Guardiola ready to build a new Manchester dynasty
Relationship with City director of football Begiristain is key factor, writes Jason Burt
When it came to deciding which Premier League club he would manage, it was not just the riches of Manchester City that made up Pep Guardiola’s mind, even if that was an undeniable factor.
It was – to use that buzzword of football – ‘the project’. It was the opportunity to create something or, as the Juventus coach Max Allegri recently told Telegraph Sport: “Guardiola is building the DNA of Manchester City”. He is, as Allegri put it, providing a “story”.
It was also – and this is significant – the presence of City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, Guardiola’s former team-mate in Johan Cruyff ’s squad which won the 1992 European Cup. It was Begiristain, when he was Barcelona’s sporting director, who put his faith in Guardiola in 2008 and successfully lobbied for him to become the club’s coach.
Guardiola did not forget that, which is why he was always likely to accept Begiristain’s offer to join him at City and why their fans can rest easy that although on July 1 – as things stand – their manager will be going into the final year of the three-year deal he signed in 2016, there is little chance he will leave in the near future.
In fact those close to Guardiola say the 47-year-old regards City as, at least, a four-year project which is the length of time he stayed at Barcelona. Guardiola coached Bayern Munich for three years, although he never quite felt at home. The expectation is he will sign a contract extension and stay until 2020, at least, although City desperately hope it will be longer.
It is a different job at City. Guardiola meant it when he thanked the club’s owners for sticking by him when he did not win a trophy last season. Not that they ever had any intention of sacking him. But Guardiola is aware that, having dominated the leagues in Spain and Germany, England was a risk.
When he first considered coming there were tentative talks about taking over at Manchester United but tellingly Guardiola was unsure as to what exactly United wanted, whereas the job at City was not only far more defined but, he felt, came with a more solid structure and not least with Begiristain being there. One source close to Guardiola told Telegraph Sport: “If Txiki was not at City, Pep would not be at City.” That is how highly he values the relationship.
When Guardiola talks about City being a “new club”, when it comes to European competition in particular, he means it. Having won at traditional giants he wants to win with something fresh, different and something he can look back up as a legacy; that he put the foundations in place; that he was at the heart of a new dynasty and a new superpower.
City were mocked when they sacked Roberto Mancini in 2013 and suggested they wanted a more “holistic” manager. They have their man in Guardiola.
The Spaniard deals with everything in meticulous detail – from the length of the grass on the pitches to the players’ weight to the way they interact – and it is not just a job for Guardiola. It is a way of life. Take for example how he is on match-days when he does not eat much and is still wired after games, and has an almost photographic recall of incidents, and moves around the room talking to anyone who will listen. No wonder Guardiola has suffered burn-out in the past.
He remains extremely grateful that City have been good to their word. They have bought the players he wanted, they have allowed him to evolve the team and the average age of the squad has dropped dramatically, and will fall further when Yaya Toure leaves this summer, with Vincent Kompany also playing less. He will be backed again in the transfer market with at least three, key first-team signings: a centre-half, a defensive midfielder and a forward.
Guardiola has privately acknowledged the mature way the City hierarchy dealt with the disappointment of losing in the Champions League – he had targeted a semi-final place this season – after going out in the last-16 last year. Doing better and, obviously, winning that competition is becoming an important goal which will drive Guardiola to stay longer at City.
The basics are done. Now it is about how far Guardiola can take them. “It’s a way of how you live,” the source said. “This is a way that he sees at Man City today. The way they get along, the way they celebrate, the way they win in the last minute. It’s because they believe.” And as long as that happens, he will stay.
The basics have been done and now it is about how far the manager can take them