Guardiola named best coach in Spain by peers

Barcelona's coach Pep Guardiola speaks to his supporters after winning against Valladolid at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, May 16, 2010. Barcelona retained their La Liga title with a 4-0 win.


MADRID, May 24 -- An inquest published in Spanish daily newspaper El Pais on Monday sees FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola named as the best coach in Spain by his peers in the BBVA Primera Liga.

The 20 Primera Liga coaches were all asked for their opinions on various subjects such as the best coach, the best Spanish player, the foreign player in Spain, the player who has made the breakthrough and the best foreign player playing abroad.

Guardiola, who this season has led Barcelona to the BBVA Primera Liga title as well as the Spanish and European Supercups and the World Club Championship, was considered to be the best coach, receiving nine votes, four more than Mallorca's Gregorio Manzano.

Manzano led a Mallorca side that was among the pre-season favorites for relegation, to fifth place in the league, despite having a severely depleted squad compared with the previous season.

There was little debate as to who the best Spanish player in the league was in the 2009-10 campaign: Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez received 13 votes, while no other player received more than one.

Leo Messi was the clear winner when the coaches chose the best foreign player in the BBVA Primera Liga. The Argentinean, who ended the season as top scorer in Spain with 32 goals, got 16 nominations while his teammate Dani Alves and Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan received one vote each.

Barcelona's coach Pep Guardiola celebrates winning the Spanish first division league La Liga title after beating Vallaolid at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona May 16, 2010. Barcelona retained their La Liga title with a 4-0 win.


Barcelona's clean sweep continued with Pedro Rodriguez considered to be the player who had made the most progress this campaign. Pedro came from Barcelona's B-team to end the campaign with 12 league goals and a place in the Spain squad for the World Cup finals.

Finally Manchester United's Wayne Rooney was voted the best foreign player. Rooney received eight votes, five more than Bayern Munich's former Real Madrid striker Arjen Robben and six more than Inter Milan striker Diego Milito. The hero of Saturday's Champions League final received just two votes.
(Reuters)