“You Could See That Inside Him, Maybe There Could Also Be a Coach,” – Barcelona Legend Opens up on Working with Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Exclusive: Barcelona Legend Shares his Story of Pep Guardiola

Lionel Messi. Lamine Yamal. Xavi Hernández. Sergio Busquets. Andrés Iniesta. The list of La Masia graduates who have gone on to establish themselves as club icons in Barcelona’s first team is seemingly endless. However, the first La Masia graduate to become a Barcelona legend was Guillermo Amor.

Born in Benidorm, Spain, Amor caught the attention of FC Barcelona after impressing in a youth tournament, prompting them to sign him to their brand-new academy in January 1980. At 12 years of age, Amor left his parents and started a new life in Catalunya, rising through the youth ranks before eventually breaking into the first team in 1988/89 under Johan Cruyff.

At the time, Real Madrid were the dominant forces of Spanish football, winning five straight league titles, but with Amor thriving in the middle of the pitch, Barcelona were able to swing the pendulum back in their favor. After scoring the opening goal in their victory against Real in the 1990 Copa del Rey Final, Amor proved essential alongside the likes of Pep Guardiola in midfield as the Blaugranas won four straight league titles from 1991 to 1994, in addition to winning their maiden Champions League title in 1992.

“Pep is a little younger than me: he arrived a few years after I did, coming from a town in Catalonia. My relationship with Pep has always been very good, even though we don’t really interact on a daily basis, but whenever we see each other, we’re good. We’ve lived similar lives, having both come up through the youth system, reaching the Barcelona first team, and achieving quite a lot of things during Johan Cruyff’s era,” stated Amor in an exclusive EPL Index interview. “The experience that I’ve had with Pep has always been very, very good. He was already a very clever kid back then, he was smart from a young age, he was intelligent, he was clever, he was sharp, he knew what he wanted. He was a very good footballer who played very well in midfield.”

“He started as a very small player but then, over time, he naturally grew and developed physically and proved it on the field. He was someone who lived and breathed football and who loved to talk about football…you could see that inside him, maybe there could also be a coach. When he was a footballer on the field, he always liked to organize, he liked to talk, he liked to comment on anything that might happen on the field, he liked to discuss it with his teammates, with the coach, and you could already see something in him that said, ‘Well, why couldn’t he be a coach in the future?”

“The facts are there: he has proven his worth in spades as a coach in the different teams he’s been with, winning a lot of things, building great teams, and most importantly, playing really good football. I think he’s always had a very clear idea of ​​football since he was here at Barcelona, the methodology, the way he plays and dominates the game at all times, and that he’s still doing to this day.”

Amor’s Journey

After a sensational start to the ’90s, Amor was forced to say goodbye to the man who kicked off his playing journey as Cruyff departed in 1996 after missing out on three trophies in 10 days. He did, however, play in his first-ever international tournament, scoring the winning goal vs. Romania to secure Spain’s spot in the Euro quarterfinals, where they lost to hosts England.

Amor helped Barcelona rebound in 1996/97 under Bobby Robson after winning the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and narrowly missing out on the league title by two points. The following season, meanwhile, would see Barcelona win the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double as well as the UEFA Super Cup under new manager Louis van Gaal. Amor then departed for France to compete in all three of Spain’s matches at the 1998 FIFA World Cup — all told, he scored four goals in 37 Spain caps between 1990 and 1998.

After returning to Barcelona, Amor found himself deprived of opportunities under Van Gaal. It’s why he decided to depart Camp Nou as the winningest player in club history, having scored 68 goals and 12 assists in 421 appearances and won 17 official titles. He spent two years at Italian side Fiorentina before returning to Spain and helping newly promoted Villarreal establish their presence in LaLiga, followed by a swan song with Scottish outfit Livingston.

Since retiring in 2003, Amor has undergone four different backroom spells at FC Barcelona, his latest ending in 2021, whilst he also spent three years as Adelaide United FC’s Technical Director and later Head Coach, guiding them to their first and only A-League Championship. Now 58, Amor spends his time in Barcelona, working with his oldest son (a licensed FIFA agent) in his consulting and player representation business, but he’ll still find the time to head to Benidorm and visit the Estadio Municipal Guillermo Amor, the home of Club de Fútbol Benidorm as well as a number of Spain youth matches.

“It’s all about feeling good, being healthy, being with your people, with your friends…I’m also lucky enough to have that right now with my son. Since we’re not in a company where we people boss us around, we can decide for ourselves, ‘Let’s watch this game.’ You have your time to go for a walk, you have your time to go to the gym, you have your time to work, you have your time to watch games. Above all, I want to feel well, strong, and motivated, to not have any aches or pains.”

“Things are always happening, and it’s important to feel comfortable with your people and see that the people around you are also happy and doing well, and having the fewest possible problems. I want to be okay and feel good and have the energy to do things: I try to go to the gym during the first hour of the morning, and that’s very important for me to have that desire. I’ve still got a good head of hair thanks to my mom’s genes — she’s still got a strong hair, whereas my dad has lost a bit of his hair. Nowadays, I’ll run or cycle more because I feel good, and that’s important.”

“You might not know this because you’re young, but as the years go by, you start losing strength with age, so if you don’t put in that effort, you’ll start to have more problems. I used to push myself really hard when I was younger as a professional player, but then, when I stopped being a professional, the first few years in my 30s, 40s, and 50s, I used to push myself a lot physically, running and all that. Now it’s the other way around: I’m doing maintenance; I don’t want to do anything crazy, I want this to work, I don’t want it to fail me. I want to do a little bit, walk, stay healthy, and I’m not looking to compete or play matches or anything like that anymore.”