Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City
Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City
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On the last Sunday in November, 2019, I had the rare privilege of hosting a dinner, seated between the two main guests, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. To the side of the stage, Manchester City’s three domestic trophies from the 2018-19 season were on display, next to the Champions League trophy, which had been won by Liverpool.
Guardiola and Klopp were in sparkling form. The fiercest of rivals, they lit up when talking football.
And in his speech when accepting an award from the Football Writers' Association, Guardiola pointed to the array of silverware and said: “I would like to win my (Champions League) trophy back and I am pretty sure Jurgen would like to win that one (the Premier League). Maybe we can swap?”
They both laughed, the whole room laughed. But when he returned to his seat, Pep spoke of his determination to win a third Champions League and his first with City.
The gist was that he would not be leaving Manchester until that mission was accomplished. It was accomplished in the 2022-23 season and he is still here. For a few more days at least.
And as it happened, Klopp would get his hands on his first Premier League trophy six months after that dinner in a Manchester hotel. The quest for that Champions League with City drove Guardiola on. His rivalry with Klopp, spanning eight seasons, drove him on.
When Guardiola agreed to become City manager in February of 2016 and started work that summer, the initial wisdom was that his stay in the Premier League would probably not extend beyond the end of his three-year contract. But to hear Pep and Klopp animatedly discussing the respective merits of their star players - Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah - was to get an insight into how he had become besotted with the challenges of English club football.
And besotted is the word. Not obsessed. He could switch off, he could have a game of golf, he could take a keen interest in politics, he could enjoy a glass of red wine.
Juergen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool, embraces Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium on April 01, 2023 in Manchester, England.
(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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But he loves football, simple as that. At that same dinner, Guardiola also shared a top table with managers from the lower leagues who had achieved significant success in the previous season.
Managers such as Micky Mellon, then at Tranmere Rovers, and Dave Challinor, who had just moved from AFC Fylde to Hartlepool United. And Guardiola knew about their achievements, knew about their teams, knew about their players. The breadth of his football knowledge was - and is - remarkable.
When the speeches and presentations were done that evening, Guardiola and Klopp were free to leave but stayed long to talk between themselves. It was a respect and a rivalry that Guardiola would later describe as one of the most important of his career.
“I always had the feeling how much we respect each other,” Guardiola said six years after that dinner. “I had the feeling that Jurgen gave me a lot. And I miss him in the sense of ‘wow, to beat that guy, I have to think and work so much to make it better’.”
That sums Pep up. He always finds something to drive him on, whether it be an outstanding fellow manager or something else.
And English club football can be thankful he was driven for ten remarkable years at Manchester City.