Since 2008, football fans have become accustomed to watching Pep Guardiola lift the most prestigious trophies in the game but that hasn’t always been the case, though.
Just a year after announcing his retirement from football following a short-lived spell in Mexican football with Dorados, Guardiola was appointed as the manager of Barcelona’s B team and tasked with leading the team to promotion.
It was an unenviable task. Barcelona’s second string had been on a downward spiral for a number of years and had just suffered the ignominy of relegation from the Segunda Division B (Spanish third-tier) to the regional Tercera Division. The 2007/08 campaign was to be Barcelona B’s first at that level since 1973/74.
Guardiola and his assistant manager Tito Vilanova oversaw numerous personnel changes that summer as they plotted Barcelona B’s promotion with players arriving on free transfers or being promoted from the Juvenil team.
The changes worked as Guardiola led his squad to first place in their Tercera Division and subsequently victory in the Segunda Division B playoffs to send them straight back up.
Guardiola has achieved plenty in the game since his stint in charge of Barcelona B, but what became of the players he coached that year?
Goalkeeper: Oier Olazabal
Age: 29
Current club: Levante
2007/08 apps: 31
Career path: Barcelona, Granada CF, Real Sociedad (loan), Levante.
Oier was promoted to Barcelona’s first-team in 2008 and made one La Liga appearance for the Blaugrana. He joined Granada in 2014 and made 17 appearances before moving to Real Sociedad on loan.
He now turns out for Levante.
Right Back: David Corcoles
Age: 33
Current club: CD Alcoyano
2007/08 apps: 30
Career path: Hercules, Valencia B, Barcelona B, Recreativo, Albacete, Racing Santander, Alcoyano
Signed from Valencia’s B team in 2007 for £425k, Corcoles made 65 appearances for Barcelona B before leaving in 2009.
After spells with Recreativo, Albacete and Racing Santander, he now plays for Alcoyano.
Centre Back: Chico Flores
Age: 31
Current club: Rubin Kazan
2007/08 apps: 10
Career path: Cadiz, Portuense, Barcelona B, Almeria, Genoa, Mallorca, Swansea City, Lekhwiya SC, Granada, Rubin Kazan
Yep, that one. Flores played only ten times after joining on loan but he has enjoyed a good career since. When he’s not winding up Sam Allardyce, he can be found playing his football in Russia for Rubin Kazan.
Centre Back: Marc Valiente
Age: 31
Current club: Maccabi Haifa
2007/08 apps: 29
Career path: Barcelona B, Sevilla B, Valladolid, Maccabi Haifa, Eupen, Partizan
Valiente never played for the first team but carved out a successful career nonetheless, featuring over 150 times for Valladolid, before moving to Israel in 2015 for a spell with Maccabi Haifa.
Now 31, he can be found in Serbia playing for Partizan.
Left Back: Victor Sanchez
Age: 31
Current club: Espanyol
2007/08 apps: 30
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona, Xerez, Getafe, Neuchatel Xamax, Espanyol
Sanchez has made his name in Catalonia but at Espanyol rather than Barcelona. He made 14 appearances for Barcelona in their treble-winning season before moving on for regular football.
Defensive Midfield: Dani Toribio
Age: 30
Current club: Alcorcon
2007/08 apps: 17
Career path: Barcelona B, Terrassa, Malaga, Ponferradina, Villarreal B, Murcia, Alaves, Alcorcon
The versatile midfielder is now playing for Alcorcon in the second-tier.
Defensive Midfield: Dimas Delgado
Age: 36
Current club: Bengaluru FC
2007/08 apps: 23
Career path: Gramenet, Barcelona B, Numancia, Cartagena, Recreativo, Western Sydney Wanderers, Bengaluru FC
Played an important role in the title win but found the path to the first-team blocked. Now seeing out his career in India after a two-year stint in Australia.
Defensive Midfield: Xavi Torres
Age: 32
Current club: Elche
2007/08 apps: 28
Career path: Villarreal B, Alicante, Barcelona B, Malaga, Levante, Getafe, Betis, Sporting Gijon, Perth Glory, Elche
A composed central midfielder, Torres has spent the majority of his career in La Liga, most notably with Levante between 2010/12. A short spell in Australia with Perth Glory was ended when he returned to Spain with Elche.
Central Midfield: Sergio Busquets
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Age: 30
Current club: Barcelona
2007/08 apps: 23
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona
Promoted to the first-team following Guardiola’s appointment, Busquets replaced Yaya Toure in midfield and has become a mainstay of the side ever since.
Central Midfield: Abraham Gonzalez
Age: 33
Current club: UNAM
2007/08 apps: 37
Career path: Terrassa, Barcelona B, Cadiz, Gimnastic, Ponferradina, Alcorcon, Espanyol, UNAM, Lobos BUAP (loan)
A key member of the side, Abraham Gonzalez, currently plays in the Mexican top-flight with Lobos BUAP, on loan from UNAM.
Central Midfield: Thiago Alcantara
Age: 27
Current club: Bayern Munich
2007/08 apps: 5
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona, Bayern Munich
Drafted in for a handful of appearances after impressing for the Juvenil side, Thiago has gone on to become one of the finest playmakers in Europe, albeit at Bayern Munich rather than Barcelona.
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Attacking Midfield: Victor Vazquez
Age: 32
Current club: Al-Arabi
2007/08 apps: 22
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona, Club Brugge, Cruz Azul, Toronto FC, Al-Arabi
Regarded as one of Barcelona’s finest talents, injuries hampered Vazquez’s progress. He played three times for Barca and scored on his Champions League debut before signing for Club Brugge in 2011 and then Cruz Azul in 2016.
His most successful spell has come with Toronto FC, where he scored 18 goals in 66 games, helping the club to the 2017 MLS Cup, 2017 Supporters Shield and two Canadian Championships. Vazquez moved to Qatar in January.
Left Wing: Jeffren
Age: 31
Current club: AEK Larnaca
2007/08 apps: 27
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona, Sporting CP, Valladolid, Eupen, Grasshoppers, AEK Larnaca
Will always be enshrined in Barcelona folklore after scoring in the historic 5-0 win over Real Madrid. Now playing in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca.
Left Wing: Iago Falque
Age: 29
Current club: Torino
2007/08 apps: 17
Career path: Barcelona B, Juventus, Tottenham, Southampton, Almeria, Rayo Vallecano, Genoa, Roma, Torino
At 29, Falque has been extremely well-travelled but seems to have finally settled in Italy and has scored 30 goals in 96 games to date for Torino.
Right Wing: Pedro Rodriguez
Age: 31
Current club: Chelsea
2007/08 apps: 37
Career path: Barcelona B, Barcelona, Chelsea
Similarly to Busquets, Pedro established himself as a key member of the first-team in the 2008/09 season. He joined Chelsea in 2015 after slipping down the pecking order and won the Premier League in 2017.
Centre Forward: Gai Assulin
Age: 27
Current club: Free agent
2007/08 apps: 22
Career path: Barcelona B, Manchester City, Brighton, Racing Santander, Granada, Hercules, Mallorca, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Sabadell, Kairat.
Touted as a future star of the game, Assulin’s career has taken a nosedive since he left Barcelona in 2010. He’s a free agent after playing just one game for Kairat in Kazakhstan.
Centre Forward: Emilio Guerra
Age: 36
Current club: Velez C.F.
2007/08 apps: 26
Career path: Espanyol B, Vilassar Mar, Figueres, Reus, Palamos, Linares, Sabadell, Granada B, Zaragoza B, Barcelona B, Atletico Madrid B, Atletico Ciudad, Castellon, Benidorm, Puertollano, Malaga B, Kavala, Sageata, Academica, Velez CF
The definition of a journeyman. Guerra is playing for his 20th club Velez C.F in the Spanish lower leagues.
The post What happened next? The 2007/08 Barcelona B team managed by Pep Guardiola appeared first on Squawka News.
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