Tito ‘managing the dressing room’

Johan Cruyff believes that Tito Vilanova’s early-season success with Barcelona is down to understanding best what his role as Coach is.

The former assistant to Pep Guardiola has taken the Catalans to a club record best start to the season, winning 11 and drawing one of their first 12 matches in La Liga.

For Cruyff, the secret has been in how Vilanova has followed in Guardiola’s ways of interpreting the job at hand.

“Between Pep Guardiola and Vilanova there are hardly any differences, the two have always known what Barcelona is,” reflected the Dutchman in unveiling his latest book this week.

“They understood that the most important thing is that they are a team and everyone has a place and a role. To Coach a team like Barca you should not teach anything to the group.

“You should know best how to manage the dressing room and on that aspect Vilanova is doing great.”

Cruyff also commented on the current focus on tactics, before once more defending his preference for a particular shape.

“Today we focus on tactics and too little on the technique. The speed of execution is necessary and this can only be learned on the street.

“The 4-3-3/3-4-3 variant? You can cover all areas of the field and have freedom in each line with players that are motivated.”

Tags Cruyff Guardiola Vilanova
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