Carles Rexach

Carles Rexach
Personal information
Full name Carles Rexach i Cerdà
Date of birth (1947-01-13) 13 January 1947
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Winger
Youth career
Rosés
1959–1965 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1967 Condal 22 (3)
1967–1981 Barcelona 328 (81)
1965–1981 Total 350 (84)
National team
1965 Spain U18 2 (0)
1967–1970 Spain U23 7 (3)
1966 Spain Amateur 3 (0)
1969–1978 Spain 15 (2)
Teams managed
1982–1983 Catalonia (youth)
1983–1984 Barcelona B (assistant)
1984–1987 Barcelona (youth)
1987–1996 Barcelona (assistant)
1991 Barcelona (caretaker)
1998 Yokohama Flügels
2001–2002 Barcelona

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rexach and the second or maternal family name is Cerdà.

Carles Rexach i Cerdà (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarɫəz rəˈʃak]) (born 13 January 1947), also referred to as Charly Rexach, is a former Spanish footballer and manager. He has spent the majority of his career at FC Barcelona. Rexach first joined the club as a junior player when he was 12. He was a player at the club for 22 years and then worked for them as a scout, coach and manager for another 22 years. Rexach formed a successful partnership with Johan Cruyff, both on and off the field. As players they helped FC Barcelona win La Liga in 1974, the club's first win in 14 years. He also served as assistant coach to Cruyff during the Dream Team era between 1988 and 1996. Rexach also served as caretaker manager of the club on three occasions before he was appointed manager in 2001.

Playing career

Born in Pedralbes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Rexach made his senior debut for FC Barcelona in 1965 in a Copa del Generalísimo game against Racing de Santander and scored the fourth goal in a 4–0 win. Between 1965 and 1967 he also played for CD Condal, the reserve team. In 1971 he shared the Pichichi Trophy with Atlético's Gárate, scoring 17 goals in 29 games.

Other highlights of his career included a hat-trick at the Camp Nou in 1974 in the European Cup against Feyenoord. All three goals were created by Johan Cruyff. In the 1978 Copa del Rey final he was man of the match as FC Barcelona beat UD Las Palmas. Rexach scored twice in a 3–1 win. He also scored in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1979 against Fortuna Düsseldorf. He retired as a player in 1981 and on 1 September 1981, FC Barcelona played a testimonial against Argentina at the Camp Nou.

Rexach also made 15 appearances and scored 2 goals for Spain between 1969 and 1978 and was a member of the squad for the 1978 World Cup.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player Rexach joined the coaching staff at FC Barcelona B. In 1984 he co-founded a school of football, Escuela TARR, with fellow ex-players Antoni Torres, Juan Manuel Asensi and Joaquim Rifé. Rexach served as assistant coach to Luis Aragonés during the 1987–88 season and briefly became caretaker manager when Aragonés departed. When Johan Cruyff was appointed as successor to Aragonés, Rexach stayed on as assistant coach. When chain smoker Cruyff needed emergency heart surgery during the 1990–91 season, Rexach once again stepped up. He was in charge of the team from February 1991 until the end of the season and led FC Barcelona to the La Liga title. He continued to assist Cruyff throughout the Dream Team era and after Josep Lluís Nuñez sacked Cruyff in 1996, Rexach became coach once again. The controversial decision allegedly cost him the friendship of Cruyff. Under Bobby Robson he worked as a scout where he discovered Lionel Messi[1] but in 1998 he left for Japan and spent one season as coach of Yokohama F. Marinos. Rexach was joined at the club by Julio Salinas and Andoni Goikoetxea.

After Lorenzo Serra Ferrer was sacked by FC Barcelona during the 2000–01 season, Rexach was called upon once again. The only objective left was to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Rexach managed the team for last seven games and in the very last game against Valencia CF, Rivaldo scored a spectacular goal, enabling the club to finish fourth in the league and sealed qualification to UEFA Champions League. This minor success resulted in Rexach being appointed coach by Joan Gaspart for the 2001–02 season. Despite finishing fourth in La Liga and reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the season was underachieved by the club's standards. The season saw defeats to Tercera División clubs, UE Figueres and CF Balaguer, in the Copa del Rey and the Copa Catalunya final, respectively, and a humiliating 3–1 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League. The following season Rexach was replaced by a returning Louis van Gaal. In July 2003 Rexach ended his long association with the club.

Honours

Player

Barcelona

Manager

Barcelona

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
1964–65BarcelonaSpanish League00210021
1965–6600310031
1966–6700000000
1967–682262110257
1968–691422151214
1969–7026761523710
1970–71291793424222
1971–722654150355
1972–732873020337
1973–7428971003510
1974–7531610743910
1975–7632662854613
1976–771400051191
1977–7822965743513
1978–792441072326
1979–802432053316
1980–81804021141
Career total 3288158166325449122

Managerial statistics

[2]

Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Yokohama Flügels 1998 1998 25 12 0 13 48.00
Total 25 12 0 13 48.00

References

  1. ↑ "Ex-Barcelona Coach Carles Rexach Praised For Discovering Lionel Messi". Goal.com, 30 April 2009
  2. ↑ J.League Data Site(Japanese)
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