Pep Guardiola delivered another trophy as Manchester City lifted the FA Cup but the Catalan insists the great achievement is their constant visits to Wembley - which is proof of their success
Pep Guardiola furthered his legacy with another trophy at Wembley
Pep Guardiola furthered his legacy with another trophy at Wembley
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Pep Guardiola and his team could be forgiven for considering themselves something special. Because winning 20 trophies in a decade is nothing short of astonishing.
No manager of club has ever collected silverware at a faster rate than Guardiola and Manchester City. Not even the great Sir Alex Ferguson managed to do this, during his long and glorious reign across town at Manchester United.
But after beating Chelsea to add the FA Cup to the Carabao Cup he won earlier this season, Guardiola wasted no time in bringing his squad back down to earth with a bump. And it wasn't just the fact Guardiola put the 'pain' into champagne, after allowing his stars to have just one drink of alcohol to celebrate this latest triumph.
Guardiola would prefer to see his squad maintain its taste for trophies instead - and never take winning them for granted. Guardiola has more reasons than most to feel smug with himself - considering how much he's won.
But he knows football has a habit of humbling people. And he wants his players to focus on what can still be won in the future - rather than what has been won in the past. Starting with Tuesday's crunch trip to face Bournemouth - when nothing but a win will keep alive their hopes of catching Arsenal in the title race.
He said: "It’s good (to get a taste for trophies), and I always don’t forget. But you feel you are there - and then in a few hours you are in the bottom. Trophies are good, but don’t take it for granted. You start to believe you are special, but you will be displaced."
Having suffered a trophyless season last time out for the first time since taking charge in 2016, Guardiola knows it was a jolt. And it helped remind City that they should never be complacent again.
City have responded to win two more trophies, but Guardiola reckons his greatest achievement is having led his club to Wembley a staggering 24 times, including a record four successive FA Cup finals.
Pep Guardiola has looked to keep his players focussed with the league still winnable
Pep Guardiola has looked to keep his players focussed with the league still winnable
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He said: "They push me, and I push them. Why should we be complacent? Last season we dropped massively and I didn’t make things click, I should have been more calm. There are minimum standards that we require. Many things can happen, but we have always been there.
"I think the biggest title is to come here 24 times. We can win the Premier League and Champions League, but to play 24 times here is because we were stubborn. That is the biggest complement we can get as a club. We have done it and we have to continue to try. That is the biggest success. I cannot speak higher about the organisation of the club."
Having endured a nightmare six hour train journey down to London ahead of the final, City will opt to fly to the south coast instead on Minday before facing Andoni Iraola's side. And Guardiola knows winning the FA Cup should help maintain City's energy levels.
He added: "The fatigue will be the same, but the energy will be different. Going to Bournemouth, losing this would have made it more difficult. We’ll go to Bournemouth and decide how we feel. We’ve played a few times verses Iraola. It's an incredible team with rhythm and how they press. We have two more (league) games. Tuesday and Sunday. Cards on the table, we know what we have to do."
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