No room for Jose at Barcelona

MADRID: Barcelona president Joan Laporta has given his backing to coach Frank Rijkaard and denied reports that the club plans to recruit Jose Mourinho as his replacement.

“We have full confidence in Frank and believe that he is the ideal coach for Barcelona,” Laporta said on Wednesday. “He has the perfect temperament for a Barcelona coach and will be with us as long as he wants. Mourinho is a great professional and we know that everyone wants to come to Barcelona, but we can’t have two coaches at the same time.”

Rijkaard steered Barca to two league titles and victory in the Champions League in his first three seasons at the Nou Camp. But last season his team relinquished the Spanish title to Real Madrid and they currently trail their arch-rivals by six points in the standings.