Sporting decline City lashes the mind of coach Pep Guardiola: ‘Sometimes I am close to madness’

Manchester City supporters unfurled a huge banner to support Pep Guardiola before kick-off of the home game against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium. “Més que un entrenador” was written in Spanish under an image of the coach. The Catalan did not feel ‘more than a trainer’ after yet another defeat (2-1) this season. He went to the dressing room like a broken man.

For regular followers of Guardiola, his melancholy does not raise eyebrows. The coach does not behave more eccentric than usual. Nervous twitching is as much a part of him as his designer sweaters and support for Catalan independence. No one at the Etihad Campus, City’s training centre, is surprised by a strange statement when a sense of gloom suddenly overtakes them. ‘Pep’ has unusual instructions for use.

Guardiola’s state of mind is not the problem. His face reveals whether he is good at what he is doing or whether he feels the burden of the world resting on his shoulders. When successful, in his case a constant until two months ago, his eyes shine and he radiates that he is a Sunday child. The lack of the Spanish sun when the leaves fall from the trees and a permanent cloud cover moves over Manchester, manifests itself physically.

Self-imposed isolation

In winter, Guardiola’s skin takes on a gray tint, his cheeks sag and his trousers become slightly baggy. Staff members can read these outward details like the weather, without knowing exactly what is going on in his head. Guardiola considers his assistants as friends, but periodically retreats into self-imposed isolation. In his office he can spend hours alone looking at video images of opponents before matches.

Guardiola is in a biotope designed for him at Manchester City. The Abu Dhabi owners prepared his arrival forensically after taking over the club. With CEO Ferran Soriano and technical director Txiki Begiristain lured away from Barcelona, ​​two of his confidantes emerged as pioneers. They bought football players for his specific style of play and provided input in the construction of the ultra-modern training complex.

Guardiola is given the space to be himself. By letting him play, Manchester City turned into a success machine. He won no fewer than 38 prizes in a period of 8.5 years. The ‘treble’ – Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the 2022-23 season – is considered tangible proof of his mastery. Before him, only Alex Ferguson achieved this with an English club, in 1999 with Manchester United,

Obsessive way

‘Sir Alex’ won considerably more league titles than Guardiola, but never managed to do so four times in a row. The former Spanish international succeeded in this last May. Players pointed to his boundless energy and ability to keep sagging to a minimum. His almost obsessive way of working seemed unbreakable. The Premier League was firmly in the hands of Guardiola, who, according to experts, had created a ‘monster’.

Six months later, Manchester City is in a sporting trough under his leadership. Injuries to key players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Rodri, recently elected World Footballer of the Year, loss of form and sudden decline in strength are acceptable excuses for poorer performance. . Before the derby against Manchester United, City had only won once in ten appearances at home and abroad.

Guardiola foresaw a decline, one of the reasons why he recently signed until 2026. Nine players from his selection are over thirty. Three more will reach that age next year. A renovation was inevitable, but the club and Guardiola wanted to wait until the summer to enter the transfer market. This gamble, partly inspired by the impending departure of technical director Begiristain, is now turning out dramatically.

The so-called leadership group literally or figuratively lost the power to take the lead. Captain Kyle Walker (34) suddenly lacks the speed in his legs after the European Championships in Germany, while playmaker De Bruyne is struggling with injuries. Bernardo Silva, as active as he is technically skilled, also no longer reaches his top level. Ilkay Gündogan (34) lacks the running ability of his peak years.

In the downward spiral, Guardiola gave the impression of losing himself in despondency and stress complaints. The scratches on his skull and nose after the draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League (3-3) are the least worrying. The coach takes allergy tablets for a skin disease that worsens with stress. When nervous he scratches his head as standard.

His confession in a podcast by Spanish TV chef Dani García raised questions. Guardiola hinted at retirement, tired of dragging himself to the training pitch every day. He appeared even more dejected in front of former striker Luca Toni. In the interview for Amazon Prime, Guardiola said he would no longer sleep an eye. His stomach can only tolerate soup. “The loneliness of a coach,” he said philosophically. “You have people on your side, but when you make wrong decisions, you think: Why did I do this?”

Stubbornness

Demonstrable errors are not so much tactical, but in stubbornness and ignoring principles on which he operated blindly. With his permission, Cole Palmer left for Chelsea last year. The attacker (22) is now considered the biggest attraction in the competition. Guardiola refused to break with his preference for a small squad. There was no room for Palmer and top talents such as Roméo Lavia and Liam Delap.

Guardiola’s inability to limit the damage as a crisis manager weighs more heavily. Lifeless and exhausted, he needed a motivator at least as much as his players. “Sometimes I am close to madness,” he told interviewer Luca Toni. The defeat against Manchester United makes another issue pressing. “If I just lose another month, I’ll say: ‘Guys, someone has to take over. It can’t go on like this forever.”

His defeated impression after the Manchester Derby must worry City. As doubts creep in, fans must expect the worst. Guardiola can, as the management also knows, simply resign, just like he did at Barcelona twelve years ago. “Broken and empty,” he explained that choice. Everything indicates that ‘Pep’ has once again reached that point.

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