Football: ‘Vilanova ideal replacement for Pep’

MADRID: Tito Vilanova is the perfect choice to replace Pep Guardiola as Barcelona coach, according to talismanic defender Carles Puyol. Vilanova, 42, was named as Guardiola’s substitute after the former Spain midfielder announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. Vilanova, who as a player only briefly played top flight football with Celta Vigo, was Guardiola’s assistant during the club’s remarkable spell. For Puyol, that makes Vilanova the perfect man to continue the ‘Barcelona project’. “Tito knows the team like nobody else, he knows its philosophy through and through,” said Puyol. “He is the ideal man to continue the project.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2012.