On April 27, 2012, one of the most successful periods of Barcelona's illustrious history started to come to an end as Pep Guardiola announced he would leave at the end of the 2011/12 campaign.
The partnership between Guardiola and Barcelona seemed to be a match made in heaven, not only because he was a former player who had himself graduated through the La Masia system but because he also played a style of football that was perfectly suited to the club's DNA.
Yet, things happening in the background placed pressure on the coach, as he made clear when he made public his departure.
"Four years is an eternity," he explained in a press conference.
"In December I communicated to the president that I felt my stage here was ending.
"However, I couldn't make it public or tell the players.
"In these four years I have become worn out.
"I have given everything and I need to recharge.
"Because of the high demand, I have to move away and recover."
Unsurprisingly, one of the players hurt most by the public announcement of Guardiola's departure was Lionel Messi, who had blossomed into one of the greatest footballers ever to play the game under the Spaniard's stewardship.
"I want to thank Pep with all my heart for how much he has given me," Messi said at the time.
"I preferred not to be present at the press conference because the media would have sought the faces of the players' grief, and that is something I didn't want to demonstrate."
Barcelona and Sandro Rosell knew just who the next Barcelona coach would be, though.
The next man was to be Tito Vilanova, as was made clear by the MARCA front page after Guardiola's announcement.
The news was greeted around the world with shock and headlines in many different languages looked to place Guardiola's legacy in print.
Perhaps the most vehement was Brazilian newspaper Lance, who said it was like the day The Beatles said farewell.