--- description: Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has died of throat cancer, the club announced Friday. He was 45. title: Tito Vilanova, Former FC Barcelona Coach, Dies at 45 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5a9c701a74c5902/69868c8fadae44167c542c55/dv1711512.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Soccer](/tag/soccer/) ## Soccer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tito Vilanova, Former FC Barcelona Coach, Dies at 45 by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 5:19 PM CUT  Former FC Barcelona football coach Tito Vilanova at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, June 15, 2012. Former FC Barcelona football coach Tito Vilanova at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, June 15, 2012.Lluis Gene—AFP/Getty Images by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 5:19 PM CUT Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has died of throat cancer, the club [announced](http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/tito-vilanova-eternally-remembered "undefined") Friday. He was 45. “The FC Barcelona is in immense mourning,” the football club’s official account [tweeted](https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona "undefined"). “Tito Vilanova has died at the age of 45\. May he rest in peace.” Vilanova was first diagnosed with cancer in 2011\. He stepped down from his coaching post last year after leading his team to the top of La Liga to undergo further cancer treatment. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu paid his respects to Vilanova on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jmbartomeu "undefined"). “Tito Vilanova was a wonderful person, and will never be forgotten at FC Barcelona. Thank you for everything you taught us. Rest in peace.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/77546/tito-vilanova-dies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/77546/tito-vilanova-dies/"},"headline":"Tito Vilanova, Former FC Barcelona Coach, Dies at 45","datePublished":"2014-04-25T17:19:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:30:39.253Z","description":"Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has died of throat cancer, the club announced Friday. He was 45.","url":"https://time.com/77546/tito-vilanova-dies/","keywords":["Soccer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5a9c701a74c5902/69868c8fadae44167c542c55/dv1711512.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5a9c701a74c5902/69868c8fadae44167c542c55/dv1711512.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former FC Barcelona football coach Tito Vilanova waving after signing his contract during a presentation at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.","caption":"Former FC Barcelona football coach Tito Vilanova waving after signing his contract during a presentation at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.","creditText":"Lluis Gene—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/77546/tito-vilanova-dies/","name":"Tito Vilanova, Former FC Barcelona Coach, Dies at 45"}}]}] ```