Piqué, Puyol and Busquets are back in class. Only one is close to Barça's bench
Gerard Piqué was in the stand of Andorra's national stadium recently, taking notes at a women's international, and it was homework. AS reports that Andorra's owner is studying for the UEFA B-A coaching licence with the Andorran federation, alongside Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol, Thiago Alcántara, Santi Cazorla and Javi Martínez.
- Piqué is taking the UEFA B-A course run by the Andorran football federation; it would let him hold a coaching licence from 2027 (AS).
- Four of the six on the course won the 2010 World Cup with Spain: Piqué, Puyol, Busquets and Javi Martínez.
- Busquets already works as an assistant to Juliano Belletti at Barça B.
Piqué is Andorra's majority shareholder and, AS writes, closely involved in the day-to-day running of the club, talking regularly with head coach Carles Manso. For now he does it from the stand: without a licence he cannot sit on the bench.
The course changes that. Watching Andorra women beat the Faroe Islands 2-1 was part of the practical work, and Mundo Deportivo also reported the group of former world champions taking notes in Andorra.
The names are what make it a story. Piqué and Puyol were Spain's centre-back pair in 2010; Busquets was the midfielder in front of them; Javi Martínez was in the squad. Thiago and Cazorla bring two of the best passing brains of the next decade.
None of them has announced plans for a first job. The licence route AS describes points to 2027 at the earliest.
Watch Busquets, not Piqué
Our editorial team thinks the headline name is not the one closest to a dugout. Piqué owns his club and will decide his own timing; Busquets is already coaching inside Barcelona, at Barça B, exactly where Pep Guardiola spent one season before taking the first team in 2008. If Barça B have a good season, his name will come up for bigger jobs before Piqué's does.
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