Frank Rijkaard

[John Antonio Bilboa]

Yeah, I remember what Xavi said in an interview not too much ago. How during Rijkard's reign, things like having a kilo more (Ronaldinho, how are you?) or just getting late for a training session didn't matter so much. This type of freedom allowed us to achieve some success, but after that it became just devastating it seems. The whole lack of control, all little things about the discipline, which make a big problem if you combine them in one.

And how Xavi said, when Pep came ... everything changed for real. Half a pound or getting late with 3 minutes - you're going to pay, motherfucker.

Still one of my favorite barca managers ever. No offense to anybody but then there are a lot of Barca "fans" out there that are glory hunters and have only recently become supporters of the club due to the amount of success we've had in recent years. Frank was a very laid back kinda guy but he brought back titles to the camp nou and laid the foundation for the current squad, that Pep has had so much success with. I remember the day they announced that he was i remeber on the website in said something like "Rijkaard till the 31'st" or something along those lines. It had been something that most people expected to happen but something i had never really thought would happen. I was totally gutted.
I thought barca would slip in to chaos and Real would totally rule the roast in the primera.....Sometimes im glad that i'm wrong. Frank Rijkaard was a legend and anybody that says anything different doesn't know a thing about Barca....

 

[nejcf15]

became coach of Saudi Arabia

3 year contract, 11 millions/3 seasons

 

[impeh]

seems kinda strange, but for that money who cares

 

[Aasim]

[YOUTUBE]SNlB19JuF5c[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Cal-FCB]

Hahaha damn right Aasim, Frank is lining his pockets. Was hoping to see him take a decent role in Europe this summer though, would have been nice to see him in the spotlight again.

 

[desoe]

Frank is giving up

I always thought that at some point after 2008 he'll be back in business at some of the top clubs, but this is kinda unexpected to me .. he's not that old, God damn it :-/

 

[Tazim]

just like Gullit.. destroyin his career

 

[Trequartista]

frank at Saudi Arabia is the worst thing to happen to him
How can he smoke his weed and drink his wine then?
expect him to be sacked in 2 weeks time after being caught smoking a marijuana in the dressing room

 

[Barcafan 2304]

Good luck to him, still have fond memories of his years at the Camp Nou

 

[Pride]

Making some money, but he'll probably be back sometime in the future.

 

[Barcafan 2304]

Who can blame him? Set up for life, financial security and i think it is far from being the death knell to his managerial career

 

[Quell]

frank at Saudi Arabia is the worst thing to happen to him
How can he smoke his weed and drink his wine then?
expect him to be sacked in 2 weeks time after being caught smoking a marijuana in the dressing room

is he still there?

I have warm memories, he just couldn't control the triumph, not that kind of a coach. Pity he didn't try with some English squad, that could have been interesting.

"You'll never smoke alone."

 

[89Norcal]

Figured this was worth a thread resurrect

Rijkaard in his interview with FIFA.com; Talking about the Saudi Arabia NT, Netherlands NT, his time at Barca and Messi:

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=1978143.html?intcmp=newsreader_news_caption

"Messi is not simply a uniquely talented footballer. He’s also strong mentally, very bright and exceptionally dedicated to his job. Quite simply, he’s the best."
Frank Rijkaard

 

[Barcaman]

Still can't decide what was the key to success of his tenure. Was it Frank, his right hand Henk, the drive of Eto'o or magic of Ronaldinho.
In any case, Frank was a true gentleman and a great character.
Hope we see him back im some role with Barca.

 

[89Norcal]

Still can't decide what was the key to success of his tenure. Was it Frank, his right hand Henk, the drive of Eto'o or magic of Ronaldinho.
In any case, Frank was a true gentleman and a great character.
Hope we see him back im some role with Barca.

Yeah, the journalist asked him about that and he modestly said he wasn't the sole reason, and that it was a collective effort. And he mentioned in a Ronaldinho documentary that Ronnie was a crucial part of bringing Barca back to glory.

I would definitely like to see him working with the club in some capacity.