Soccer - FC Barcelona to replace Rijkaard with Guardiola at end of season Sports

FC Barcelona to replace Rijkaard with Guardiola at end of season

Thu May 8, 3:13 PM EDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP): FC Barcelona will replace coach Frank Rijkaard with former team captain Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said Rijkaard, who has been in charge for five years, "had made history with Barcelona."

The 37-year-old Guardiola won six league titles in 11 seasons as a midfielder with Barcelona.

"He has the knowledge, the optimism and the self-confidence to achieve success," Laporta said Thursday.

A member of coach Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" that won the 1992 European Cup, Guardiola has never held a senior coaching position.

Barcelona confirmed the coaching switch on its Web site.

"Joan Laporta has announced that Frank Rijkaard will end his stay at Barca at the end of the season. Josep Guardiola, currently trainer to the B team, will take over as coach of FC Barcelona," the team said.

Rijkaard led the Catalan team to the league title in 2005. In the following year, Barcelona won both the league and the Champions League.

However, Barcelona is about to complete a second straight season without a major trophy and on Wednesday lost to champion Real Madrid 4-1.

The Catalan team trails Madrid by 17 points in third place, guaranteeing its worst finish in five years and making it play in the qualifying phase of the Champions League.

Rijkaard has two matches remaining — against Mallorca and relegated Murcia — before he steps down on June 30.

On the Net:

FC Barcelona: http://www.fcbarcelona.com

The Associated Press