Mourinho was on the verge of Barça: top choice before Guardiola | OneFootball

José Mourinho could have been the coach who ushered in the historic Barcelona era of Pep Guardiola. In 2008, the Portuguese manager was the candidate who received the most support in an internal vote by the club’s board, while Guardiola did not receive a single vote.

Barcelona’s history could have been completely different. Before Pep Guardiola took over the bench in 2008 and built one of the most memorable teams in football history, the name with the strongest backing within the board was José Mourinho.

Journalist Xavi Torres revealed on Versió RAC1 details of that selection process, in which the Portuguese coach comfortably outpolled the rest of the candidates in an initial vote.

Mourinho dominated the first vote

After Frank Rijkaard’s departure, Barcelona began searching for a new manager. Mourinho was not only among the candidates, but the club even met with him in person in Galicia.

Marc Ingla took part in that meeting and, in principle, Txiki Begiristain was also expected to attend. However, Begiristain missed his flight in Madrid and was unable to make it to the meeting.

Afterward, Ingla presented the project to the board and the time came to vote.

The vote, however, was not the final word.

Laporta chose Guardiola

Although Mourinho had received the strongest initial backing, Joan Laporta ultimately opted for Guardiola after listening to the recommendations of Johan Cruyff and Txiki Begiristain.

The decision by the then Barcelona president ended up changing the club’s history.

Guardiola took charge of the first team and went on to begin a historic era for Barcelona, with a style of play that defined a generation.

Mourinho wanted to coach Barça

The possibility of arriving at Camp Nou was not something Mourinho felt indifferent about. According to Torres’s account, the Portuguese coach was especially interested in becoming Barcelona manager and even asked for help to try to smooth the way for his arrival.

Mourinho also knew Barcelona’s football structure after having previously worked at the club as a translator and assistant.

How would Mourinho’s Barça have played?

The big question raised by that story is what would have happened to Barcelona’s style if Mourinho had been chosen.

Torres believes the Portuguese coach would not have built a team identical to Guardiola’s, but nor would it necessarily have meant a complete break from Barcelona’s footballing identity.

The journalist argues that Mourinho had internalized some of the concepts of Barcelona’s philosophy during his time at the club and understood the team’s way of playing.

The difference, in his view, would have been in how those ideas were translated onto the pitch.

History ultimately took a different path. Mourinho was the favorite in that first vote, but Guardiola earned Laporta’s final trust and began an era that transformed Barcelona.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.