Barcelona: Return of Pep Guardiola overshadowing another homecoming

With Pep Guardiola returning to the place that helped make him, the return of another important Barcelona figure is being forgotten.

Week 4 of this seasons UEFA Champions League pits Barcelona against English giants Manchester City in what will be a pivotal match in determining who’ll win Group C.

The obvious headline is the return of Pep Guardiola to the Camp Nou. Pep journeyed his way through La Masia and played an instrumental part of Johan Cruyff’s “dream team” of the early 90’s.

Once his playing career concluded, it wasn’t long before he found himself on the sidelines, taking over Barcelona B in 2007. He managed for only one year before taking over Barça’s first team in 2008; and the rest, is history.

Now, Pep finds himself at Manchester City, trying to replicate the success he found in Barcelona. But Pep’s homecoming isn’t the only one happening Wednesday night. It’ll be time to welcome back the great Claudio Bravo.

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It doesn’t seem that long ago that Bravo left the blaugrana for the Citizens. Two international breaks has limited the amount of soccer for these two clubs. But it’s already been almost two months, and the transfer has proved to be exceptional for both sides.

For City, they received the prototypical goalkeeper for Pep’s system: good feet, excellent ball distribution, and comfortable at building from the back. Joe Hart, while a very good goalkeeper in his own regard, doesn’t fit under Pep and the new City, hence why they wanted Bravo.

For Barça, Marc Ter Stegen has finally been handed the reigns to the number one spot. He’s certainly had shaky moments, but the incessant game time will surely help him grow as a keeper.

Claudio Bravo was a crucial cog in Barça’s squad over the past two seasons: 2 La Liga’s, 2 Copa del Rey’s, a Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup. He was initially brought in to be a safe guard between club legend Victor Valdés and the future, Ter Stegen. But his showings were a pleasant surprise, and he rightfully held the number one spot.

However, his time was coming to an end. It was time for Lucho and Barça to put their trust in Marc and find Bravo a new home. And that’s led us to where we are now.

Without Bravo, Barcelona don’t have anywhere near the success they’ve had these past two years. He was just as important as any other player. His return to the club certainly shouldn’t be forgotten.

Obviously, I’m not saying that Bravo’s contributions to the club outweighs Pep’s. Pep revolutionized the way Barça play and launched one of the greatest periods of glory for any one club in history. But Claudio should not be swept aside; after all, this isn’t the first Pep homecoming, so while it’ll be special, it won’t be new.

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Hopefully, Barça fans will show the upmost love and respect for Bravo, along with Pep. While we certainly won’t be rooting for Bravo to have a phenomenal game-c’mon, just because those two are back doesn’t mean we don’t want to crush them-it’ll still bring a smile to see him play well. Wednesday’s clash will be an nail biting but exhilarating one. Força Barça!!

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