Guardiola "missing" football

Posted Saturday, June 30, 2012 by ESPN

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admits he is already missing life away from football.

In just four years in charge Guardiola led Barca to an unprecedented period of dominance with 14 trophies, including three La Liga crowns, two Champions League titles and two Copa del Reys.

However, the 41-year-old revealed in April that he would be stepping down from coaching Barca in the summer to take some time away from the game to "recharge his batteries".

Guardiola was is in Malaysia this week as part of his role as the Asia Pacific brand ambassador for Castrol.

"Am I missing football? I do miss it actually. I am already tired of playing golf with my father," Guardiola told reporters.

Guardiola also claimed that the toughest task for him during his spell managing the Catalans was trying to figure out what his starting XI would look like every week.

"I feel for the seven or eight players who are left on the bench and are not on the field," he said.

"It is sad as they are just as good as the others but this is a difficult choice for a manager."

Guardiola's former assistant Tito Vilanova has signed a two-year contract at Barca to become its new head coach.