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In a crazy week in the footballing world, which saw a legend in Graeme Edwards depart Barcelona this past weekend after one of the longest and most successful stints by a manager in the game, The Barcelona board had to start searching for a replacement, 2 names were on the list, expected to depart Celtic manager Sam Bradwell and Liverpool boss Hamza Siddiqui, both were invited to interviews at the start of the week and were asked to pitch their plans to the directors, it has been reported that both Sam and Hamza, had put strong cases together for the vacant job at the Catalan giants, both with prior season achievements in hand with Celtic gaining promotion back to the EFL and winning the DBC last season and Liverpool the current holders of the DPT.
In the end after a lot of discussions Barcelona decided to appoint Sam Bradwell, citing that they were keen to see what the veteran manager could bring to the Bluagrana after a successful Celtic stint, in what is a fantastic achievement for Bradwell to finally get the keys to one of the biggest names in world football, after many seasons of jumping from club to club, trying to make a difference, trying to reach the big time, he will finally sit back and realise, hes made it.
MARCA, managed to sit down with Bradwell this morning after the unveiling at Camp Nou, to get his reaction and thoughts after becoming the Barcelona manager.
PO: So, Sam, here we are, did you ever think you would end up in a hot seat as big as the Barcelona one?
SB: It’s a strange one to be honest, ive not been focused on getting a top job for about 7/8 seasons, just been ticking away at different teams, the Celtic move was one that had to be done for obvious reasons, last season was a great season and this one also, disappointing European performances but there was very much a feel that Id left all I had in that previous season, to have a poorish start and rally to catch up and get promotion and to win the DB Cup in its first season was just emotional for me and I realised a month or 2 into the season that we should of maybe closed that chapter then, im glad though we managed to turn them round and put them in a really good spot for a new manager to come in and hit the ground running, when the Barca job came up out of nowhere, I was all set to leave or take on a new challenge next season to rekindle, but I took a look at Barca and I saw a lot of me in the work that needs to be done short and long term and I thought id have a go for it, so its been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest, from giving up about big jobs to suddenly becoming manager of this great club.
PO: It looks like there was only 2 or 3 managers on the shortlist did you always think it was going to be you once youd applied?
SB: To be honest, I thought I had a chance, I am surprised at the lack of applicants, maybe some saw the age of some of the stars and thought it was too much work, maybe some saw the name Barcelona and thought they would never be considered, Hamza was a solid applicant, I think if youd of told me 2/3 years ago me and Hamza would be challenging for the Barcelona job, I think we would both have laughed you out of the room, but both of us had our solid seasons last year, it could have been either of us, Im obviously pleased that the board agreed with my pitch more on this occasion.
PO: Managing Barca is a big big task, when at teams like Celtic, finishing mid table in EFL and winning a trophy will get you a statue, here at Barca Champions League qualification is the minimum expectation, how do you feel you can cope with that sort of pressure?
SB: Ive been in this business a long time, seen lots of managers come and go, im aware of the type of character you need to be, to be at the top table and rub shoulders with the games elite managers, im not worried about that, infact im looking forward to it, don’t get me wrong it will be tough, we need to be in the conversation every season for trophies, so ive got to be as shrewd as I ever have been in the market, a few issues need addressing with the squad but then its going to have to be see how the land lies come end of season. The focus is on staying inside those champions league places, theres a 6 point cushion but after 3 defeats in a row we need to stop the rot as soon as possible, the difference between Barca and Celtic is results, at Celtic, if you have indifferent form and finish mid table it’s a great season, at Barca you need to be going into every game looking to win, these fans wont accept anything less than top 8 and that’s what we need to give them.
PO: El Classico is one of the biggest fixtures, if not the biggest in the world, we just saw it happen this past week with your new team coming out of a late 2-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, do you hope to keep that as tight a rivalry as Graeme did before you?
SB: The rivalry definitely, it’s the biggest derby in world football, a spectacle whether its at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou, it will still be a special occasion for these fans, I don’t like to admit but at this point in time, they are ahead of us, obviously the fans here don’t like that, we have to work to make that gap up, and be challenging with them again for titles and not just 2 league fixtures a season, right now im keeping my eyes on the other Madrid team, as well as, Inter, Lazio and Juventus as our current direct rivals, there are 2 or 3 teams that include those just outside the CL placings that are more than capable of getting themselves back in, we have to focus on that for now, come the end of the season, we will re evaluate again.
PO: One final note, you spoke highly of the departing Graeme Edwards earlier this week, do you hope that you can be considered in the same league as him one day as a manager?
SB: Id take half that ability one day if im honest, Graeme is a legend and someone I consider a friend, he sent me his support after id made the plunge to apply and some kind words after id got the nod from the board, a World class manager and currently in terms of ability theres a chasm between him and I, I guess I will now be measured with more scrutiny now at Barcelona and its my job to rise to the challenge, for Graeme I hope we see him back in similar circles again soon, the fire when its lost is hard to regain, but hopefully that’s not the case for him, its not just Barca that lost out, it’s the footballing world.
PO: Brilliant, thanks for your time today Sam and good luck.
SB: All the best, cheers.
words: 1271
In the end after a lot of discussions Barcelona decided to appoint Sam Bradwell, citing that they were keen to see what the veteran manager could bring to the Bluagrana after a successful Celtic stint, in what is a fantastic achievement for Bradwell to finally get the keys to one of the biggest names in world football, after many seasons of jumping from club to club, trying to make a difference, trying to reach the big time, he will finally sit back and realise, hes made it.
MARCA, managed to sit down with Bradwell this morning after the unveiling at Camp Nou, to get his reaction and thoughts after becoming the Barcelona manager.
PO: So, Sam, here we are, did you ever think you would end up in a hot seat as big as the Barcelona one?
SB: It’s a strange one to be honest, ive not been focused on getting a top job for about 7/8 seasons, just been ticking away at different teams, the Celtic move was one that had to be done for obvious reasons, last season was a great season and this one also, disappointing European performances but there was very much a feel that Id left all I had in that previous season, to have a poorish start and rally to catch up and get promotion and to win the DB Cup in its first season was just emotional for me and I realised a month or 2 into the season that we should of maybe closed that chapter then, im glad though we managed to turn them round and put them in a really good spot for a new manager to come in and hit the ground running, when the Barca job came up out of nowhere, I was all set to leave or take on a new challenge next season to rekindle, but I took a look at Barca and I saw a lot of me in the work that needs to be done short and long term and I thought id have a go for it, so its been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest, from giving up about big jobs to suddenly becoming manager of this great club.
PO: It looks like there was only 2 or 3 managers on the shortlist did you always think it was going to be you once youd applied?
SB: To be honest, I thought I had a chance, I am surprised at the lack of applicants, maybe some saw the age of some of the stars and thought it was too much work, maybe some saw the name Barcelona and thought they would never be considered, Hamza was a solid applicant, I think if youd of told me 2/3 years ago me and Hamza would be challenging for the Barcelona job, I think we would both have laughed you out of the room, but both of us had our solid seasons last year, it could have been either of us, Im obviously pleased that the board agreed with my pitch more on this occasion.
PO: Managing Barca is a big big task, when at teams like Celtic, finishing mid table in EFL and winning a trophy will get you a statue, here at Barca Champions League qualification is the minimum expectation, how do you feel you can cope with that sort of pressure?
SB: Ive been in this business a long time, seen lots of managers come and go, im aware of the type of character you need to be, to be at the top table and rub shoulders with the games elite managers, im not worried about that, infact im looking forward to it, don’t get me wrong it will be tough, we need to be in the conversation every season for trophies, so ive got to be as shrewd as I ever have been in the market, a few issues need addressing with the squad but then its going to have to be see how the land lies come end of season. The focus is on staying inside those champions league places, theres a 6 point cushion but after 3 defeats in a row we need to stop the rot as soon as possible, the difference between Barca and Celtic is results, at Celtic, if you have indifferent form and finish mid table it’s a great season, at Barca you need to be going into every game looking to win, these fans wont accept anything less than top 8 and that’s what we need to give them.
PO: El Classico is one of the biggest fixtures, if not the biggest in the world, we just saw it happen this past week with your new team coming out of a late 2-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, do you hope to keep that as tight a rivalry as Graeme did before you?
SB: The rivalry definitely, it’s the biggest derby in world football, a spectacle whether its at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou, it will still be a special occasion for these fans, I don’t like to admit but at this point in time, they are ahead of us, obviously the fans here don’t like that, we have to work to make that gap up, and be challenging with them again for titles and not just 2 league fixtures a season, right now im keeping my eyes on the other Madrid team, as well as, Inter, Lazio and Juventus as our current direct rivals, there are 2 or 3 teams that include those just outside the CL placings that are more than capable of getting themselves back in, we have to focus on that for now, come the end of the season, we will re evaluate again.
PO: One final note, you spoke highly of the departing Graeme Edwards earlier this week, do you hope that you can be considered in the same league as him one day as a manager?
SB: Id take half that ability one day if im honest, Graeme is a legend and someone I consider a friend, he sent me his support after id made the plunge to apply and some kind words after id got the nod from the board, a World class manager and currently in terms of ability theres a chasm between him and I, I guess I will now be measured with more scrutiny now at Barcelona and its my job to rise to the challenge, for Graeme I hope we see him back in similar circles again soon, the fire when its lost is hard to regain, but hopefully that’s not the case for him, its not just Barca that lost out, it’s the footballing world.
PO: Brilliant, thanks for your time today Sam and good luck.
SB: All the best, cheers.
words: 1271