Roura to lead Barça in Tito Vilanova's absence

During President Sandro Rosell and Director of Football Andoni Zubizarreta’s press conference this afternoon on Tito Vilanova’s condition, the two expressed their “absolute confidence in the team and the technical staff.” Zubizarreta confirmed that assistant manager Jordi Roura will lead FC Barcelona in the head manager’s stead. “We are in extraordinary hands and with them we’ll continue down this path. We’ll present ourselves in Valladolid [with Roura],” said Zubizarreta. He added: “Tito is not here. We do have Jordi and his coaching staff.”

“We’ll be there for Tito and his family”

Zubizarreta said that he met with Tito Vilanova before this afternoon’s training session: “He’ll try to overcome this new challenge. We’ll be there for him and his family. We’re forgetting about football right now, that’s secondary. We’re ready for this challenge.”

A united team

Zubizarreta also unveiled how the players reacted to the news: “They are as unified as ever.” He added: “We need to pick ourselves up and keep on working. Each match will be a challenge knowing that life itself is what’s truly important.” The Director of Football concluded: “We aren’t legends, we’re humans. The things that happen to us are the same things that happen to everyone else.”