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Barcelona Pep'd up by Guardiola

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By ROBERT MILLWARD
Associated Press Sports
updated 11:54 a.m. ET Sept. 29, 2008

LONDON (AP) -A netful of 34 goals in the first 10 Spanish league games shows that Barcelona is no longer the embarrassing wreck of a team that finished 18 points behind champion Real Madrid last season.

With four goals in the first half in a 6-0 victory over Valladolid on Saturday, Samuel Eto'o looks nothing like the unhappy player Barca was trying to offload in the summer.

Even Thierry Henry, who spent most of last season trying to shake off injuries and self doubt about his position in the team, has his confidence back and is scoring goals.

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So what's happened at Camp Nou to cause this turnaround?

A new, mega-rich owner along the lines of the Arab, American or Russian business tycoons who are taking over English clubs? The arrival of an established and successful coach, such as Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan or Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea?

Barcelona didn't need to look in either of those directions.

The answer to Barcelona's problems was already at the club and, to the Catalan team's fans, the solution was blindingly obvious.

Pep Guardiola was a huge favorite with Barca fans as a player and had begun his coaching career with significant successes with Barcelona's "B'' team in his first season.

At 37, his appointment as replacement for Frank Rijkaard with the senior team appeared risky.

With Barcelona at the top of the league and already into the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare, the risk, it seems was worth it.

Just ask one of the club's biggest ever names.

"He's doing really well, going step by step, doing things as he believes they should be done,'' former player and a coach Johan Cruyff told Barca TV. "He's aware of all the details, and he always tries to get the most out of every player. It's a pleasure to see him on the bench.''

A three-time European player of the year, Cruyff preached attacking football as a coach and introduced Guardiola to a lineup that won four league titles and the European Cup, later to become the Champions League.

Although Guardiola was a defensive midfielder, he learned a lot from Cruyff about attacking ideas and is now passing them on to his players, although he backs up his ideas with a tough stance on team discipline.

After a slow start, Barcelona put together 11 consecutive league and cup victories, which ended with a surprising 1-1 home draw with Swiss club FC Basel in the Champions League.

Then came the 6-0 crushing of Valladolid with Eidur Gudjohnsen and Henry adding to Eto'o's four goals. That took the club's Spanish league tally to 34, the first time in 50 years that a team has scored so many from the first 10 matches.

"People like Pep try to make the games enjoyable for the people, and that's a real added bonus,'' Cruyff said. "It's not just about winning the match, it's something else.

"And that is what gives you the most pride.''

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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