GUARDIOLA CLINCH "COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD"

The 40-year-old led the Catalans to five more trophies in 2011 and was the unanimous choice for the prestigious prize at the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich on Monday

 
Pep Guardiola of FC Barcelona has beaten Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho to claim the Coach of the Year award at the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala in Switzerland.

Guardiola led Barca to five titles in 2001, with the Catalans claiming La Liga and the Champions League in 2010-11, followed by the Spanish Supercopa, the UEFA Supercup and the Club World Cup in the last few months.

The 40-year-old former Spain star succeeds inaugural winner Mourinho, who claimed the 2010 prize on the back of his treble success with Inter.

 

Homage to Catalunya
Guardiola has been ultra-successful since taking over from Frank Rijkaard in the summer of 2008 and leading the Catalan club to six titles out of six in his first 18 months in charge.

And after retaining La Liga in 2009-10, the former Barca captain has enjoyed a fantastic 2011, leading his side to a third straight Primera Division title, a second Champions League success in three seasons, a Spanish Supercopa, a Uefa Super Cup and another Club World Cup.

That tally means Guardiola has now claimed 13 from a possible 16 trophies since succeeding Rijkaard and the 40-year-old becomes the second coach to win this new Fifa award, claimed by Mourinho in 2010.

Guardiola's current contract at Barca expires this summer, with the coach preferring to sign one-year deals, but a new agreement has yet to be penned for the popular trainer to extend his spell at Camp Nou.

Club president Sandro Rosell had offered Guardiola a seven-year contract when he took over from previous chief Joan Laporta, but says he respects his coach's decision to sign year-long deals, claiming the new contract has already been prepared and that Guardiola can sign it whenever he likes.

Guardiola, who will be 41 later this month, made 479 official appearances for the Barca first team in an illustrious career as a player for the Catalan club, winning 16 trophies for the Camp Nou outfit and also turning out for Spain on 47 occasions.