Guardiola: I have no plans to return to Barcelona
Spain’s Pep Guardiola, who will coach Germany’s Bayern Munich, talks to children in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, May 2, 2013. Guardiola said that he won’t return to coach Barcelona F.C. again. (AP Photo)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who will take over next season at Bayern Munich, says he has no plans to return to the Spanish club.
On a speaking tour in Argentina, Guardiola said Thursday that everything has a “beginning and an end” and he is “very relaxed” about moving to Bayern Munich.
“I think it’s a closed chapter,” Guardiola said. “It was a fantastic period in my life, but it’s over.”
Barcelona, under coach Tito Vilanova, lost 3-0 at home to Bayern at Camp Nou on Wednesday to lose 7-0 on aggregate in the Champions League semifinals. Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund in an all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25.
“I feel very relaxed with myself,” he added. “I did the best I could. Everything has a beginning and an end. The end arrives when you discover it’s been enough.”
Guardiola, who played as a holding midfielder for Barcelona, won the Champions League as coach at the Catalan club in 2009 and 2011. He also reached the semifinals two other times.
