Fans go wild as legend Guardiola arrives in Jakarta

Local fans of soccer manager Pep Guardiola went wild as the former architect of Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona arrived in Jakarta on Saturday afternoon. Guardiola is set to become a commentator for the upcoming final Euro 2012 match between Spain and Italy.

Hundreds of fans of the prominent soccer club, nicknamed Blaugranes, cheered for Guardiola as the 41-year-old former soccer player arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 11:53 a.m.

Wearing a green t-shirt, Guardiola was immediately ushered into a car waiting for him in the airport’s arrival terminal, while the fans tried to take pictures with the 2012 FIFA World Coach of the Year.

“I am really happy seeing him, but to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed because we could only see him for such a short amount of time,” said Jimmy, a local fan from Tangerang, West Java.

Guardiola is set to become a TV commentator for the final match of this year’s European Soccer Championship between defending champion Spain and their challenger, Italy, who successfully edged out Germany in the semifinals.

Spain, meanwhile, defeated Portugal 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout finish to their semifinal match.

The final match between Spain and Italy, which will be played in Kiev, Ukraine, will be aired by local TV station RCTI in the early hours of Monday, tribunnews.com reported.  

On April 27, Guardiola announced that he had decided to resign as FC Barcelona manager after achieving 14 titles in four years at the helm of the club. He will be succeeded by his second-in-charge, Tito Vilanova. (asa)