sport news Pep Guardiola insists 'it is a privilege' to face the pressure of winning the ... trends now
Pep Guardiola spent a couple of days visiting family in Barcelona last week, precious relaxation time before the final push trying to create history with Manchester City.
Guardiola is still intense but at 52 not the obsessive that saw him twice win the Champions League at Barcelona when he began his managerial career.
City are just seven games away from emulating Manchester United’s unique achievement of winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in 1999, and face a key few days with Everton away on Sunday in the league followed by Real Madrid at the Etihad on Wednesday.
The first leg of their Champions League semi-final ended 1-1 in Madrid after which Guardiola took advantage of being back in Spain to go back ‘home’ for to see his wife and youngest daughter.
‘It was more difficult for me to handle things in my early years at Barcelona. Now I’m a bit better at knowing how to,’ he says candidly about the pressure that comes with the territory.
Pep Guardiola hopes his team can compete in all competitions as they vie for the treble
The Spanish coach said he learned how to cope with pressure during his time at Barcelona
City are seven games away from emulating Manchester United’s 1999 treble winning season
‘It’s true the job never stops but at the same time it’s nice. I try to sleep as much as possible and when there are five days between games, I can switch off.
‘On Tuesday it was Madrid and then Everton on Sunday, so I went to Barcelona for two days to see my wife and my little daughter and stay there. That helped me. When there are only three days between games, no chance. You finish one game and start preparing for the next one.
‘I prefer the way I am now that I am older. I cope with it a little better, I think. I have learned many times at stages when I have lost, especially in the Champions League, that you will be criticised for one day, two days. Then the next day, you start preparing for next season.
‘And you also realise that nothing much changes whether you win or lose in the end, honestly. Of course, in that moment it is important to try and do it, but [whatever the result] we are still here.
‘I’m not complaining. It’s a privilege. Yes, the job can demand a lot but there is excitement to try and win the next match, win titles at the end.
‘That gives you an incredible energy when you are tired. The tension is there, the pressure is there, I feel it, they feel it but that’s normal.’
While the world appears focused on whether City can with their first Champions League, and Guardiola’s first since 2011, the manager is clear he doesn’t want to sacrifice the Premier League title — he wants his players fighting for both as equal priority.
City have won their last 10 matches to overtake
