“anxiety to become good enough for Johan Cruyff to notice us cannot be put into words. Without that desire, none of us… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“It is important in football, as in any walk of life, to appear calm in times of crisis. To hide weaknesses. Pep… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“some key principles were quickly instilled in him: ‘Don’t stamp on anybody but don’t let anybody stamp on you; keep your head… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Jerome Boateng spoke pre-season after the World Cup in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and described how Guardiola told him in every training… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“It is better for a player to lose the ball when he is dribbling, feeling over-confident, than for a blunder, a mistake… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“above all else, they had to learn to win. Instilling a fiercely competitive, winning spirit into a team, an academy already blessed… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“there are few pure footballing training sessions and there is a lot of co-existence and it isn’t easy. But the lucky thing… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Little by little, the plan changed because one of the pillars of Pep’s methods is based on the evolution of the process.… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He also taught his players how to mark an opponent, teaching them to focus on a rival’s weaknesses – while accentuating what… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“It wasn’t enough for him to have had first-hand experience of the methods of Cruyff, Robson, van Gaal, Mazzone or Capello, so… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Why do we open up the field?’ Cruyff would explain. ‘Because if we have the ball and we are open, it is… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Players were fined €120 if they were late for training and had to stick to a twelve o’clock curfew – if they… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He gave a different edge to the defensive side of the game and that is where Barça became strong and attractive: losing… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“According to the principles Johan Cruyff introduced to Barcelona, coaches should lead by example: play football, be on the field during training… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Each player must be convinced that what he does is the best thing for him, for his team-mates and for the general… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“From his very first day in the job as coach, Pep went out of his way to appeal to the feelings of… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“that coronation of the team’s achievements paradoxically heralded the beginning of the end for Rijkaard’s Barcelona, as the first signs of indiscipline… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“On one occasion Guardiola explained that there are two types of coaches: those who think problems solve themselves and those who solve… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Pep, for instance, created collective conditions to create one v ones for Messi. As simple and common place as that may sound… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“There was certainly an improvement and any dissent or unrest was external – in the media and on radio phone-ins – rather… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Thirdly – and crucial for Pep’s position as the midfielder in front of the back four – he had to dispatch the… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“the attacking players would need to become the best defenders; and the defenders would have to become the first line of attack,… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola believed in handing greater responsibility to the footballers, trusting that their intuition could help solve a great amount of their problems.… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Failure is when a player does not have a good training session, when the coach relaxes and stops caring, when the team… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“The pre-match talks are in the hotel if it is an away game, or, if it is a home game, in the… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He wanted players who controlled the ball with their first touch, who had quick feet, who retained the ball and created superiority… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“The players are made of skin and bone and they too like this contact. Even if it is a slap. Pep touches… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“I’ve been successful at Manchester United for many years and it’s not without its problems – every hour of every day you… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He was given one more chance, invited back for a third day. The coach moved him into central midfield where, suddenly, Pep… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“I only ask this of you. I won’t tell you off if you misplace a pass, or miss a header that costs… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“With Pep’s help and his own intuition, Messi started playing football with an accordion-like movement: the further the ball was away from… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola has taken certain areas to another level – such as pressing the ball – and Barcelona’s disciplined style of play and… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Nobody has paid any attention to the fundamental fact that Guardiola is a bricklayer’s son. For Pep, his father, Valentí, is an… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“always accumulate more players than your rival right from the start of a move to gain the initiative. So, having three players… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“defensively, the young Busquets, promoted from the B team, had been the best player on the field. He had recovered 10 balls.… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“The same amount of time and study was dedicated to trying to find the weaknesses and Achilles heels of every opponent, no… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“At the end of his spell in Argentina he felt that he was better prepared than ever before; not totally, because Pep… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“You could play the ball with advantage not only because of the pass, but because of your positioning on the pitch and… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“within that meticulous preparation there co-existed a high degree of expression, always bearing in mind that this is football, that players must… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“There is not a single trainer, nor player, that can guarantee success at the start of a season,’ Guardiola wrote a decade… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“The German team became more German than ever. They used in their performance the ‘Mia San Mia’ motto that the players wear on their… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“Before heading out on to the pitch, Johan Cruyff gave his players a simple instruction: ‘Go out there and enjoy yourselves.’ It was a… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“Ronaldo also dropped deep to receive the ball, turn round and run towards goal – and he always found space as the centre backs… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“It is better for a player to lose the ball when he is dribbling, feeling over-confident, than for a blunder, a mistake due to… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“We have to transmit trust and security in all the decisions we make. ‘That trust, security and sincerity are the fundamental pillars for a… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“On one occasion Guardiola explained that there are two types of coaches: those who think problems solve themselves and those who solve problems. Guardiola… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“He could live with them playing badly now and again, he told them, but he demanded 100 per cent on the pitch in every… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“The coach sat down with president Laporta, Beguiristain and Estiarte in the suite of the hotel in which the team were staying in the… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“Failure is when a player does not have a good training session, when the coach relaxes and stops caring, when the team doesn’t care… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“Ingla and Txiki set out a plan for the rest of the season which saw them working and consulting simultaneously with both Rijkaard and… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“Searching for that flash of inspiration, that moment, the magical moment: ‘I’ve got it. I’ve got it. This is how we are going to… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“The players who go through La Masía are taught to behave with civility and humility. The theory being that, not only is it pleasant… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“In future they must place themselves more cleverly to receive the pass, and to start pressuring their opponents more quickly.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“I saw Guardiola as a mystical type of person. The way he dressed – always in black – he was sometimes very quiet, constantly… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
“What you can’t do is study the talks, learn them by heart. Two or three concepts are all you need . . . and then you… — Guillem Balague Copy Share
