MAN CITY BOSS GUARDIOLA FACES EXIT AFTER DECISION
Pep Guardiola previously revealed that he leaves a club when he can no longer motivate himself or his team. The Man City boss, under pressure, faces a test of his longevity after a decade of success.
After receiving calls to leave as Manchester City's manager, Pep Guardiola has already provided an insight into what it would take for him to do so. Guardiola is fighting to regain City's domestic supremacy after the team finished behind Liverpool and Arsenal in the previous season, following nearly a decade of continuous success at the Etihad.
Between his successful stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there have been hints that Guardiola would need a new challenge or a complete vacation from the game. Performance analyst Carles Planchart, who collaborated with Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern, and City before departing the Etihad at the end of the previous campaign, is one individual who concurs.
If Guardiola wants to continue as manager, Planchart thinks a change would be best for him, telling SPORT: "It is a personal decision he will have to make." A project should, in my opinion, not exceed five or six years.
But not for everyone, not for him. You have to renew after that. He still has a lot of work to do; therefore, as a friend, I would advise him to find a new endeavour.
Guardiola's explanation for leaving Barcelona provides insight into what it would take for him to leave City, since he acknowledged that after winning 14 trophies in four years, including two Champions League titles, he found it difficult to inspire his team and himself.
In a 2014 interview with Audi, he stated, "We had tremendous success. The best time in the club's history was when they won 14 titles in just four years.
But over time, I discovered that it was getting harder and harder to inspire both the team and myself. You realise it is time to leave at that point.
Guardiola has stayed at City for a long time because, according to Planchart, the team has given him a sense of family that he did not have at Barcelona or Bayern.
"This is why he has been at City for so long," he continued, "because they have treated us like family and allowed us to work as if we were at home." That was not how he felt at Bayern or Barca.
He is an avid football lover. He lives his life on the grass and the green. He is a creative genius. His ability to invent football is his greatest strength. The rest of us are copycats; the hard part of life is producing. He is the best at this.
Guardiola seems to still have it in him at City, who bounced back from consecutive losses to Brighton and Tottenham in August to move up to fifth place in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Arsenal. After the international break, City will play their next game at home on October 18 against Everton.
THE REAL: REASON JEREMY DOKU BELIEVES THE NEXT FOUR GAMES WILL DEFINE CITY’S SEASON
Jeremy Doku praises City's pride after Bernardo Silva's red card, eyeing redemption in Sunday's Carabao Cup final.
Jérémy Doku sees winning the Carabao Cup as a helpful way for Manchester City to bounce back from their Champions League disappointment. After being knocked out by Real Madrid for the third consecutive year, with a 5-1 aggregate loss in the round of 16, the team faces a tough challenge to regroup quickly.
Pep Guardiola's squad now has to shift focus to their upcoming trip to Wembley, where they’ll take on Arsenal on Sunday. Despite the setback in Europe, Doku feels that lifting a trophy this week would help erase the recent frustration.
He said, “It’s a good way to recover. We’ll do everything we can to win that game and bring home a trophy. The next four matches really matter. We have to recover well for Sunday and then take it one game at a time.”
What lies ahead will likely define the city's season. After the Carabao Cup final, they face an FA Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool following the international break, as well as two critical Premier League games against Chelsea and Arsenal.
“There’s still plenty at stake,” Doku added. “We’re competing in three different competitions, with three trophies still on the table. If we manage to win one, it’ll still be a strong season for us. Of course, missing out on the Champions League is disappointing. It’s always a special trophy. But we have to learn from those games against Real Madrid, recover properly, and focus on what’s next.”
City endured a tough week, following a 3-0 loss in Madrid with a narrow 2-1 defeat at the Etihad. One pivotal moment was Bernardo Silva’s early red card in the second leg.
Yet, Doku draws some confidence from how the team performed despite being down to 10 men against such a formidable opponent.
“We have reasons to be proud,” he reflected. “Playing against a team like Real Madrid with one less player and still causing them problems isn’t something every team can do. We didn’t get the win, but we can look each other in the eye knowing we gave a good performance both with 11 players and with 10. We created chances and played well.”
He went on to say, “If we bring that kind of effort to every match, we’ll trouble many teams. There are valuable takeaways from this game that we can carry into the next.”
WHY PEP GUARDIOLA CANCELLED TRAINING BEFORE MANCHESTER CITY’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REMATCH
Pep Guardiola cancels Manchester City training to combat fatigue ahead of the 3-0 comeback attempt vs Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola has shared his reasoning for skipping training the day before Manchester City’s crucial Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid at the Etihad. Facing a tough three-goal deficit from their 3-0 loss at the Bernabeu last week, City are up against the difficult task of overturning this against a team that has won Europe’s top trophy 15 times.
Historically, only four teams have managed to claw back a gap of three or more goals in the knockout stages, so the challenge ahead is immense. Guardiola acknowledges his players will need to deliver an almost flawless performance if they hope to stage a remarkable comeback on home turf. Still, he remains hopeful they will create plenty of scoring chances against Alvaro Arbeloa’s side.
In a somewhat unexpected move, Guardiola has decided to give his first team a day off on Monday, opting for a light session just hours before kickoff on Tuesday. At Monday’s press conference, he explained the logic behind this approach, citing the fatigue from travel and recent matches. After returning late from Madrid, then heading to London for a Premier League draw against West Ham, the players have had a packed schedule. Guardiola feels a day of rest will serve them better than trying to squeeze in more training.
He further emphasised the mental aspect, pointing out that mental strength plays a big role in how well they perform. He plans to assess the players’ condition and conduct training on Tuesday afternoon. With travel taking its toll and players spontaneously connecting with their families, he believes keeping them relaxed and fresh is crucial.
Captain Bernardo Silva, who was the only City player present for media duties, supported Guardiola’s decision. He reflected on past occasions when the team took rest days following both wins and losses, trusting the manager’s judgement to help them regroup and come back stronger.
On team news, Guardiola revealed he has most of his starting lineup settled, though one spot remains uncertain. Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) and Rico Lewis (ankle) are sidelined, but Mateo Kovacic has returned to the bench after recovering from a lengthy ankle and heel injury. With these preparations in place, City will be charging into a daunting but pivotal night against one of Europe’s giants.
