ON the day that he lifts the Premier League title following City’s lunchtime clash with Huddersfield at the Etihad — SunSport’s MARTIN BLACKBURN continues his look at Pep Guardiola.
After the Catalan’s second season in Lancashire, he has finally delivered his stunning vision of a football team at the peak of their powers, as they clinched the title at a record-breaking canter.
And the tales of his wisdom and genius get better and better.
I was looking at the other players, someone was crying.
Pablo Zabaleta
ARGENTINE defender PABLO ZABALETA is now at West Ham but he spent nine years at City, the last of them playing under Guardiola in the Spaniard’s debut season.
I REMEMBER one time when the boss got all the City staff, everyone at the club, together to watch a video.
He told us ‘I want you to see what these guys do and then you will see how lucky we are to do what we do’.
There were people from Barcelona who were trying to rescue immigrants from the sea.
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One video was so emotional, I nearly cried. I turned my head because I wanted to cry.
And that was before a game. The video was so strong.
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I was looking at the other players, someone was crying.
He told us how we have the best building, the best training ground, we stay in the best hotels.
We are such lucky people. But he said we must look at the problems outside this bubble, in the world where we live.
He wanted us to play with passion because of that — because we were so lucky.
Even though we have a great lifestyle, we don’t forget there are people outside for whom it’s not the same.
“So to keep humble, this is something good. I know it’s a bit boring for some of the players to be watching videos every day, but for the players who really love football and enjoy watching . . . and I’m talking about 20 or 25 minutes, not an hour or two hours!
He’s always trying to improve the players and to improve the team.
Boss slapped me… affectionately!
Rob Pollard
SENIOR club journalist throughout Pep’s two-year reign has given ROB POLLARD unrivalled access to the City boss at first hand.
I INTERVIEWED Pep out in Abu Dhabi recently and he was brilliant — so engaging and interesting but also really keen to hear my thoughts on the season.
I told him the fans have been saying this is the best football they have ever seen. He was visibly touched by that.
He said having the fans feel that is the single most important thing at a football club.
He watched the first video we made and the next time I saw him he made a beeline for me to shake my hand and tell me how much he liked it.
He then slapped me across the face — which I’m told in Catalonia is affectionate!
Pep’s ability to make everyone at the club feel part of the success has been the most impressive thing for me.
We’ve won two trophies this season and both times he’s taken the time to personally thank all the staff.
And he told us in no uncertain terms that he could not have achieved this success without us.
He invited everyone to the Christmas party — and I mean everybody — and insisted we all mingle with the players and the backroom team.
And last week he invited us to the end-of-season event. Things like that mean a lot.
He makes you feel like a big part of what we’re doing here.
There’s no divide between us. We’re all one entity and that makes everyone feel good about what we’re doing.
Every player has their key role
Ilkay Gundogan
ILKAY GUNDOGAN was Guardiola’s first signing when he joined City for £20.4million from Borussia Dortmund in 2016.
IT’S so intense working with him and always challenging.
He always wants you to develop your game, to take your own role in the team.
That’s how you see it, that every single player has his role and will be challenged.
It doesn’t matter if you play every single game or don’t play that much, everyone has a responsibility and he is able to show you the way to go.
He has solutions for every single game.
He doesn’t stop now, either, even though we have won the title.
He wants us to break records and there’s plenty still to achieve.
It shows how much he wants us to do better, achieve even more.
He has a key role and we, as players, try to follow his way.
After I came back from injury, he gradually gave me more and more time on the pitch, getting me closer and closer to my best possible performance.
He has put so much trust in me and I am happy I was able to pay some of it back.
I like the way his teams try to control the game, the possession, but still having the creativity to go forward and score goals
Patrick Vieira
THE former France, Arsenal and Man City midfielder PATRICK VIEIRA is now the head coach of City’s sister club New York City FC in the MLS.
I’VE been a big fan of Pep and the way his teams play makes me want to study their games more.
I spent a week with him in Manchester, watching his training sessions and speaking about his work.
Of course, being in the same ‘family’ gives us a link and for me that’s extraordinary. He took me into his office where he has watched some of the matches we’ve played.
He spoke to me a little about my team, things to improve, things that could be changed. The approach of Pep and his team has been really good this year.
Not just at City, when he was coach at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
I like the way his teams try to control the game, the possession, but still having the creativity to go forward and score goals.
I’ve been privileged to play under some of the world’s best managers — and to be part of the City group.
To try to understand Pep’s philosophy and with my experience as a player I’ve been learning a lot.
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