For many Barcelona fans, the greatest goalkeeper in Barcelona's history is Víctor Valdés, not only because of his miraculous saves but also because of his personality. He navigated the club's most glorious period, winning the treble under Guardiola, then the sextuple.

Though his early career was not smooth, Van Gaal once sent him back to Barcelona B according to his own arrangement. Despite Van Gaal's high regard for him, after some mistakes, Van Gaal kept him on the bench to let him gain playing experience first, and even dropped him from the squad at times.

Valdés, from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, always had a strong personality and even directly expressed his desire to leave the club. The situation once escalated so far that he was investigated, and he even considered moving to another team. Then the storm subsided, and with the arrival of Radomir Antić, he regained his starting position in Barcelona's first team.

However, the person who truly changed his understanding of football was Guardiola, who fundamentally changed how the entire team played. Guardiola was appointed directly from the reserves, and outsiders once questioned whether he could restore Barcelona, which had fallen into mediocrity after the Rijkaard and Ronaldinho era, but his eventual success was undoubtedly one of the most successful decisions in the club's history.

Guardiola arrived with a very different philosophy and never intended to compromise. To implement it, he had to instill this philosophy in a group of players unfamiliar with this tactical setup. Valdés recalls his first lengthy conversation with the coach from Santpedor.

"My first conversation with Guardiola was in his office at Camp Nou. On the tactical board, he placed two pieces on the sideline, at the end of the field, right next to my goal. He asked me: 'Do you know what this is? These are the center-backs.' Valdés recalled in the documentary "Take the Ball, Pass the Ball," that at the time he felt it "sounded like nonsense."

In fact, this setup made perfect sense. Guardiola placed two players in passing lanes to orchestrate attacks from the back: "When you get the ball, I want them to be there." He emphasized repeatedly.

"I thought he was crazy. He said I would pass the ball to them, then we would start playing from there. I'm a bit crazy myself, so I felt quite similar to him." Valdés said with a laugh, but it also showed his affinity for the coach and how Guardiola convinced everyone to play his way.

However, Valdés also acknowledged that he saw a flaw in the idea: "I told him: 'Then we have to make them want the ball, because to place it there, someone has to be willing to receive it first.'" Guardiola answered smoothly: "Don't worry, leave that to me, I'll make them want the ball." Valdés said.

In this system, Guardiola also involved the goalkeeper in organizing the team's attacks. Today, many top European teams involve the goalkeeper in this process, but when Barcelona proposed this approach at the time, hardly anyone could imagine that experimenting this close to their own goal would succeed. Therefore, Guardiola is one of the greatest coaches in history.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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