Valdano: "Guardiola is Steve Jobs of football"

Jorge Valdano praised the basic footballing philosophy of Real Madrid's eternal rival, FC Barcelona. "Barça has turned its football into a culture and everything that the youngsters learn at 'La Masía' is then applied at the Camp Nou", the ex-manager and ex-director general of Real Madrid said in an interview with 'Yahoo!Eurosport', which was reported by Europa Press.

The dual nationality Spanish-Argentine coach was saddened that Real Madrid hasn't followed along the same path. During his time there as a manager, Valdano was lucky enough to come across Guti and Raúl in the team's youth ranks, players who "defined an era".

"In Real Madrid's history the youth system has been essential, but times have changed. There seems to be some truth in the idea that for the youth system to play an important part, it's better to be poor than rich", he said in reference to the basic footballing culture of the current Madrid coach, José Mourinho.

And this is partly why Valdano believes that the former 'Blaugrana' manager Pep Guardiola, currently on a sabbatical year in New York, did a "fantastic job". "He's the Steve Jobs of football: experimental, brave, a lover of beauty, and innovative. He is an important point of reference in the footballing world, and rightly so", he commented.

Asked about the next winner of the Ballon d'Or, Valdano gave his opinion: "Messi has already won three, but this has actually been his best year yet. His biggest rival is Cristiano Ronaldo, an exceptional player who was unlucky enough to be born in the same generation as Messi".

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Source: Marca