On the eve of Tito Vilanova's first season in charge of Barcelona, he stood in the middle of the Camp Nou pitch with a microphone in hand. Tradition dictates that the new campaign is welcomed with the Gamper Trophy and the manager always has a message to deliver. This time, in August 2012, it carried a special emotive power. "I'm so happy that you're here with us," Vilanova turned to tell the French defender Eric Abidal. "Your fight is our strength."
Abidal had undergone a liver transplant in April of that year after suffering cancer and Vilanova knew something of what the Frenchman was going through: in November 2011 he had been diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland in the throat while assistant manager to Pep Guardiola. The following May it was formally announced that he had fully overcome the illness and he looked forward to a future as the manager of the club. His club. Abidal was still recovering from the operation, his future uncertain.
"If you're strong and you have desire," Vilanova told Abidal in front of the fans, "we will wait for you, as long as it takes."
Abidal was given the medical all-clear and returned to the club's Sant Joan Despí training ground four months later. It was December 2012. The same day, it was announced that Vilanova had suffered a relapse of his cancer. He underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy while still the Barcelona manager, eventually being forced to leave the post last summer because of his deteriorating health. On Friday, he passed away. He was 45.
Flags at the administrative entrance to the Camp Nou flew at half-mast. A little further round, alongside the north end of the stadium, stands La Masía – the small Catalan-style farmhouse built in 1702 where the club's youth team players used to live. It was there that Vilanova watched out of the window as Bernd Schuster trained on the tiny pitch below and there that he met Guardiola. Vilanova had arrived aged 14 and the two men – two boys – were technically gifted midfielders who shared much. Above all, they shared a philosophy.
Vilanova played for Barcelona B but not the first team. Born in the village of Bellcaire d'Empordà with a population of little more than 500, in Catalan agricultural country, Vilanova played at Figueres, Celta de Vigo, Badajoz, Mallorca, Elche and Gramenet. He had left Barcelona in 1990, determined that he would not wait more than two years for an opportunity yet his style was always a Barça style and he returned swiftly. In 2002, he became coach of Barcelona's Cadete B, a team of 13-year-olds that included Gerard Piqué, Cesc Fábregas and Lionel Messi.
When Guardiola was made coach of Barcelona's B team in 2007, he immediately called his friend. Vilanova knew Catalan football like few others: he had been sporting director at Figueres and Terrasa and was coaching at Palafrugell. He was an even more determined defender of a particular footballing faith than Guardiola, telling El País: "We're different. Winning alone is not enough: we have an ideal of youth team players and attacking football, as Barcelona's culture demands. We have our faults but being cowards will never be one of them."
Together they won the Second Division B league title and then they took over the first team. "Are we ready for this?" Guardiola asked Vilanova. "Well, you are," Villanova replied. They won six out of six trophies,including a unique treble, and oversaw the most successful era in the club's history.
When Guardiola won the coach's Ballon d'Or, he dedicated the award to Vilanova, delivering the most personal part of his speech in Catalan. Vilanova had by then been diagnosed with cancer but he returned to work in 18 days. "My job is my whole life," he would say. And as Guardiola's time came to an end, he had overcome the illness and was given the chance to manage alone.
In a television interview that winter, Vilanova explained how during treatment he had thought of his two children who "still need me around". His son Adrià plays for Barcelona's juvenil youth team. A few days later, on what should have been a happy day, marked by Abidal's return, the news broke. He travelled to New York for treatment, temporarily leaving the post, returning to see Barcelona win the league title with a record 100 points.
As Barcelona's form had dipped and criticism had emerged at the end of that season, when Vilanova managed the team from his hospital bed, even conducting some team talks by video from the US, Javier Mascherano noted: "Our manager is not in New York on holiday, you know." Somehow it never quite feels real, so the Argentinian's words hit hard. The scarf Vilanova had taken to wearing round his neck was another reminder. Then, in the summer he was forced to step down as manager on medical advice.
There were occasional updates and he would be seen sometimes watching his son but he had largely withdrawn, determined not to burden others. "It'll be fine," he would say.
On that December day when Barcelona announced Vilanova had suffered a relapse of the cancer to which he lost his life , the sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, was asked if Abidal and Vilanova's illnesses made Barcelona's legend even greater because they had overcame adversity. "No," Zubizarreta replied, "it makes us human."
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