Tito Vilanova Cancer: Barcelona Coach To Receive Treatment In New York Hospital, VIDEO & Details
FC Barcelona will hold a press conference on Friday at 7.30pm BST to allegedly announce that coach Tito Vilanova will step down from his position and return to New York to seek treatment for his health concerns.
Vilanova traveled to New York on Jan. 21 to undergo treatment for cancer, following surgery on his parotid gland on Dec. 2012. He suffered a relapse after a tumor was removed from his throat in November of the same year, but returned to soccer club in March. In light of his recent medical history, reports suggest the coach is still struggling with his health and will end his employment with Barcelona.
Even before the team has made an official announcement, Barcelona fans, including Spanish NBA star Pau Gasol, have expressed support for the coach.
"The first and most important thing in life is health. My best wishes to Tito Vilanova in this difficult moment," the Lakers big man wrote in a Twitter post.
Vilanova has only been at the helm of the team for roughly a year, since he took over from the highly decorated Pep Guardiola.
On July 16 at Barcelona's first pre-season press conference, Vilanova became embroiled in an unseemly feud with Guardiola who previously accused the team of using his former assistant's illness against him.
The one-time Barcelona coach said he was enraged about allusions that he had failed to see his former assistant when he was in New York for cancer treatment.
Guardiola also accused his former team's executives of harassing him since his departure from the club.
"I will never forget that they used Tito's illness to cause me damage, because it's a lie that I never saw him in New York," he said
But Vilanova challenged his former boss' claim.
"I'm surprised by his comments," he said." "No one on the board used my illness to attack him. The club tried to help me as much as possible. He visited me once in New York when I'd just arrived, but during my recovery from the operation I was there for two months and I didn't see him. He's my friend and I needed him, but he wasn't there for me."
