Roma's Franco Baldini reveals failed approach for Barcelona's Pep Guardiola
Posted Saturday, October 22, 2011 by YAHOO Sport
Roma general manager Franco Baldini revealed that the club approached Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola in the summer.
The Serie A side, owned by an American consortium led by Thomas DiBenedetto, was on the lookout for a new coach in the summer to replace Vincenzo Montella. Roma's choice fell on Barcelona B coach Luis Enrique, but Franco Baldini, who was officially presented by the club on Friday, revealed that the club's first choice was the trainer of the Catalan club's main team.
"I obviously approached Guardiola," Baldini said at a press conference. "I asked him if he wanted to move to Roma and he told me: 'Maybe in a few years.'"
Baldini, who has worked with Fabio Capello in the England national team, also took time to praise Roma's current boss.
"I have liked Luis Enrique from the start," Baldini added. "The facts have proved me right. This is his first real coaching experience and he has to make his own mistakes: the true crime is not to make mistakes, but to not acknowledge them.
"He will be a great coach. I wanted him to be that immediately, he has all the characteristics to become one. Now we have to provide him with the elements to succeed."
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