Pep Guardiola will want to leave Manchester City in good health, Jamie Carragher has said. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.
According to him, just like Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season, he expects Pep to try to leave the perfect legacy for a successor to continue his good work when he is gone.
Carragher added that Pep’s conscience must have told him a rebuild is necessary before extending his contract.
His words, “Klopp left one final challenge for his old adversary to match: How to leave the perfect legacy for a successor to continue your work.
Klopp will be the notable absentee when the clubs meet on Sunday, but his influence lives on with Liverpool top of the Premier League and Champions League.
When Guardiola signed his two-year contract extension, one phrase stood out. ‘I felt I could not leave now, simple as that,’ ‘Maybe the four defeats were the reason why and I felt I cannot leave.’
Guardiola could have quit at the end of this season with his legend secure, stepping aside for the next coach to reshape the next era of City success. Instead, he sounded like a man who was already thinking about what he will leave behind, his conscience telling him that if a rebuild is necessary it is his duty to lead it.
There are echoes of what Klopp did ahead of his final Anfield season. Many suspect he stayed longer than intended to reverse an alarming dip in 2022-23. Arne Slot is the first to admit he has been in a position to fine tune rather than start afresh, his one signing to date, Federico Chiesa, yet to start a Premier League match.
Guardiola wants to leave City on the same terms and the poor run preceding his deal convinced him it was not the right time to walk into the Manchester sunset.
The Klopp revival did not lead to another Premier League title, but he must be as proud of leaving the club in such good health as of any of the trophies he lifted.
Guardiola will feel the same way about guiding City back to the top if – or more likely when – he reduces the past few weeks to nothing more than a bad memory. If Guardiola were to claim another league title from this point, from a coaching perspective it will be his most satisfying yet.”
WOW.
Pep Guardiola Sala is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently managing Premier League club Manchester City. Guardiola is the only manager to win the continental treble twice, the youngest to win the UEFA Champions League, and he also holds the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League. He is considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time.
Guardiola has played for and advocated on behalf of the Catalonia football team. Between 1995 and 2005, he played seven friendly games for Catalonia.
Under Guardiola’s predecessor Frank Rijkaard, Barcelona were known for a 4–3–3 with plenty of flair with Ronaldinho being the centre point of the attack. Under Guardiola, however, the team became more disciplined with a greater focus on possession and a disciplined and aggressive pressing style.
Guardiola was born to Dolors and Valentí. He has two older sisters and a younger brother, Pere, a football agent. He is an atheist. Guardiola met his wife Cristina Serra when he was 18. They married on 29 May 2014.
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