“a passer of the ball positioned in front of the defence who could provide the platform from which every Barcelona attack would… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He could live with them playing badly now and again, he told them, but he demanded 100 per cent on the pitch… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He said that if you pass the ball well, you receive it well and have good control; then you have far more… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Superiority in midfield, as predicted by Pep, was the key to the game.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Pep realised that in order to make the team a success he needed to add intensity and an increased work rate to… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“What makes you grow is defeat, making mistakes. It is what keeps you alert. When you win you think: “Great, we’ve won.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“In the end, Pep won most of the doubters over with a clever ploy, a few well-chosen words and a single bold… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Ramon Besa put it wonderfully: ‘He is a bit of a Quixote. In an era of fast food, Pep wants degustation football,… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Ferran Soriano, who said privately at the time: ‘The Mourinho brand, added to the Barça brand, has the potential to make our… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Pep organised his attack (creating the conditions for one v ones, or looking for superiority across the pitch) in a way that… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola told me that if there is a hint of disharmony within the group he removes it, as he did with Eto’o… — 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“On the way to the tiny Los Pajaritos stadium (capacity just 9,025), Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ blared from the speakers on the… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Pep used to feel unprepared when it came to certain topics like defensive concepts or particular training methodologies. When he needed answers… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He was also excited about the prospects of working with Raheem Sterling. Pep had no say in his signing but Sterling was… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He cleansed the dressing room of players who were uncommitted and oblivious of the club’s core values: prioritising good football and hard… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola knows it is easier to work with a group hungry for victory rather than with one that has won everything, and… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Johan, who imposed the criteria for quick movements of the ball, the obligation to open up the field in order to find… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“I’ve got a problem,’ he told his mentor. ‘I’ve got these two guys who I don’t know if I can control, they… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“We have to transmit trust and security in all the decisions we make. ‘That trust, security and sincerity are the fundamental pillars… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“he wanted to confirm a personal theory: that a reserve team, like any other, could serve as a university of football; because… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola remained a lanky teenager with little muscle mass, the opposite of the ideal footballer’s stature. But great art is always born… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“When Pep signed a marketing agreement with Sabadell Bank, committing to a number of lectures and personal interviews as part of the… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“His philosophy is clear: first we should have the ball. With it, the opponent suffers and we have everything under control. Secondly,… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Guardiola immediately set about introducing a series of habits, working practices, systems and methodologies acquired after a career working with a variety… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“Regarding positional play, he insisted on making sure the player stayed in his corresponding area, especially when the ball was lost.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“If each person does their job, and they know what it is because I make sure they know, then we are a… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“In the junior categories we wanted to mould the player. You must know what his strengths and weaknesses are, work on them… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“For Guardiola, tactical concepts are taken in if the players have the right attitude and understand what they are doing.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“We have to be able to dominate the game, and make sure that we aren’t dominated ourselves.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“My role was to move the ball around the pitch for my team-mates to finish off the move,’ he says. The” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“I always try and give the players the security of knowing what they’ll encounter. This increases the possibility of doing things well.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“We are one. We are not little groups because in all teams this is what ends up killing team spirit.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“He was a bit like me. You must have a lot of technique, move the ball quickly, avoid a collision – and… — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“You get the player, based on what we need, and I will make it work,’ has always been his take on signings.” — Guillem Balague Copy Share Image
“I became a coach because I thought I could dominate the game with what I say, what I do, what we train… — 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
