5 of the most positive changes made at Barcelona in the last decade

#2 The appointment of Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola was untested at the top level

When all around expected to see Jose Mourinho appointed as the Barcelona coach in 2008, it was with mouths wide open that everyone received the news that former fan favourite Pep Guardiola, untried as a coach at the top level, would actually be handed the first-team reins.

Then-club president, Joan Laporta, and sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, were convinced by Guardiola’s philosophy of how to play the game and his willingness to embrace everything he had learned under Johan Cruyff.

Despite his opening two results being unexpected – bizarrely causing newspapers to call for his head – by the end of the season, it was clear that the club had made the right decision.

In four gloriously trophy-laden years, Pep took Barcelona to a whole different level. The best club side ever – by a distance.