Tito Vilanova: Player, Coach, Survivor - An ode to FC Barcelona's former coach

Tito Vilanova, ‘the man succeeding Guardiola’. That is a phrase I will never forget. When the news of his appointment came, many fans didn’t know what to expect; whether he would win or not was one aspect of that thought, but another was whether he was ready, whether his body could take the rigours. There had been news of the previous surgery on his salivary glands, and when questioned, the club said his health was at a 100%, without which he wouldn’t have taken the job.

His appointment was criticized, and the decision of the club questioned. He answered it in style. His team started the La Liga like a team possessed. They dominated – hammering and devastating every team that came their way, and they didn’t drop points, going undefeated till half of the campaign had elapsed. Then came the news of his cancer relapse, and like Abidal’s, his was growing quickly and needed immediate attention.

For me, it feels as if life was saying that nothing can bring us that much joy and not be leavened with pain. That is the balance. That is how it is Supposed To Be. But I don’t buy that. Why can’t life bring you chocolates and ice cream, and then gift you a Ferrari, without a few blows to go with it?

When Abidal was diagnosed, I though I would readily give everything back — the trophies, the accolades, the reams of spittle produced by the catastrophic gibbering of the world’s press — if Abidal could be home with his family, safe and sound and free of the grim spectre that stalked him. I make the same wish for Tito Vilanova.

It’s safe to say that even the most die-hard hater of this club feels some compassion, some empathy at the body blows that keep hitting this group. Karim Benzema dedicated his French Footballer of the Year trophy to Abidal. Real Madrid almost immediately posted well wishes for Tito Vilanova. Some would call these classy gestures, but I don’t. We forget sometimes, in our frenzy of dislike that at the end of it all, we are all human beings, all destined for the same fate.

Along the path, we search for things that will bring us joy, and stave off darkness. But we are all human, and that humanity finds its ultimate voice in the instant cessation of all hostilities when life comes calling. We are human, so we do what humans do when life does what it does, which is comfort and seek comfort. It is, after all, the most ‘humane thing’ to do.

Then word came down from team doctors that Eric Abidal got the okay to start training with the team again, with an aim at playing with the club again by the end of the year. He won. We could look at Life and say “Nice try. You aren’t getting this one, he’s a fighter, he’s a winner.” And then came the sad news about Vilanova.

No one can ever doubt his love for football, his club, and his players. And now, unwillingly, he has to stop doing what he loves and take a step away from whom he loves and concentrate on his treatment. Coaching at the highest level and cancer treatment do not get along well. Football demands a lot; demands that can consume all your resources, and those resources are needed by your body to win a monumental battle against cancer.

Instead of thinking about how his replacement will do, or how it will affect the future of the players, respect and solidarity should be shown to this man, who is only 44 years old, but has had to deal with the burden of fighting a malignant cancer, a cancer he thought he had dominated earlier.

Messages of support arrived from all over the world. Real Madrid almost instantaneously tweeted their regards. Respects were paid, friends made. The fact that the whole football fraternity came together in support over this sad news was commendable.

Forget about the future, for now a life is at stake. As I said earlier, when it comes to life, football and everything else is secondary.

At least for now, all that we can do, which isn’t much even as it is everything, is send positive thoughts the way of Vilanova and the club, and hope. Because sometimes, hope is all that we have.

Let’s think of him as a winner, a fighter, an individual who will win this battle. Sorrow and despair are demoralizing, but not everlasting.

Anims Tito, buena suerte y adiós (goodbye Tito and good luck).