There have been rumors all around in the last few months that Tito Vilanova could be axed citing his health problems. He has recently gone through his throat cancer surgery and now he is in US for post-surgery chemotherapy. This season; he was mostly seen outside of the ground for obvious reasons; hence his assistant coach Jordi Roura took his responsibilities in most of the matches. Now, sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has a put a dot on all rumors saying Tito will remain their head coach for at least next season or even for an extended period of time. Actually, Tito has been a source of inspiration for Barca teammates and that is why they could be able to redefine the history yesterday where they defeated Milan despite trailing by two goals on aggregate in the last 16. As per Tito’s recent medical bulletin, he is expected to return back to Camp Nou anytime next month, but it would be interesting to see when he would take the full charge of his duties. Andoni Zubizarreta confidently replied a complete yes when asked about if he is considering standing with Tito Vilanova next season during an interview given to a local radio station. He frankly admitted his interest in the head coach.
He further added, “Tito will arrive at the end of March, I don’t know if it will be March 25th, we have to be prudent with the date. After that, he will set the agenda. If he wants his first day to be in the morning, afternoon or evening, then fine. He decides. Tito is very well. His appearance, his mood, weight, everything…if you saw him in the street, aside from his scarf, you would think he is in perfect health. But we know that these types of treatments wear you down. We’re happy with how the process is going.”
Yesterday’s match against Milan was the historic one for Barca where they became the only team to overturn a 2-0 lead on aggregate, but midfielder Xavi sustained a hamstring injury during Tuesday clash; he may not impart in Sunday’s clash with Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. His injury has been informed by the club via its official website where it mentioned, “Further tests confirmed that the player has strained his muscle and therefore will miss the match on Sunday at the Camp Nou.”