Barca coach steps down

Throat cancer relapse forces Tito Vilanova to quit; replacement to be named next week

Tito Vilanova is stepping down as Barcelona8217;s coach following a recurrence of throat cancer,just a month before Lionel Messi and his teammates begin the defense of their Spanish league title. Club president Sandro Rosell told a hurriedly called news conference at Barcelona8217;s training facility on Friday that Vilanova will 8220;follow a treatment8221; that will be 8220;incompatible8221; with staying on as coach.

Rosell said that a new head coach would be named next week and that Barca were canceling their first friendly of the preseason,scheduled to be played in Poland on Saturday against Lechia Gdansk. Spanish media was rife with speculation that little-known Joan 8220;Rubi8221; Ferrer would replace Vilanova. Ferrer was hired in June as Barca8217;s new assistant coach after his strong season with Catalan club Girona in the second division.

The 44-year-old Vilanova had twice previously had to take a medical break from his duties at Barcelona,once as Pep Guardiola8217;s assistant in the 2011-12 season and again as their manager last season. In his single season in charge he led Barcelona to the Spanish league title with a record-tying 100 points. 8220;This is a piece of news I would have never in my life wanted to give,8221; Rosell told a packed media room including Barcelona8217;s first team with Messi and captain Carles Puyol. 8220;After evaluating the results of the routine tests and checkups for Tito Vilanova,the option arose of following a treatment that will be incompatible with the development of the responsibilities as the coach of the first team.8221;

Vilanova was not in attendance.

Vilanova had battled the recurrent tumour in a saliva gland for the past two years,coming back to coach each time. He first fell ill in November 2011 and had to have surgery. He then had a second tumour removed last December and travelled to New York several times to receive further treatment. In his absence last season,assistant Jordi Roura took over.

First as Guardiola8217;s assistant,Vilanova provided the tactical know-how that helped his boss forge one of the best teams in the history of the sport,winning 14 of a possible 19 titles from 2008-2012.

As a young player,Vilanova spent six years at Barcelona8217;s training academy from 1984-90 but never made it to the top flight team,going on to play for clubs such as Celta Vigo and Mallorca before his playing career was cut short by a serious knee injury. That injury led Vilanova into coaching and to Barcelona8217;s cadets,tutoring current first-team players Messi,Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. Vilanova moved on from Barcelona to work as sport director at third division club Terrassa before answering Guardiola8217;s call to help him take Barca B up from the third division in 2007-08.

PSG threaten to make 330m Messi bid

paris: The president of French club PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi has warned Barcelona off defender Thiago Silva,saying they will come back with a bid for Lionel Messi if the Spanish club continue their pursuit of the Brazil defender. Barcelona have been in need of defensive reinforcements and have said that they could meet the buy-out clause of the Brazil international. However,PSG have said that they have sufficient funds to trigger the release clause of Messi,if Barcelona do not back down. The Argentines buy-out clause is reported to be around 330m dollars.