Page 122 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

They were also coached to get the ball forward early and transition quickly as soon as
they recovered possession. If that meant hitting long balls, so be it, as the priority was to

get the ball forward when the majority of Barcelona players were still in the United half. By
getting the ball to Hernández at the earliest opportunity, he could exploit one v ones against
the exposed defenders.
In other words, with possession limited in the face of Barcelona’s expected dominance of
the ball, the United players were under strict orders to make every single opportunity count.

The tactical talk

For the Barcelona players in the Wembley changing room before kick-off, there was to be
no epic, rousing, motivational film; just short, informative, tactical video clips. However,
Guardiola’s pre-match chat was so intense, so precise, that there was no need for anything

else. It began with the coach highlighting images from previous matches – focusing on
moves and isolated incidents involving Manchester United – alongside reminders to his own
team on how to defend and how to attack, but was cleverly transformed into a passionate,
inspirational speech from Pep that lifted the team and gave them the confidence to believe
in themselves. Villa revealed the following day that it was a pity there was no video

recording of Pep’s performance in the dressing room that day, because it would make a
very useful educational tool for any aspiring young coaches in how to give the perfect team
talk.

No video doing the rounds on the internet, but, by listening to the footballers who were in
the dressing room that evening, we are able to get an insight into what Pep told them
before kick-off at Wembley.
Pep came into the room with his jacket off, rolled up his sleeves and began talking,
pointing every now and again at an image on the screen. He looked into his players’ eyes,

speaking with intent in fast, clear Spanish. Pacing around, gesturing furiously,
spontaneously, he would occasionally move up close and address one of his pupils directly,
to drive home his point.

‘I know we are going to be Champions, I have no doubt about it at all. Lads, I told you
that you would take me to the final and that if you did that, I was going to make you win. If
we do things how we are supposed to, then we will be the superior team.
‘Manchester United also like to keep the ball, want to take away our protagonism on the
pitch. You know we are not used to not having much of the ball, so we must keep it. And if

we take it off them, used as they are to having possession against other teams, they will be
uncomfortable and struggle to defend.
‘Now, Eric [Abidal], have a look at this: Antonio Valencia always runs down the wing so

you should play further up so Valencia feels less comfortable. Alvés, listen to me: Park
prefers diagonal movements instead of vertical ones, so use the outer zones. United have
recently started taking short corners, so remember what we have been doing specifically
for this in training. It will be much better if United didn’t take a single corner today. And
remember our own set piece that we have been practising all this week, we’ve not used it in

a match for at least three games to keep it secret from United, so that means you can