Against old friend, Luis Enrique can show Barcelona have exorcised Pep Guardiola ghost

For Enrique, it is a chance to show that Barca have exorcised the ghost of Guardiola as the pair go head-to-head as rival coaches for the first time, writes Andy Mitten.

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, left, and Barcelona coach Luis Enrique won titles together as Barca teammates and have climbed the coaching ranks in a similar rapid progression. Wednesday night’s meeting will be their first in opposing dug-outs. Frank Augstein / AP Photo; Lluis Gene / AFPShow less

January 2000 saw Barcelona in crisis with the club's most talented player, Rivaldo, at war with the coach Louis van Gaal.

The fans had turned against the Dutchman and were singing “Van Gaal Out” and even Rivaldo’s five-year-old son, Rivaldinho, mimicked the chants of the crowd as he came into the dressing room after a game.

Club captain Pep Guardiola was also out of favour with Van Gaal and was dropped for two months by a coach not afraid to upset the dressing-room heavyweights.

Another, Luis Enrique, also found himself sidelined while star striker Patrick Kluivert was twice dropped for criticising his coach’s tactics.

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“The trainer I learnt most from about the field of play was Van Gaal, even though he’s the one I’ve had the most confrontations with, well, disagreements,” Enrique said in 2013.

“He’s got an obsession with work ethic, the way he plans. Maybe I preferred a lighter style to his.”

Enrique took a lot from Van Gaal, Guardiola, too. Van Gaal stripped out all but five players from Bobby Robson’s Barca side, which won three trophies in 1997.

Those retained players included Guardiola and Enrique, not that they necessarily started.

On several occasions, both were deemed good enough for Spain’s national team but not Barcelona.

But both will be remembered as brilliant players in a frequently brilliant Barcelona team.

They watched and learnt, then they wanted to be coaches, too.

When they did, they set about replicating and improving on what they had learnt.

“The level Guardiola’s team reached has never been reached before,” said Enrique in 2013. “They reached such a level that all the other teams have to drop back and defend.

“They have 65-70 per cent of the ball. Maybe [Arrigo] Sacchi’s Milan are the only team who have come close to them, but even they can’t compare.”

Enrique and Guardiola are long-standing friends and when the Uefa Champions League semi-final paired Enrique's Barca against Guardiola's Bayern Munich Enrique said of his former teammate: "He's the best coach in the world, for what he has won, how he has adapted to a new country, and because he's my friend."

The pair are both 44 and began life in management at Barca B, with Guardiola in charge for a season, in 2007/08, and Enrique replacing him.

Having played under great coaches such as Robson and Van Gaal, both of whom were ably assisted by Jose Mourinho, both have thrived in management as they did on the pitch as players.

Guardiola has been hugely successful and won the treble of Primera Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in his first season as Barca coach, while Enrique is on the cusp of the same achievement, but must overcome Guardiola’s Bayern first.

Though one is Catalan and the other Asturian – although Enrique is married to a Catalan and a long-time Barcelona resident – the pair share the same traits.

They adopt similar strategies with the media by rarely granting one-on-one interviews.

Behind the scenes they are emotional, intelligent, driven and passionate.

As players, Guardiola was seen as the elegant playmaker, Enrique the energetic lungs of the team who flew into tackles.

It was Guardiola, though who was sent off eight times at Barca, more than any other player in the club’s history. Not one of those dismissals was for a foul, but always for protesting.

The pair come head-to-head as rival coaches for the first time on Wednesday evening.

For Enrique it is a chance to show that Barca have exorcised the ghost of Guardiola.

For lifelong Barca fan Guardiola, it is a chance to show he is still the top dog, even though he will risk upsetting all his Barca-supporting friends and family, as well as his old friend, Luis.

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