The soccer world mourned on Friday at the announcement of the passing of former Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova. The former manger passed away at age 45 after losing a battle with cancer.

Vilanova will always be identified with Blaugrana as he came through the club's youth system La Masia as a midfielder. He played for Barcelona B for two years before joining other teams in lower leagues, including Figueres, Lleida, Badajoz, Elche and Gramanet. He eventually managed to play in the Primera Division in Spain as a member of Celta Vigo and Mallorca.

After his playing days he coached Barcelona's youth sides until 2003, and he headed on other tasks in Spain's fourth division. But his Barcelona days were far from over. He would be brought back to coach Barcelona B alongside his long-time friend Pep Guardiola and the success of the two would not go unnoticed.

According to Goal.com, "Vilanova was [Guardiola's] sounding board for ideas but also offered tactical solutions of his own. A superb strategist later dubbed 'the encyclopedia of football' by Andres Iniesta, Tito worked quietly behind the scenes, studying rivals and planning meticulously for forthcoming fixtures."

The two would eventually be given a chance to coach the main team and the rest is history. Vilanova was generally in the shadows throughout Barcelona's glory years, but he did get his spotlight at intermittent moments. Who could forget Jose Mourinho, then the coach of Real Madrid, attempting to poke Vilanova in the eye back in 2011?

The 2011-12 season was the one that changed everything for Vilanova as he was diagnosed with cancer and forced to take some time away from the pitch. Fortunately he was seemingly healthy enough to come back a year later and take over as Blaugrana's main man behind the bench.

His only season as Barcelona's coach was far from ideal. The team lost the Super Cup against Real Madrid before running away with the Spanish League title in the early going. The scoring continued and Messi scored a record 73 times under the coach. He also led Barcelona to be the second ever Spanish league side to achieve 100 points in the season; the 2011-12 Real Madrid side was the only other team to achieve the feat.

However, there was a great deal of criticism for his team's play and comparisons with Guardiola's club were inevitable. While Guardiola's strategy demanded that the team press incessantly up the pitch, Vilanova's team seemed to be a bit more lax in this regard. This would cost Barcelona at the end of the year. As the rough season wore on, Vilanova's battle with cancer returned to the forefront, and he was forced to leave at some crucial moments. The team would go on to be eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Real Madrid in his absence, and even his return in time for the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich was a disaster as the team was destroyed 7-0 over two legs.

At the close of the season, Vilanova walked away with a trophy and tremendous respect for all that he had endured.

"Looking back, 2013 was a very good year. We came up short in the Copa del Rey and Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid and Bayern, but it was an amazing feat to win the league the way we did, considering the circumstances surrounding Tito Vilanova's illness," Barcelona midfielder Xavi said, according to Goal.com. "I think that brought the squad even closer together, inspiring us to go on to win the title with a historic tally of 100 points."