This year’s success isn’t just measured in trophies. Barça has gotten better since last year and with their attractive style has helped many people enjoy watching the game over the past two years.

This article is a translation of Johan Cruyff’s weekly article in El Periodico. The original can be found here.

A player with good sportsmanship will always congratulate their rivals. Real Madrid had an extraordinary season.  They fought tooth and nail with Barcelona until the last game, and that has lead to a record in the number of points won for both the first and second place team. Having congratulated Madrid, I find myself more and more impressed everyday with this Barça team. Because they won the league? Sure, but their success is measured in other things too.  They enjoyed themselves on the field and football fans enjoyed watching them play. The whole world has recognized your superiority and very few teams have obtained that over the course of history. I’m wowed because the second year is always more difficult than the first. As I’ve said many times, getting to the top is easy but staying there is what is really complicated.

You came from winning everything last season to doing even better this season. From three titles a year ago to four this year. Not only have you maintained your dominance, you’ve gotten better. I’m wowed because you’ve played for a year, from May to May, with each game being as important as a final. Both physically and mentally exhausting. You never gave up. You gave it your all until being eliminated, even after winning the second match. It happened in the King’s Cup (Sevilla) and in the Champions League (Inter). In both cases, you were one goal short from receiving greater praise for what I value most above anything else: to have a polished style that is recognizable, developed, mature and stable. Stable because the foundations of the team originate at home, from within the club, which is fundamental.

This last point, the style, the philosophy, the work of the youth program and the value of the coach’s confidence in the youth system is what has given Barça the edge over the last few years. If the players are good, fantastic, and above all, feel the colors and understand the philosophy, it’s priceless. 

The game yesterday against Valladolid signaled the 20th league trophy in the history of FC Barcelona. Very few for the 111 years that the club has been competing … and ten of those have come in the last nineteen years. Take away the seven league titles between the 1940s and 1950s and you go from hardly ever winning to winning, on average, every other year. And not only that. Three Champions League trophies and their only Club World Cup trophy coincide with this period. And this isn’t a coincidence. Having said that, why would you want to change anything? Don’t fix something that isn’t broken.

All of the possible presidential candidates applaud the “Barça brand” and they all want Guardiola to stay. I hope that they all respect his decisions and that nobody is tempted to meddle in his affairs. It’d be a big error, which has happened before. The coaches should be the one that make the coaching decisions. And if there is anyone with the credibility to do so, it is them (the coaches). If you wait until mid-June, it could be too late. Laporta isn’t the one that signs players here, it’s the coaching staff. And if you think you know more than them you should take out your credentials and sit on the bench.

Why has Barça had so much success over the past seven years? Because the president hasn’t stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong and has listened to the coach’s wishes. In those seven years, the president has made two big decisions in regards to the team; hiring Rijkaard and Guardiola. Where you’ve had two coaches in seven years, Madrid has had nine. Where you’ve had one technical director, Madrid has had several. Where you’ve remained faithful to your style, Madrid once again has changed coach and philosophy. And a coach that reaches 96 points can’t be bad. It’s their decision, but whether or not to keep Pelligrini should be a decision made by the coaching staff, not by the president.

In the end, the current situation of Barça and Madrid might not be that distinct. In Madrid, they are thinking about changing the coach and the project. Bringing in someone else and starting from scratch. In Barça, there will be a change but only because of club statutes. In the last seven years, Barça has won 12 big titles and Madrid only 4. The 12-4 seems even bigger when you take into account the style and philosophy of both teams. 

I know that whoever wins the election will want to make decisions. But the successes over the last seven years have come from everyone, from the president to the back office accountant but especially from the coaching staff. By way of titles and philosophy, they’ve demonstrated that they know what they’re doing. Coaching decisions should be left for the coaches.