I can see the future. A future with less hair.
We have known for a while now that Tito is the new head coach of Barça, but now it is officially official. The club has announced that on Friday June 15, Francesc “Tito” Vilanova will sign his contract and be presented at the Camp Nou’s Sala Paris. A press conference with President Sandro Rosell, Fottball Director Andoni Zubizarreta, and Tito is scheduled for 13:00 CET (7 AM EST).
From the official site:
Tito Vilanova, who was born in Bellacaire d’Empordà on September 17 in 1969, is a La Masia graduate. The Azulgrana manager joined Barça’s youth system in 1984. After making the jump to Barça B and featuring in three first-team friendlies, his career took him to Figueres, Celta, Badajoz, Mallorca, Lleida, Elche and Gramenet. Once he hung up his boots, he started his managerial career with FC Barcelona’s Cadete B (U15) team in the 2001/02 season. In 2007, after managing other teams, Vilanova returned to the Club where he started to train the reserve side with Guardiola. Five years later, he’s officially been named FC Barcelona’s head manager.
Now that I have (sort of) gotten over Pep’s departure, I am very much looking forward to what Tito has planned for the team. The players are unanimous in saying that they think he is the best choice possible for the job, and they all say that Tito is very tactically-minded and that he was the source of many of Pep’s ideas. He has a somewhat reserved public personality, but I suspect he may be even more adventurous than Pep on the pitch. He has also signed up for two years, unlike Pep’s year-by-year preference, so we know he has some long-term goals for the team. Finally, he is just as devoted to youth development as Pep, so we can expect to see more B team players get opportunities to train and play with the first team. No word yet on what his plans are for the four players who have just been promoted, but my expectation is that he will include them in his preseason and make final decisions on their futures later in the summer.
Welcome, Tito! We look forward to the journey!