Kenny Dalglish quit Liverpool in 1991 citing exhaustion, 21 years on Barcelona’s boss does the same.
It is rare for a manager at the top of the game to just walk away.
Usually when a boss leaves a club, he is sacked, resigns, or a combination of the two, mangled by the two words ‘mutual consent.’
For the next few years of his life, Barcelona boss Guardiola will be dogged by three words, “What next Pep?”
Kenny Dalglish left Liverpool in February 1991, blaming the intense pressure and exhaustion managers have to face.
It did not take him long to take up a new position, taking over as Blackburn Rovers boss in October ’91.
Will Guardiola be back in the hotseat within months?
We actually doubt it. Listening to his press conference earlier he seemed very determined that a break would mean a break, and as a man of his word, would want to keep true to Barcelona supporters.
Dalglish also took on another management role at Newcastle, before his eventual return to Liverpool in 2011.
Will Guardiola be back at Barcelona one day? You bet.
He may not wait 20 years, but he will certainly go back to the Nou Camp when the time is right.
Just like Chelsea managers have to deal with the ‘ghost’ of Mourinho hanging over them, all future Barcelona managers will have the memory of Guardiola lurking in the background.
Pep himself will find the longer he stays away from the Nou Camp, the more difficult it is to live up to expectation. Ask Dalglish.
When Kenny returned last year he was billed as Liverpool’s saviour, the man to take them back to the top of the Premier League.
He has been anything but, struggling in eighth position. Will Guardiola waste millions on expensive flops when he goes back? Probably not, but there will be no Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, to name a few, and Lionel Messi will be approaching retirement age. There’s a thought!
He won’t regret the decision, but he will regret the circumstances and the pressure which led him to feel he had to give up the job he loved.
If Kenny Dalglish could have done, for sure he would have stayed on in 1991. But at that moment, walking away was the best thing for him.
For Guardiola in the short-term, his path may even cross with King Kenny. Speculation, much of it spurious, has linked him with many a job already, and expect that to continue relentlessly until he takes up a new job.
If Dalglish fails to crack success at Anfield, Guardiola may even overtake Rafa Benitez as the man fans most want to see replace him.
images: © kong niffe, © k1ngk0ng
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