Pep Guardiola - Messi Keeps Barcelona Almost Unbeatable

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The Manchester City Boss Pep Guardiola spent some time talking about his Former side FC Barcelona to L'Esportiu in an interview and said that Barcelona will remain "almost unbeatable" while they still have Lionel Messi.

Barca missed out on La Liga last season to Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus in the quarterfinals, leading t plenty of debate about the direction in which the club are heading.

However, from his vantage point as Manchester City coach, Guardiola doesn't think his former sid have anything to worry about in the immediate future with Messi still at the peak of his powers.

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Pep Guardiola Story In Barcelona

Born in Santpedor , Barcelona , Catalonia , Guardiola joined La Masia at the age of 13 and rose through the ranks at the youth academy of Barcelona for six years, making his début in 1990 against Cádiz . As Phil Ball writes in Morbo ,
Johan Cruyff utilised the young midfielder in the absence of the suspended Guillermo Amor. He became a first team regular in the 1991–92 season and at only 20 years old, he was a key component of a side that won La Liga and the
European Cup . The prestigious Italian magazine
Guerin Sportivo heralded Guardiola as the finest player in the world under the age of 21. Cruyff's "Dream Team" went on to retain La Liga title in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons . The side was strengthened by the recent signing of
Romário , again reached the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final , but were beaten 4–0 by Fabio Capello 's Milan side in Athens . Cruyff left in 1996, with Barcelona finishing fourth in the 1994–95 season and third in the 1995–96 season , but Guardiola retained his position at the centre of Barça's midfield.

In the 1996–97 season , Barcelona, this time led by Bobby Robson , won three cups, the Copa del Rey , the Supercopa de España , and the
European Cup Winners' Cup . Much of the Dream Team had by this time left, with new signings such as Luís Figo and Ronaldo taking over from
Hristo Stoichkov and Michael Laudrup . In 1997, Guardiola was named as Barcelona captain under new manager Louis van Gaal , but a calf muscle injury ruled Guardiola out of most of the
1997–98 season , in which Barcelona won a
league and cup double . At the end of the season, Barcelona rejected offers from Roma and Parma (of around 300 million pesetas ) for Guardiola. After prolonged and complicated contract talks, Guardiola signed a new contract with the Catalan club which extended his stay until 2001.

Guardiola returned to action the following season and Barcelona once again won La Liga , thanks largely to the performances of Rivaldo and Luís Figo. On 8 June 1998, Guardiola underwent surgery to try to solve once and for all the problems that he was experiencing with his calf which had led to him missing the 1998 FIFA World Cup for Spain. A largely disappointing 1999–2000 season ended once again in surgery as Guardiola missed the last three months of the season due to a serious
ankle injury. Barcelona didn't win any silverware during the 2000–01 season and finished fourth place in the league , but qualifying for the
Champions League.