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A dozen finals for Guardiola

The taste of success
With Barcelona securing their place in this year's Copa del Rey final during the week, Guardiola has now lead his side to twelve finals since he took over the Barça bench.

Maybe more impressively is Guardiola has only been coach since 2008. During his first season in charge, Guardiola led his side to both the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League final. Both trophies went to the Catalans and Pep earned his plaudits.

Next season Guardiola upped his final count to three. Starting the year with victories in both the Spanish and European Super cup against Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively. During December of that year Barcelona beat Estudiantes to claim the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. A trophy that signalled history as Barcelona became the first club to win the "Sextuple."

A record that has still not been achieved by any other club.

Barcelona and Guardiola again reached three finals during the 2010-11 season. Barça started the season with a Spanish Super cup win against Seville, recovering from a 3-1 away defeat in the first leg by hitting four with no reply in the home tie. After securing another La Liga title, Barcelona faced Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final. A Ronaldo header in extra time made this tie become the only final Guardiola had lost since he took control of the reigns.

Fans were not disheartened for long though as Barcelona outclassed Manchester United in the Champions League. Humiliating the Red Devils with a 3-1 win. Becoming Guardiola's second Champions League title in three years.

This year Guardiola already has four finals under his belt. Gaining revenge from Madrid with a 5-4 aggregate win which gained them the Spanish Super Cup. Next they won the European Super Cup by defeating Porto 3-0 in Monaco.

Their third final and trophy came in Japan against Santos. Before kick off many had claimed that this would be a tough test for Barça especially with Santos' star player Neymar, who happens to be a transfer target for Guardiola, on the field. Barcelona again outclassed their opponent and Neymar commented that they "got taught how to play football."

With the season only halfway completed, Barcelona have a chance to increase their final count to five. Their fourth will come against Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup while they are still to face Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout stage of the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola has reach 12 finals and won 11 of them in only four seasons. An accolade only he can boast. Being 41, Guardiola has the potential to increase this final count and become the most successful manager in Barcelona's history. Over to you then Pep.

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the introduction to my new blog, A Barça Blog. My name is Sam Cooper and I am currently 16 years of age. I have started this blog as I am aiming to become a football journalist and see this as a great way to get started. For many years I have been a huge admirer of FC Barcelona, from the way they have created a new style of football to their impressive off-the-field conduct. My blog will cover all of the big stories coming from Barça in the last week. I will be giving my views and thoughts but will also be asking for your feedback! So please if you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to email me at samcooper07@gmail.com. Hope you enjoy, Sam Cooper