Pep taking weight and see approach
Pep Guardiola denied dictating to his Manchester City players exactly what they can eat and said none were overweight, after Gael Clichy claimed the new manager had banned junk food and exiled out-of-shape stars.
Speaking in China, where City is on a money-spinning preseason tour, the French defender told the Guardian newspaper and other British media that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach wasted no time in laying down the law.
“You often hear managers say being healthy is really important. With him, if your weight is too high, you’re not training with the team. That is the first thing and you can hear it a lot, but for my part it’s the first time any manager has really done it,” Clichy said.
“So we have a few players who are not training with the team yet. He cut out some juice and pizza and all the heavy food is not allowed,” added the 31-year-old.
There has been plenty of attention paid to Guardiola’s new style on and off the pitch since his high-profile arrival this summer, but the Spaniard denied taking a dictatorial approach with his players.
“The nutritionist is the boss. I’m not a chef. He decides what they have to eat,” Guardiola said, speaking in the southern city of Shenzhen, the latest leg of the team’s whirlwind China tour.
He also denied his players had returned to training out of shape: “No, they are not overweight.
“I want my players fit. For me that is important — I need to get my players absolutely fit.”
City’s preseason preparations took a hit on Monday when its derby against Manchester United was called off because of the poor pitch at Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium, following heavy rain.
Guardiola revealed the club was making a frantic push to line up an English Championship or non-league club for a friendly next week to replace the lost Beijing game.
“We haven’t traveled all the way here to China for just a holiday, we have traveled here to play games,” said Guardiola.
“Maybe it’s a lesson for the people who organized the games.
“The pitch is the most important thing.”