Vilanova

Tito Vilanova took control of FC Barcelona’s first team on June 15, 2012, on the day he was officially presented as the manager at the Camp Nou’s Sala París. Up until that moment he was the Josep Guardiola’s assistant manager. Guardiola and Vilanova took the reins of Barça B together in 2007 and the following year, after earning promotion to Segunda B, they took charge of the first team. They led Barça to its more glorious era in Club history.

Guardiola has highlighted the impact that Vilanova - whose way of doing things is “simple and discrete” - has had on the team on more than one occasion. A natural-born winner and a man with a strong personality, Vilanova is studious when it comes to football. His strong preference for combinative play and his attack-minded philosophy, coupled with his reputation for being methodical and having a high capacity for work, make him the natural choice for the first-team bench.

Born in Bellcaire d’Empordà (Girona) on September 17, 1968, Vilanova joined FC Barcelona’s youth system in 1984, curiously enough in the same year as Guardiola. At La Masia, he was part of a Juvenil (U18) class that experienced a lot of success on the pitch. Vilanova, who was an avid and technical midfielder, made the jump to Barça B and he featured in three friendly matches with the first team (1988/89).

His career as a footballer, however, took him to Fugueres, Celta (first division), Badajoz, Mallorca, Lleida, Elche and Gramenet.

After he retired, Vilanova started his managerial career with FC Barcelona in the 2001/02 season with the Cadete B (U15) team, which featured players like Gerard Piqué, Cesc Fàbregas and Leo Messi. He managed Palafrugell, Figueres and Terrassa before he joined up with Guardiola’s Barça B side in 2007. In the summer of 2012, he was named FC Barcelona’s first team manager.