Giving Vilanova the Barcelona job was a brilliant decision, says Rosell

Jan 29, 2013 7:57:00 AM

The Blaugrana supremo believes the coach has been a revelation in his his first few months at the helm after taking over from Pep Guardiola last summer

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has taken the time to praise head coach Tito Vilanova and feels sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta made the right decision to appoint the 44-year-old.

Vilanova replaced Pep Guardiola at the end of the 2011-12 campaign following the latter's decision to say farewell to the game for a year, and the Blaugrana are more than satisfied with his work so far this season, as they lead La Liga by 11 points.

"Tito has talent, he understands what Barcelona mean, what La Masia is and what being Catalan means," Rosell told reporters.

"It was a brilliant decision by Zubizarreta to give him the job."

Rosell then went on to say that he does not expect Xavi to retire any time soon after he put pen to paper on a new contract at the club on Monday.

"He has just renewed his contract until 2016. He'll be 36-years-old by then, but we believe this deal won't be the last he signs with us."

Barca are currently preparing for the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against arch-rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday.

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