Football
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'Historic' legacy key to Pep Guardiola success - Barcelona president

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has questioned whether Pep Guardiola will succeed at Manchester City without having the winning legacy he inherited when coach at the Camp Nou.

Former Barca midfielder Guardiola famously won 14 of the 19 competitions entered during his four seasons as Blaugrana coach -- including three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies.

In his first two seasons at Bayern Munich, Guardiola has won the Bundesliga title both times, but been beaten in the UCL semi-finals both years, first by Real Madrid and then by his former club, Barcelona.

Guardiola is due to take over at Manchester City next season -- where he will have support in the club's hierarchy from his former Barca colleagues Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, with City's Abu-Dhabi-based owners having consciously attempted to replicate the Catalan club's model.

Bartomeu told the New York Times that it remained to be seen if City would be able to replicate the Dutch-influenced structure, put in place at Camp Nou over three decades before Guardiola took over as coach.

"Let's see if Pep can do in Manchester what he did for us," Bartomeu said. "Pep came through our school. He was coached by Johan Cruyff, and going back even further, the blueprint was laid down by another Dutchman, Rinus Michels."

Another ex-Barca midfielder, Luis Enrique, is currently in charge of the club's first team, and last season matched Guardiola's achievement in winning the treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies in his first season in charge.

Bartomeu claimed that a "historic memory" running through every level at Barcelona was vital to the first team's success.

"Barca, we all say, is more than a club, from the players at the top to the youngest child in our academy," he said. "We have a historic memory."

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