barcelona Atletic. Barcelona started well, going into the interval with a two goal lead courtesy of front man David Villa. He came out for another brace in the second half bringing his total to four goals, Club veteran Carlos Puyol added a fifth before the end. Cristian Tello scored the only goal of the game for the 'B side' on 71 mins. Clifford left Camp Nou with a smile on his face and told journalists he was "pleased with such a refreshing performance". Barcelona 5-1 Barcelona Atletic Barcelona travelled to Rotterdam for their next fixture against Dutch side Sparta. A scoreless 45 mins wasn't the most entertaining of halves but Barcelona seemed to be building up a good rythem. The second half saw a 60 min goal from Pedro to start off the socring soon followed up with a simple finish from David Villa. 2-0 wasn't the best scoreline to take back to Barcelona but following 21 shots at goal you have to say it could have been 5 or 6. "Pleased with both the clean sheet and the fact that we hit the net twice, could it have been more? Yeah sure, but we're happy." Post match words from Clifford. Sparta 0-2 Barcelona The 30th of July saw another friendly game, this time Cliffords men up against Triestina of Trieste, Italy. A second string XI lined out in the green/blue kit and managed to find the net twice in the first half. Young Bojan and Jeffren the scorers. Another followed in the second half from Nolito & Barcelona keep a clean sheet yet again. "It was good to give some other players a chance to impress me, and they did just that." Clifford on fielding a second string side tonight. Triestina 0-3 Barcelona Nothing much to say other than it was an impressive start to the Barcelona pre-season, no shortage of goals whilst remaining a strong side in defence. Clifford seems to be settling into his role well & is enjoying a good start to management. Next month see's another three friendlies, the Super Cup & the start of Liga BBVA 2010/11. Be sure to check it out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithG Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 August 2010 The 4th friendly took place in Reus, Spain. Barcelona took the lead after just 1 minute, who else but David Villa. The second followed 2 mins later with a fine goal from Pedro. 2 strikes from Messi gave Barca a 4-0 lead at half time with their dominance on show for all to see. Goals came in the 11th & 46th minutes. After the break Barcelona continue to take hold of the game and a Gerard Pique header followed by a Messi penalty gifted the away side a 6-0 win. "Good display from the lads today and the goals were an added bonus" Clifford a little modest after such a big win. Reus 0-6 Barcelona Up next was a trip to Manchester where Barcelona faced Manchester City. The first half was even in terms of attempts on goal but Barcelona had dominated the possession, but they just lacked that spark in the final third to convert possession into goals. There was one goal before the interval, that came from a Man City counter attack where David Silva dispossessed Pique outside the 6 yard box and slotted past Valdes. The only goal of the game in a tight fixture. "We played well out there but never seemed to be a threat in front of goal. Obviously it was a shame to lose the fixture but there is a lot to be taken from the game" Clifford upbeat following the defeat. Manchester City 1-0 Barcelona Friendly number 6 saw a mixture of reserves and u-19's take to the field as the senior players were off on international duty. The opposition was Bunyodkor Toshkent. Barcelona were the better team in both halves, racking up a 55% possession dominance & 15 shots at goal to the Uzbekistan side's 5. The only goal of the game from Brazilian Maxwell with a well taken finish just outside the box. "Not a very exciting game, but we managed to hit one past them & kept a clean sheet. That's positive" Bunyodkor Toshkent 0-1 Barcelona The reserves were in action for friendly number 7 against Saudi Arabia side Al-Ittihad. The game was dominated by the Saudi side and they will be frustrated that they didn't come away with a win. Barcelona went 1-0 up with a goal from Nolito who later scored their second on 49 mins and both Al-Ittihad goals came from Al-Dosari who scored on 24 & 48 mins. "Nolito continues his good pre-season form which is good to see, certainly pushing for a place in the first team squad" Clifford speaks on the man of the match winner. Al-Ittihad 2-2 Barcelona The first competitive fixture on Barcelona's calendar was away to Sevilla in the Super Cup Leg 1. Lionel Messi picked up an injury after just 5 mins which put a dent in Barcelona's chances from the off. 23 mins later they were reduced to 10 men when Eric Abidal received a straight red card. The second half was controlled by Sevilla but neither side took their chances. Second half started slow & we didn't see a goal until 81 mins. It was Barcelona who went ahead against the odds with a 20 yard strike from attacking full back Daniel Alves. "The two incidents that highlighted the game have disappointed me but that's football. Unfortunately we will be without two first team players for the next leg" Clifford speaks on Abidal's dismissal and the injury to star player Lionel Messi After the game Clifford confirmed that Messi will be out for up to 5 weeks. Two days later Barcelona confirmed their first signing of the season bringing in River Plate winger, Diego Buonanotte on a season long loan. This move was suggested to have been spurred by the Messi injury. Sevilla 0-1 Barcelona The following leg took place in Camp Nou. Buonanotte making his Barcelona debut in place of the injured Messi. He & Barcelona made a bright start to the game. He was constantly looking to receive the ball and push forward, not afraid to have a go either. The two went in 0-0 at half time. Second half saw a debut goal from Buonanotte, a well taken finish following nice link up play with David Villa. Two mins later there was an equalizer, Renato firing home from close range. Barcelona still lead with their goal from the last leg, the debutant Argentinian the hero as Barcelona claimed their first silverware of the season. "Delighted to have won the Super Cup & what a debut from young Buonanotte." Clifford proud of his first managerial cup win. Barcelona 1-1 Sevilla (2-1) The opening league game for Barcelona was away to Racing. A tight game despite the final scoreline. Barcelona took the lead on 21 mins from a David Villa penalty his first goal for the club on his league debut. He scored again on 71 mins to give Barcelona an early 3 points. "Pleased with an early win. David Villa showed his true colours today & I expect more of the same in the next game" Racing 0-2 Barcelona A good month for Clifford with a Super Cup win and victory in the opening game of the league. Next month will be his true test. www.fcbarcelona.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SelectX Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Good read. Not much challenge when your playing as Barca is there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Fair play to you for doing a career with Barca. What are your aims? Develop youth? Win everything? What formation are you using? What is your first XI? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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