Bianchi will be our next coach

Laska kolbaska said:

GJ, why are you so sure he will be our next manager? I mean, he is one of the candidates - that`s a fact. But you can never sure for 100% with our Prez. Especially when it`s a new manager we`re talking about.

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Well, Laska, I am not 100% sure but considering the limited number of options and the restirictions upon many of the candidates, Bianchi seems to me the most plausible choice.

Koeman will not come while Gaspart is our president
Irureta has said that Deportivo will have the first option to renew his contract
Luis Fernandez has had only relative success so far although he is still young.
Now, the Barcelona press are talking about Luis Aragones?!...

According to a Catalan newspaper the favourite choice among the board of directors is Irureta, but only if Deportivo fail to keep him he will be available.
As you know Capello has signed a new contract with Roma so hi is out of the picture. In today's Diario Sport details are given of the contacts between Capello and Gaspart. Aparently Capello wanted 8 new signings worth on the region of 100 million euros, which Barcelona can't afford.

So, a coach with prestige, who is willing to work with the current players, who is AVAILABLE at present.....I can only think of one name and that is Carlos Bianchi, and if he brings with him Riquelme....

Rexach reveals his staying power

Friday 5th April 2002

Under-fire Barcelona coach Charly Rexach is confident he will survive the season whatever the outcome of make-or-break games again Athletic Bilbao and Panathinaikos following talks with president Joan Gaspart.

Barca travel to Bilbao on Saturday evening desperate for three points to keep their La Liga hopes alive, and three days later they will attempt to overhaul a 1-0 first-leg deficit at home to Panathinaikos in the quarter-finals of the Champions' League.

Lose both games, and the season really is over.

Gaspart called in on training on Friday to chat with Rexach and his players ahead of a vital few days for the club. But, rather than add to the pressure, Gaspart's visit appeared to lift spirits.

"The president has said that I will continue until the end of the season and came down to wish all the players luck for our next two games," explained Rexach.

Pressure has been growing on the Catalan club's board to bring in a new coach after Barca's failure to keep pace in a wide-open title race. Roma boss Fabio Capello was heavily linked with the job, but that option was removed this week when he signed a new two-year deal with the Italian side.

And Gaspart has moved to dismiss speculation that he will attempt to find a new coach before the end of the current campaign.

Rexach also reacted to rumours that several members of the board have voiced their discontent with him.

"Gaspart and the directors that travel to all the away games, like Angel Fernandez and Francesc Closa, are ready to support me until the very end," he said.

"I also believe that I have the full support of the players. Not just from two or three of them, but from all 25, even those that do not play very often."

After Gaspart had met all the players he spoke privately with Rexach for half an hour, but refused to speak to the awaiting press conference.

"We did not talk about the future beyond the end of the season," Rexach continued. "But we have done on numerous occasions in the past and we have agreed that we will see what happens in the summer.

"I have another year on my contract, but now is not the time to talk about whether I will fulfil that.

"It is normal for him to come to meet the players because they needed a lift before two very important games that we have coming up.

"He wished everybody luck for the trip to Athletic Bilbao and for the second leg match against Panathinaikos on Tuesday."

The Barca coach went onto speak about Patrick Kluivert's comments that he chose the wrong team to face Panathinaikos, and that the tactics were not effective.

"People always say this after a defeat," he said. "If we had won then nobody would have said a thing. But if we lose against Panathinaikos on Tuesday then it would be a disaster.

"In fact, I have said all along that I will consider myself to have failed this season if Barcelona do not win the European Cup."

onefootball

This is the lastest on the new Barça coach:

Dicho esto, abandonó el disfraz de entrenador y tomó prestado el de director técnico para dibujar el retrato robot de su hipotético sucesor. "Debe conocer el fútbol español y el club porque es un poco diferente a todos. Saber el encanto que tiene el Barcelona cuando lleguen aquí". O sea, Irureta y Víctor Fernández toman ventaja. Curiosamente, ninguno de ellos ha renovado con Deportivo y Celta.

Rexach , who will not continue next year, said yesterday that the new coach must know Spanish football, and Barcelona's peculiar idiosincracy. So, it looks like the new coach will be someone who has coached or played in Spain. Irureta and Victor fernandez have not renewed their contracts yet. Only those two seem real candidates at the moment, and that would explain why Gaspart said that there is not option for Riquelme anymore, as Bianchi is not being considered for the post. Schuster and Koeman played for Barça and have promising careers ahead, but I doubt very much that Gaspart will "risk" on those young coaches.