Pep Guardiola's managerial start at Barcelona was nothing short of disappointing. The Catalans lost the opening game of the season 1-0 to Numancia and then drew 1-1 at home to Racing Santander.
Fans were doubting the new boss and that put Joan Laporta under pressure. However, one man firmly believed in Pep, and that man was Johan Cruyff.
The Dutchman was a columnist for the Catalan newspaper, El Periodico. After the Racing Santander stalemate, he wrote: "I don't know what game you were watching, but I saw one of the best Barcelona performances I had seen for years."
Cruyff knew what he was talking about: he mentored Guardiola before the start of the season and witnessed all the hard work Pep had been doing. His opinion on Pep convinced Laporta he made no mistake hiring the inexperienced coach instead of a big name. The rest is history.
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