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Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola wants Premier League job in England like Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola has followed Jose Mourinho in voicing his desire to work in the Premier League “in the future”. He cited English fans’ commitment to their clubs as one of the main reasons he would like to manage in England.
After four intense and successful years coaching Barcelona, Guardiola has taken a year’s sabbatical from the game to spend time with his family, living in New York. He has indicated that he will make a decision on his next club around March, aiming to be ready for the new season.
He will not be short of suitors. Guardiola is top of Roman Abramovich’s list as the next Chelsea manager. Two former Barcelona executives, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, are now in situ at Manchester City, and Guardiola would be an obvious target if Roberto Mancini left.
If Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger decided to step down at Manchester United or Arsenal respectively, Guardiola would again be the leading candidate. AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain could all offer tempting propositions in the summer.
Asked to give a tribute to the FA on its 150th anniversary, Guardiola delivered a eulogy to English football. He never played for an English club, although he was linked to moves to United and City.
“As a player, I couldn’t realise my dream to play there,” said Guardiola. “But I hope in the future, I have a challenge to be a coach or a manager there and feel the experience of all the coaches and players that have been there.
“It is unique, to play in that league. I want to feel the supporters, the environment, the media and the style of the players and everything. I am still young, just 41, so I hope in the future I could be able to train there and enjoy that. I’ve always found English football very fascinating, just for the environment, the crowd and the supporters.
“The support of the home team is amazing. In Italy, Latin people will support you when they are playing and when you lose, they kill you. In England, I’m always surprised that people always support everything and that is nice. That’s why, maybe, I hope to have the challenge or the opportunity to train there.”
He told the FA of his admiration for Wembley. “I played there as a player when I was 19 years old and it was my first Champions League as a player, as Barcelona won finally the Champions League,” he said of the old European Cup in 1992. “It was a huge honour to play there at the old Wembley.
“When I was manager of Barcelona, for our second Champions League in three years [2011], it was a real pleasure to play in the new Wembley. The new one doesn’t have the history that the old stadium had, but it was nice to go to the old one but overall, because of how we played that game, I like [the new Wembley]. I am a lucky guy, because I had the opportunity to play two finals, both in England at Wembley and that’s why my relationship with England is pretty close.”
He congratulated the FA on reaching its landmark occasion, which will be celebrated at a special event in London today. “Congratulations on this huge anniversary, because 150 years is a lot of years,” Guardiola said in his video message. “Also because they created the rules of football and they have a responsibility for the game. They have been important in the development of our beautiful, beautiful game.”
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/9804446/Former-Barcelona-manager-Pep-Guardiola-wants-Premier-League-job-in-England-like-Jose-Mourinho.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... rinho.html</a>
Pep Guardiola has followed Jose Mourinho in voicing his desire to work in the Premier League “in the future”. He cited English fans’ commitment to their clubs as one of the main reasons he would like to manage in England.
After four intense and successful years coaching Barcelona, Guardiola has taken a year’s sabbatical from the game to spend time with his family, living in New York. He has indicated that he will make a decision on his next club around March, aiming to be ready for the new season.
He will not be short of suitors. Guardiola is top of Roman Abramovich’s list as the next Chelsea manager. Two former Barcelona executives, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, are now in situ at Manchester City, and Guardiola would be an obvious target if Roberto Mancini left.
If Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger decided to step down at Manchester United or Arsenal respectively, Guardiola would again be the leading candidate. AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain could all offer tempting propositions in the summer.
Asked to give a tribute to the FA on its 150th anniversary, Guardiola delivered a eulogy to English football. He never played for an English club, although he was linked to moves to United and City.
“As a player, I couldn’t realise my dream to play there,” said Guardiola. “But I hope in the future, I have a challenge to be a coach or a manager there and feel the experience of all the coaches and players that have been there.
“It is unique, to play in that league. I want to feel the supporters, the environment, the media and the style of the players and everything. I am still young, just 41, so I hope in the future I could be able to train there and enjoy that. I’ve always found English football very fascinating, just for the environment, the crowd and the supporters.
“The support of the home team is amazing. In Italy, Latin people will support you when they are playing and when you lose, they kill you. In England, I’m always surprised that people always support everything and that is nice. That’s why, maybe, I hope to have the challenge or the opportunity to train there.”
He told the FA of his admiration for Wembley. “I played there as a player when I was 19 years old and it was my first Champions League as a player, as Barcelona won finally the Champions League,” he said of the old European Cup in 1992. “It was a huge honour to play there at the old Wembley.
“When I was manager of Barcelona, for our second Champions League in three years [2011], it was a real pleasure to play in the new Wembley. The new one doesn’t have the history that the old stadium had, but it was nice to go to the old one but overall, because of how we played that game, I like [the new Wembley]. I am a lucky guy, because I had the opportunity to play two finals, both in England at Wembley and that’s why my relationship with England is pretty close.”
He congratulated the FA on reaching its landmark occasion, which will be celebrated at a special event in London today. “Congratulations on this huge anniversary, because 150 years is a lot of years,” Guardiola said in his video message. “Also because they created the rules of football and they have a responsibility for the game. They have been important in the development of our beautiful, beautiful game.”
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/9804446/Former-Barcelona-manager-Pep-Guardiola-wants-Premier-League-job-in-England-like-Jose-Mourinho.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... rinho.html</a>