How Barcelona's philosophy helped Valverde keep his job

Barcelona v Paris St Germain - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final

Tito Vilanova

Guardiola's assistant coach took over once the master left his post. And he followed Guardiola's philosophy too as Barca played free-flowing football. The team lost only eight matches during the campaign and scored at least once in every La Liga fixture and clinched their 22nd domestic championship by a record margin of 15 points, and a total of 100 points.

Vilanova must also be credited for persuading Messi to stay at Barcelona. After Guardiola left, Messi was reportedly thinking of making an unimaginable switch but it was on Vilanova's insistence and vision that the Argentine decided against the move. "They met and although I was not there, I know they spent several hours talking. I saw something that I had not clearly seen before, I do not know what they said, but Leo decided to stay here and we hope it will be for many years," Barcelona's then assistant coach Jordi Roura has aid.

Unfortunately, though, he could only remain at the helm for one season before cancer saw him stepping down.