 Rexach in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carles Rexach Cerdà[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-01-13)13 January 1947 (age 79)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Pedralbes,Barcelona,Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1958–1959 | Rosés | ||
| 1959–1965 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1981 | Barcelona | 328 | (81) |
| 1965–1967 | →Condal (loan) | 22 | (2) |
| Total | 350 | (83) | |
| International career | |||
| 1965 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 1966 | Spain amateur | 3 | (0) |
| 1967–1970 | Spain U23 | 7 | (3) |
| 1969–1978 | Spain | 15 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1983 | Catalonia (youth) | ||
| 1983–1984 | Barcelona B (assistant) | ||
| 1984–1987 | Barcelona (youth) | ||
| 1987–1996 | Barcelona (assistant) | ||
| 1988 | Barcelona (interim) | ||
| 1991 | Barcelona (interim) | ||
| 1996 | Barcelona (interim) | ||
| 1998 | Yokohama Flügels | ||
| 2001–2002 | Barcelona | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carles Rexach Cerdà (Catalan pronunciation:[ˈkaɾləzrəˈʃak]; born 13 January 1947) is a Spanish formerfootballwinger andmanager.
His career was mainly associated withBarcelona, spending 44 years at the club as a player (youth levels included) and coach.[2] He formed a successful partnership withJohan Cruyff, both on and off the field,[3][4][5] and as a player appeared in 638 games and scored 197 goals, winning thePichichi Trophy in1971; he totalled eight titles in both capacities, including theLa Liga championship in the1973–74 season and the1979 Cup Winners' Cup.
Rexach appeared forSpain at the1978 World Cup, earning 15caps in nine years.[6]
Born inPedralbes in the Spanish city ofBarcelona,[5] Rexach made his senior debut forBarcelona on 25 April 1965 after having joined their youth system as a 12-year-old, scoring once in a4–0 away win againstRacing de Santander in theCopa del Generalísimo.[7] His first appearance inLa Liga took place on 10 September 1967, and he also found the net, but in a 3–2 away loss toReal Zaragoza.[8] Additionally, he spent two years on loan toCondal, who acted as thefarm team.
In the1970–71 season, Rexach scored a career-best 17 goals to win thePichichi Trophy alongsideAtlético Madrid playerJosé Eulogio Gárate.[9] His team finished in second position with the same points as championsValencia, adding thedomestic cup.[10]
On 5 November 1974, Rexach netted ahat-trick to help the hosts to defeatFeyenoord 3–0 in thesecond round of theEuropean Cup, after threeassists from longtime teammateJohan Cruyff.[11] In thefinal of the 1978 Spanish Cup, he was chosenPlayer of the match after scoring twice in a 3–1 victory overLas Palmas;[12] on 16 May of the following year, he contributed one goal to the 4–3extra time defeat ofFortuna Düsseldorf in thedecisive match of theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[13]
Rexach retired in 1981 at the age of 34 and, on 1 September, Barcelona played atestimonial match againstArgentina at theCamp Nou.[14] He made his debut for theSpain national side on 23 April 1969, playing the second half of the 0–0friendly draw withMexico inSeville;[15] selected to the1978 FIFA World Cup squad, he featured once in an eventual group-stage exit.[16]
After retiring, Rexach joined the coaching staff atBarcelona B. In 1984, he co-founded the TARR football school in his native city with fellow ex-playersJuan Manuel Asensi,Joaquim Rifé andAntoni Torres.[17]
Rexach joinedLuis Aragonés's staff for the1987–88 season, and briefly becamecaretaker manager when the latter departed after suffering a bout ofdepression.[18] When Cruyff was subsequently appointed, he remained an assistant.[19][20][5]
Whenchain smoker Cruyff needed emergencyheart surgery during the1990–91 campaign, Rexach once again stepped up,[21] leading the side to their 11th league title – his first game in charge was on 27 February 1991, in a6–0 home win against Las Palmas in the domestic cup.[22] He remained in the position throughout theDream Team era[23] and, after presidentJosep Lluís Nuñez sacked the Dutchman in May 1996, once again became head coach, a decision which allegedly cost him the friendship of Cruyff;[24][25] after new managerBobby Robson replaced him withJosé Mourinho as his assistant he became ascout, going on to be responsible for discoveringLionel Messi.[26]
Rexach then had a brief spell in theJ.League withYokohama Flügels.[27] AfterLorenzo Serra Ferrer was sacked by Barcelona towards the end of2000–01, he was named as his successor.[28] In the last matchday, following a 3–2 home defeat of Valencia and courtesy of aRivaldo 87th-minute wonder goal, they managed toqualify for the Champions League;[29] this resulted in him being appointed coach byJoan Gaspart forthe following season,[30] but after being ousted byReal Madrid in thesemi-finals of the Champions League,[31] byFigueres in theSpanish Cup[32] and having lost the final of theCopa Catalunya toBalaguer,[33] he was fired and replaced by a returningLouis van Gaal, continuing to work with the club in directorial capacities.[34]
On 8 April 2010, Rexach announced his intention to run for Barcelona's presidency,[35] Nothing came of it eventually, but he was nonetheless chosen by new chairmanSandro Rosell as sporting advisor alongsideJosep Maria Fusté andMigueli.[36]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona | 1964–65 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1965–66 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1966–67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 7 | ||
| 1968–69 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 4 | ||
| 1969–70 | 26 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 37 | 10 | ||
| 1970–71 | 29 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 22 | ||
| 1971–72 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 5 | ||
| 1972–73 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 1973–74 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 10 | ||
| 1974–75 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 10 | ||
| 1975–76 | 32 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 46 | 13 | ||
| 1976–77 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 1977–78 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 13 | ||
| 1978–79 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 6 | ||
| 1979–80 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 328 | 81 | 59 | 16 | 63 | 25 | 450 | 122 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record[38][39] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Barcelona (caretaker) | 1991 | 1991 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 066.67 |
| Barcelona (caretaker) | 1996 | 1996 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 |
| Yokohama Flügels | 1998 | 1998 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 048.00 |
| Barcelona | 2001 | 2002 | 66 | 31 | 18 | 17 | 046.97 |
| Total | 102 | 50 | 21 | 31 | 049.02 | ||
Barcelona
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