RIP César Luis Menotti
This Sunday the world has lost legendary Argentinian coach César Luis Menotti, who was at FC Barcelona for the last part of the 1982/83 season and all of 1983/84, in that time guiding the team to one Liga, one Copa del Rey and one Spanish Super Cup.
Born in Rosario on 5 November 1938, he was 85 when he died. He joined the club as a replacement for Udo Lattek, and his mission was to get the best of a side that was buzzing with potential but failing to deliver when it really mattered. With a bundle of great ideas and his famous line about "making the spaces small", his main game plan was to put as much pressure on the opposition as possible and play with a deep defensive line.
In his first season at the club, Menotti won the Copa del Rey and the League Cup, beating Real Madrid in both finals. In his second season, things didn't go quite so well, with star player Diego Armando Maradona injured for most of it and just the Spanish Super Cup to add to the honours. Terry Venables would take his place on the Camp Nou bench in the summer of 1984.