Guardiola was the father of so many of this generation of Barcelona greats, and now they will have to battle on without their mentor, and inspiration.
Stunned players took to the social networking site Twitter to express their shock and disappointment at his departure, but also their thanks to the Spaniard for making them what they are.
Guardiola said: “This is not a simple decision for me. I hope people understand. I’m sorry for the confusion of the past few weeks. It was a mistake. People were telling me to make the announcement earlier. I’ve always wanted short contracts because the demand from Barcelona is so great. Four years is an eternity for a coach. In autumn I announced to the chairman that I was seeing the end of my era at Barcelona. Obviously we couldn’t say that to the players publicly. Now we’re out of the two main competitions it is a good time to announce it. I had to announce it today to end the confusion. The new coach will give things that I am unable to give any more. It would have been a bad idea to continue.”
It seemed like such a harsh blow. Barcelona had just won 13 out of 16 trophies until this year. They still may win another before Guardiola officially leaves. But maybe it was to protect his players from criticism after their remarkable achievements of recent years, as the predictable questions were raised over whether they were coming to an end.
Guardiola was so much more than just the manager though. He thought, he devised new and ingenious strategies to outwit his opponents. And so often they worked. They only came up short in the last week, and against a record breaking Real and scarcely credibly fortunate Chelsea team in the Champions League. But Guardiola took a team of brilliant players, and made them even better. His style, influenced by Johan Cruyff, will surely live on.
And that will be the intention by appointing Tito Vilanova. All the ingredients are still there. Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara can be the next Xavi and Iniesta, whilst Leo Messi is only 24 still. Isaac Cuenca, Christian Tello and the new generation show a Barcelona that can be the best team for years to come still. But these may be their best years. These last years may have been for Barcelona, what the start of the 1970s were to Ajax, or the late 1950s were to Real Madrid. Or the early 1960s to Santos.
A great team, with great players, goes on. But will they ever be as great without Guardiola. Only time will tell. But whatever the future holds for this Barcelona team, they have entertained, and been the team of their generation. Few will forget the way they dismantled Real 5-0 at home last year, or 6-2 in the Bernabeu. Or the way they took Manchester United apart in two Champions League finals. So many games, so many great memories of a great team. Hopefully they have something left yet.
