Guardiola expresses ‘deepest sympathy'

Prior to the home meeting with Werder Bremen, FC Bayern and the 71,000 at the Allianz Arena paid tribute to Tito Vilanova, who died on Friday. After the match, coach Pep Guardiola, who had known the former Barça coach since their days as youths, expressed “deepest sympathy” to Vilanova’s family..

“We experienced a lot together. We lost together and won together. This is a very difficult situation,” Guardiola said at the post-match press conference in Munich, “the sadness will accompany me for ever.“

Guardiola and Vilanova became acquainted as youngsters at FC Barcelona’s La Masia youth development centre. Later, as head coach and assistant coach of the reserve and senior Barça teams, they celebrated many triumphs including a treble in 2009. When Guardiola took a sabbatical year in New York in 2012, Vilanova stepped up to the position of Barça head coach.