Sergi: Pep still the man

Former Barcelona full-back Sergi Barjuan hopes the side’s coach Pep Guardiola continues at Camp Nou for many years to come.

Sergi, who played with Guardiola at Barca between 1993 and 2001, returned to the Catalan giants to train their Juvenil B side at La Masia for a two-year spell ending in the summer, and he now hopes to follow in his friend’s footsteps by becoming a senior coach.

“I can’t tell you what I will be doing tomorrow, or what I will be doing in future,” he told Goal.com. “But I want to be a coach.”

That seems unlikely to be at Barca, however, at least in the short term, with the ex-Spain star keen to see Guardiola stay on at Camp Nou.

“Pep is unique and he is special. Let’s hope he stays for many more years to come,” the 39-year-old said.

Sergi and Guardiola were two of the top talents from the early crop of stars to emerge from Barca’s famed La Masia academy, and the former defender coached many of the youngsters now making their way into the first team at the Catalan club.

Nine of the starting 11 from Barca’s 4-0 win at home to BATE Borisov in the Champions League on Tuesday night came through the youth ranks at La Masia, as well as all three substitutes.

Sergi said seeing the likes of Isaac Cuenca, Rafinha, Gerard Deulofeu make it to the first team is a satisfying sensation.

“If you have developed as a player at La Masia and then gone on to play for the first team, it fills you with pride,” he said.

“And when you work as a coach (at Barca) and you see a player moving up to the first team, it’s a great satisfaction.”

Sergi won 56 caps for Spain and made 382 appearances for Barca before finishing his career at Atletico Madrid.