Barca claim King´s Cup in Guardiola swansong

MADRID - Barcelona gave Pep Guardiola a fitting end to his glittering four-year reign as coach winning the King’s Cup final against Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on Friday to send him off with a 14th trophy under his arm.Pedro scored a brace and the outstanding player of the Guardiola era, World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, added the other to finish with an unprecedented 73 goals in all competitions this season.Guardiola hands over to his assistant Tito Vilanova for next season, as he goes off to recharge his batteries, after winning three consecutive La Liga titles, two Champions League crowns in 2009 and 2011, and two King’s Cups.His 14 trophies matches Johan Cruyff’s tally from eight years as Barca coach, and of the 19 competitions he has competed in, it is easier to list the five he has failed to snare.Guardiola lost the King’s Cup final 1-0 after extra-time against Real Madrid last year and made a last 16 exit in 2010. He twice fell in the Champions League semi-finals to eventual winners Inter Milan and Chelsea.In the league, Barca only lost out to Real to finish second earlier this month after Jose Mourinho’s side broke the league points and goal-scoring record to top the standings.“Winning 14 titles in four years is very difficult and we are very satisfied,” a beaming Guardiola told a news conference.”For Bilbao, it completed a miserable end to a season in which they had thrilled with their dynamic brand of attacking football.They reached the Europa League final, seeing off Manchester United and Schalke 04 along the way, to be crushed 3-0 by Atletico Madrid two weeks ago, before the heartache of a second final defeat, by the same score.The victory set up a tough debut for Barca’s incoming coach Vilanova, who will now take on arch-rivals and league champions Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in August, the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season.