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Mid-Day Ticker: Reports say Guardiola to leave Barceona, UEFA rejects suspension appeals & more

Guardiola (Reuters)

Is Pep Guardiola's Barcelona reign coming to an end?

That was the question after Chelsea on Tuesday ended Barcelona's attempt to win back-to-back Champions League titles, claiming a 3-2 aggregate triumph over Guardiola's side in the semifinal. The loss came three days after Real Madrid defeated Barcelona, making it unlikely the Catalans will repeat as La Liga champions either.

''In the next days, I will decide if I [will] continue or not,'' Guardiola said, noting he will first speak with assistant Tito Vilanova and club president Sandro Rosell. ''We'll talk about everything, about the situation, and we'll take a decision because right now, it's evident that it's time to.''

Multiple reports have emerged on Thursday claiming that Guardiola has told Barcelona that he plans on leaving at the end of the season, with the club alledgedly having asked Guardiola to give his decision one more day to consider. A press conference has been set by Barcelona for Friday.

Here is some more news to keep your Thursday rolling:

UEFA REJECTS APPEALS TO REVOKE SUSPENSIONS

UEFA has turned down appeals from the international players' union FIFPro to wipe out the suspensions for yellow card accumulation that will be served by Chelsea and Bayern Munich players during the Champions League final. Chelsea will be without Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles, while Bayern will be missing Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber.

On a related note, Chelsea captain John Terry, who will sit out the final after receiving a red card in the second leg of his club's semifinal triumph over Barcelona, will still be allowed to lift the trophy should the Blues claim the title.

MOURINHO RULES OUT CHELSEA RETURN

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has often been linked in recent weeks to a return to Chelsea, the club he led from 2004 to 2007, but the 49-year-old had ruled out such a move, saying he will return to Madrid next season.

Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday with a penalty kicks loss to Bayern Munich after the two sides played to a 3-3 aggregate draw in the semifinal.

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Should Guardiola consider a move from Barcelona? Do you think Mourinho will follow through with his promise and stay with Real Madrid? Should UEFA have considered lifting the Champions League suspensions?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I’m sorry, “Pep’s system”?

    It’s Rinus Michels “system” from the days of Ajax and Cruyff brought it over to Barca.

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  2. “It’s ridiculous though that Ramires and Ivanovic are out because of dissent. ”

    Ridiculous? What is ridiculous is that these professionals can’t keep their mouths shut.

    Everyone knows the rules going in. If they don’t have the discipline to shut up for 90 minutes then they don’t deserve to play in the final.

    They do not deserve to play in the final anymore than that moron Terry does.

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  3. Sorry, I just have to disagree. The best team doesn’t always win. Having Piqué could have helped on corners. I think it’s a bit of an over-reaction to say that they need an overhaul. Barca were the better side IMO. They just didn’t show up where it really counted. I agree with you in that they missed Villa. I was having a tough time figuring out how he was losing out on playing time before getting injured.

    And I mean “over-reaction” in the most respectful way. I’m not saying it to be antagonizing.

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  4. Chelsea never doubled up on Barca’s wings, that’s incredible. It allowed them to stay very narrow and take away the middle. Barcelona is the better side but Chelsea deserved the win.

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  5. Overhaul because of the reasons listed above, no striker, no threat on corners, poor wing play, opposition just defending the middle. Villa coming back will help on the wing, but Barca’s three Amigos need more help.

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  6. I never laugh or make fun of Dr. Detroit’s comments. They are well thought out, on target and show detail accounts of his thinking.

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  7. change his tactics?! i agree that maybe they should of had a plan b approach at some stage. but let’s not forget how incredibly lucky chelsea was, despite playing nearly perfect defense. only a missed pk and an excellent save from cech was the difference.

    first chelsea goal was siiiiiiiiiiiiick. taken so cooly.

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  8. Or………Messi converts pk and Barca is likely in the final.

    Why do they need an overhaul? They had poor finishing in both games. Chelsea admit they needed and got some luck to win. Seems silly to tear down a team that had 79% of the possession, that hit the post more than once and frankly just finished the few chances they had very poorly.

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  9. it’s easy to laugh at someone’s opinion because they aren’t an esteemed former player or manager, but it doesn’t make their points any less valid. It was obvious that when Barca became exhausted, from a long season without much squad rotation in addition to trying to break down a team that had 10 men behind the ball for 180 minutes, they just ran out of ideas. The Chelsea tie was the perfect example of why Barca acquired Ibra two years ago, to give them a more dynamic option if the tiki-tika ran into a stone wall. They had no plan-B this season and paid for it. Laugh all you want but it doesn’t make it any less true…

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  10. if Chelsea do park the bus, Bayern, especially being at the Allianz, will push forward with reckless abandon trying to bury them early. Which will leave them vulnerable to counters i.e. the Chelsea-Barca games. This is especially true knowing Budstuber and Alaba will miss the final. No matter how this game shapes up, one thing it will NOT be is boring…

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  11. It may be time for guardiola to go and on to a next challenge. If he stays, He definitely needs to change his tactics, his refusal to do it cost him these loses.

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  12. I will tell you how this could be an ugly looking final. Chelsea will park the bus and hoof hopeful long balls in the general direction of Drogba. Chelsea fans will cheer every time, when its players clear the ball out of bounds. I will be rooting for Bayern, a team that actually plays good quality soccer.

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  13. Whenever a player disputes a penalty call he runs a chance of getting a yellow card – Ramirez is not an exception. So unless Ramirez picked up the skipper’s band after Terry was thrown out, he should not have opened his mouth.

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  14. “become the first team in decades to win the final at home.”

    isn’t this the first time EVER that a final is going to be played in the home stadium of a finalist…?

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  15. dude, you are crazy. Benz has 29 goals and 14 assists in all competitions. he ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE.

    Pepe is also not going anywhere. The difference is, I would be okay if he left. He is a liability.

    Madrid needs to focus on RB. this continues to be a weak spot for us.

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  16. If Pep stays, the model he has built will need to change. At the end Pep’s Barcelona could only attack down the middle. They had no striker, no long ball threat, no corner threat, and in the last few games no wing attack. Chelsea played with just one defender on Barca’s wings and never opened the middle. His mighty trio of Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta appeared to be exhausted from running into 8 defenders, linked together like a praetorian guard phalanx. There were no easy tap-ins for their dependent teammates. Pep appears exhausted also. He needed to move both Messi and Iniesta wider, but failed to do so, banging his head against the central wall like someone who has given up hope.

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  17. I don’t see how this is not an attractive final. Bayern Munich, a team with Ribery, Robben, Gomez, schweinsteiger, and one of the best keepers in the world is trying to become the first team in decades to win the final at home. Chelsea is a MIRACLE underdog that has climbed up hill both ways through the snow to reach the final. This is way better than a predictable Real Madrid vs Barca final. Not to mention it’s going to be a lot more back and forward than almost any other match up we could have asked for.

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  18. I couldnt care less, Madrid is the best and I dont mind this catalanian club, let´s see if he can even compare to Mou stats in every single club he manages

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  19. When you watch how it plays out though, nobody holds back in order to be there for the final. The semis are a dogfight, and nobody is looking past them.

    I guess Bayern and Chelsea were both underdogs, with Chelsea massive underdogs, so it was especially true for them.

    But now we have two underdogs at half strength to play a final, not very attractive.

    Michael Cox of Zonal Marking was right, the semis are the games to watch, not the final. Even more true this year.

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  20. I hope Guardiola stays. If he does, he can try to design a way to break apart a parked bus. Barca needs a healthy David Villa, some new defenders, and the addition of some more direct play for continued success. I also agree with NateinSF in that Pep probably needs a new challenge after all of the trophies. Remember, he did the same thing (leaving for new challenges) as a player.

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  21. Nope, not if my job requires sound and I come to this site very often. I would love to not have to race to close the pop ups before they explode in the studio.

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  22. As a Barca fan that is a pretty big blow. that being said he has won everything at the club and it’s probably time to move on to the next challenge.

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  23. I sort of agree. It’s ridiculous though that Ramires and Ivanovic are out because of dissent. Ramires is the worst because he got a yellow after arguing the penalty. Fabregas flopped and he argued, but he gets punished. Terrible

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  24. I agree. Autoplay is fine for the ad impression but make the sound user initiated. Topline sites would never consider sound on for the autoplay.

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  25. Nah, he’s going to Chivas de Guadalaja. Haven’t you heard? It’s all over the Mexican media. Not a joke, though anything Chivas and Vergara says is.

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  26. Ives, I understand the need for advertising, but these new videos are very annoying because their default is to have the sound FULL BLAST!!! It’s very hard to discretly view your site 50 times a day at work when those video ads pop up!

    Reply
  27. I think Pep is tired of the pressure and spotlight that come with being the manager of a team like Barcelona. Not to mention the fact that he lived it as a player. He’s given alot to this club over the years so if he did make the decision to leave I couldn’t be mad at him.

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  28. Forgiving cards for the final would set a dangerous precedent.

    Losing teams in the semis would play more recklessly and potentially injure key players for the final anyway.

    If a player wants to make the final, earn fewer yellows in the run up.

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  29. I agree on Pepe, and Benzema doesn’t matter, what they really need is a CB and a solid Center mid that can control the game.

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  30. It is kind of a joke that the Champions League Final will not have full squads. Obviously the teams are stacked so the talent will still be better than most, but to have a Final where the players who got you there are missing?

    I know in the World Cup it’s set up so that you can only miss the semis, not the Final from accumulation of yellows. UEFA would be smart to revisit this in the offseason.

    If I wanted to watch B-Teams play in the Finals I’d turn on the Europa League. (JK, kind of)

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  31. Guardiola should definitely stay. The disappointments this year should provide greater reason to stay than more championships would have.

    Mourinho makes lots of promises. The only constant is that Mourinho says a lot of things he doesn’t really mean. He didn’t look like a guy who cared that much, until the PKs. His ego may cause him to give another go with Madrid, to win a UCL title, but even the idea that this is not set in stone should give any future employers pause.

    No reason to rescind the suspensions. Those are the rules that were in effect. You don’t change them retroactively.

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