When Barcelona named Pep Guardiola as their manager, I said to myself: ‘Madre mía, we’re going to be flying; this is going to rocket.’ I knew him already, knew what he was like. He’s pesado: heavy-going, insistent, hard work, intense. He’s a perfectionist. He’s obsessive; I knew he would keep going until he got it right. If Pep decided to be a musician, he would be a good musician. If he wanted to be a psychologist, he would be a good psychologist. Football is his passion.
Guardiola is meticulous, focused on every little detail. Even as a player he controlled everything; he knew exactly what he wanted to do, he had it all laid out in his mind. He loves football and a particular way of playing it. He really hated losing the ball, even as a player. Those of us who have been raised at Barcelona, with the ideals that Johan Cruyff brought to the club, have a very clear sense of how to play, an ideal. Pep especially. He is a purist, a radical.
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