A letter full of love and pride

Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard - a letter full of love and pride

I feel so lucky having a coach like I have. A man full of dignity and integrity, but also one who is also not afraid of showing his humanity and authority. It is not only a dream, luxury that this gentleman guides my team to success, but he is also every woman's ideal husband. Congratulations to the F.C. Barcelona supporters and to his wife.
I guess one should always value a coach according to the achievements made, however in a job with such a responsibility where movement of masses is at close range, where each word is magnified into a hurricane by the fans and other people surrounding the game.

Rijkaard is a coach defined, by normality, seriousness and a well-balanced man. We o enjoy the people who fulfil their work with an efficiency, maintaining their private life, just that; private, far away from any polemic comments or rumours, who make their decision without testing them in public, maintaining a cordial and polite relationship with the press without falling in the trap of clique friendships. In the two and a half years that Rijkaard has been a coach of such a turbulent team as Barça, we can't recall one scandal, nor is he a friend of washing its dirty clothes in public and he has the don of a psychiatrist not to hurt the egos of the dressing room. He is a man who has tasted success as a player of the magical Milan of the nineties and I admire the fact that he is content with being in the background allowing his players all glory, as most people want to stay in the limelight once they have had a glimpse of it. He had a difficult start coaching Barcelona, one can almost say that he was on a steep learning curve, he has matured into an excellent coach and one can proudly say that success, as a coach has not changed him. He is exactly like he was when things were not going that well, no hint of revenge against people who did not believe in him.
He has won the league title two years in a row, with an immense domination of La Liga, where no one doubts that the team deserves the title; they have simply been far ahead of anyone else. The stars of the dressing room, still have a humble approach to the game, work hard for each other and seem to respect and even like each other, something that must be an attribute of Rijkaard. This year the team won the title with three games in hand and had time to concentrate on the coming final against Arsenal. One could say that the title was already won in February, with the team going into the league game eyeing Champions League. They have beaten Chelsea and Milan at their home ground, not a small feat. Rijkaard is well aware of the difficulties of coaching a club like Barcelona, perhaps one of the most difficult clubs to coach, but luckily he has a Dalai Lama approach to the tsunami that can take place in the Catalan capital.

Any woman appreciates his mixture of passivity and passion. One can see in his eyes the burning passion, while actions are very laid back and thought through. His humour seems very deadpan, subtle punch lines even playing on an absent-minded ness that is so attractive. His aptitude to learn and willingness to listen to others, not taking his own word as the final one is appreciated, as is his manly authority that rumours says is through his gaze. He seems to know himself well, being sure of whom he is as he is truly honest towards himself and the other.