There are rumors and reports flying around that Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova will be leaving the club Friday. At this point, this is all speculation, but there is a press conference scheduled for Friday afternoon. The topic of that press conference is yet to be confirmed, but AS is reporting, among others, that Vilanova will resign his post.
Tito Vilanova rumored to be stepping down as Barcelona manager Friday
Barcelona have scheduled a press conference for later today and rumors are flying that head coach Tito Vilanova will be leaving the club.
Tito Vilanova is to leave his post as Barcelona coach - he will be temporarily replaced by Rubi.
— AS English (@English_AS) July 19, 2013
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We certainly don’t want to start jumping to conclusions but it’s hard not to be concerned about the possibility that Vilanova has another relapse in his fight against cancer. Hopefully this is not the case and there is another reason for his rumored departure.
We’ll have to wait and see but it will certainly be massive news if Vilanova decides to step down and leave Barcelona limited time to find and get a new head coach in place. Not that filling the top spot at Barca would be particularly tough in terms of applicants, but finding the right person to lead the team forward will be crucial. ‘Rubi’ Joan Francesc Ferrer is reportedly Vilanova’s temporary replacement, but his lack of experience makes him an unlikely long-term solution.
Team president Sandro Rosell has been under extreme scrutiny recently. While he won’t face another election until 2016, there are demands for Barca to rebound after what was a disappointing season by their standards. He’ll be under even more pressure now that his manager position is in flux.
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