The dashing Dutch blond hair, a typically robust free-kick and a first European Cup for Barcelona. Ronald Koeman was the man at the old Wembley in 1992. Josep Guardiola, as head coach, is the man at Barcelona today. Then, he was just a boy. The old Wembley may have had rigor mortis in its final days, but it was hardly creaking on such bewitching evenings.
For Guardiola, memories are made of this. Barcelona's 2-1 win over Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final remains vivid, but it was Koeman's goal which downed Sampdoria 16 years ago. The first taste of a trophy is usually the sweetest. When Johan Cruyff's stylistic side snared the old trophy, the former Spain midfielder Guardiola moved into a level of affection reserved for only the most revered of Barcelona's characters. More gongs would follow.
In helping the club proceed to six Spanish league titles, the man they call "Pep" increased his credibility. His rise to the position of head coach to succeed Frank Rijkaard in May was hardly going to be a thorny issue. Guardiola may appear a favourite son but he is also aware that testy fathers, and especially one as demanding as the Barcelona support, quickly turn on their siblings if life is not running smoothly.
So far, Guardiola has found life comfortable. Barcelona have, as Barcelona tend to do, ridden roughshod over any upstarts in their early-season forays. But pre-season wins are as much of a phoney war as you will find in football. A 1-0 defeat to Wisla Krakow in the final qualifier of the Champions League is hardly going to damage him after they wrecked the Polish side 4-0 in the opening leg. A first defeat for the head coach, but a minor victory as Barcelona progressed to the group stages of this year's competition for a fifth straight campaign.
"I'm very satisfied with the behaviour of the team. Our objective was to get into the Champions League and we have achieved it. I'm delighted with life," said Guardiola. "We've knocked out a good side. I've seen so many ties of this type which have ended up being very difficult. What happened is we did not know whether to attack or defend the result. We played thinking about the 4-0 in the first leg.
"It's clear losing hurts, but generally we played a good game." Barcelona open their league campaign against Numancia this weekend. Juventus will accompany the Catalans into the draw for the group stages of this year's competition in Monaco tomorrow. It will be staged after Manchester United confront Zenit St Petersburg in the Super Cup. Juventus returned to the Champions League proper for the first time in three seasons after a 1-1 draw at Artmedia Bratislava. They progressed 5-1 on aggregate.
Panathinaikos beat Sparta Prague 1-0 in Athens for a 3-1 overall victory over the Czech side. Branislav Fodrek volleyed the Slovakians Artmedia into an early lead but Juventus, banned from European competition in 2006 for their involvement in match-fixing, replied courtesy of Amauri's header. @Email:dkane@thenational.ae
