New Book On Pep

kaz7

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Pep Guardiola locked himself in his office after the 1-1 draw with Everton in August 2017, and said he did not want to see anybody. Txiki Begiristain described that day as ‘dreadful’. Pep's wife, children or even close friend Ronald Koeman were able to see him.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was there and told Pep Guardiola: “You’re our man. There’s no one else. Don’t worry.”

Khaldoon Al Mubarak on the 1-1 draw with Everton in August 2017: “That evening was a tense and difficult moment but it would spawn thousands of wonderful ones. When you set out to do something so difficult and ambitious, the joy and stress go hand in hand.”

Pep Guardiola has revealed he had finished a round of golf and was stuck in traffic when his son Marius told him that West Brom had won at Old Trafford - handing City the Premier League title. Pep's first phone call was to the chairman who had supported him.

Pep Guardiola: “I thanked Khaldoon, even when things looked bad. I know Khaldoon very well and he knows I’d step aside if things weren’t going to plan. I’ll give everything to avoid that happening and make every effort to move things forward. No coasting.”

Txiki Begiristain: “It was the way Khaldoon talked to him that night [1-1 draw vs Everton, 2017], he showed how much confidence he had in us. It had been a dreadful day. We’d been the better team but hadn’t got the result and everyone was feeling a bit shaken..."

Txiki Begiristain: “Khaldoon told Pep he knew it wasn’t easy, but he had complete faith... He said that there was no other way for the club to proceed. Only the Guardiola way. What Pep needed to hear? Of course. But he said it with such conviction..."

In a new book called 'Pep's City - the making of a superteam', Pep Guardiola is said to have surprised everyone, even his wife, by signing a new three-year deal at City. A desire to lead the club to a first ever UCL final is the driving force behind his extension.

Pep Guardiola on his relationship with the Manchester City hierarchy after putting pen-to-paper: “It’s rare for things to be this healthy.” [via @SunMartinB]
 
Thanks for sharing. Great story.

Nobody expected after that Everton game that we were going to win the next 18 games and finish on 100 pts. Obviously, Khaldoon played a big role.

We have to trust Pep and the team. I still think we are going to have a great season. We need to dig deep and be there when Eric and Leroy return.
 
Pep's right, it's rare for things to be that healthy in terms of organization at a big club - coach to SD to owner/board. That sort of alignment/chemistry is rare indeed but less so when you consider those involved - Pep & Txiki were always a natural fit together and Khaldoon merely recognized he had the best in the business at his disposal.

Wish we still had that sort of health
 
Sergio Aguero admits he “p***es himself laughing” when he sees Pep Guardiola going through his bizarre matchday rituals. Guardiola likes to take off his shoes and walk around practising his team talks.

“I p*** myself laughing when I see him pacing up and down the corridor, usually barefoot and talking away to himself. It’s like he has no idea where he is. He’ll stop and stare at us all and then goes off again.”

Mikel Arteta has claimed it took just 15 minutes of Pep Guardiola’s first training session for Manchester City to be ‘born’. Arteta: “He told them, ‘Manchester City does this when we have the ball and we do that when we don’t have it’...”

“All of them understood exactly how we were going to play. It was non-negotiable. The talk lasted around 15 minutes but in those 15 minutes City was born. Everyone knew what would be asked of them from then on...”

“There’ll be alterations depending on how our opponents attack and defend but basically our football will be as I just said. It was clear there would be no going back. We knew how Pep’s City was going to play - and all it took was 15 minutes.”

Raheem Sterling gave Manchester City a huge scare on the night of the Manchester Arena bomb in May 2017. Sterling had asked first-team operations chief David Quintana to get him tickets. Club officials were unable to contact Sterling in the immediate aftermath.Sterling then posted a message on a WhatsApp group to say he was safe - having decided not to go.

Pep Guardiola told his back room staff “It’s in the bag” several times over the course of the week after the 1-0 victory over Leicester last season, according to Mikel Arteta.

“There was huge tension before Leicester... But from then on Pep kept saying, ‘We’ve done it.’ He just kept repeating it over the next few days, ‘it’s in the bag, it’s in the bag. We still have one game left but the title is ours’. He was so sure.”

Pep Guardiola went to see Jersey Boys with his wife Cristina and their children - the night after the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. Pep spent much of the show checking his phone and saw that Liverpool had only managed a draw at home to Leicester.

Pep Guardiola: “At the end people must have thought we were going wild about the show - and it was definitely a great performance. But if I’m honest, we were also applauding the fact Liverpool only managed to draw!”

Vincent Kompany says the angriest he ever saw Pep Guardiola was when he flipped at his players for not celebrating a victory enough. After Raheem Sterling’s stoppage time winner at Bournemouth in August 2017, the dressing room at the Vitality was very quiet.

The players got their phones out and the feeling of euphoria vanished - annoying Pep - who made his feelings known to everyone there. Guardiola told his players they were not a team if they were not capable of celebrating such an important win properly.

Vincent Kompany: “That Bournemouth game was probably the angriest I’d ever seen Pep. We’d won the game in the last minute and he bawled us out - because we didn’t continue celebrating enough.”

Pep Guardiola is such a huge admirer of Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa he has a quote from him on his office wall. Guardiola’s office walls are white so he can write ideas of them. It also has a verse from Oasis hit ‘Rock ‘n Roll Star’.

Pep Guardiola’s desk also features a statue of icon Johan Cruyff.
 
Love Pep.......simply the best.
If we finish second or third and win nothing this season so be it.

Players aren't robots nor is Pep.

Hope he stays a very long time. I feel he gets City.
We are the undervalued, ugly sister of English football. Unjustly ridiculed and demonised.

Pep knows the REAL city. And it's fans. I feel he wants to win everything and leave us undoubted.
 

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