Page 178 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

things were not going well, they would look for Messi.
But against Chelsea and Madrid, when the Argentinian had the ball, the two centre backs and two
defensive midfielders were on top of him and it became apparent that there was a way to stop him.
He has talent to overcome that and more, but not every time. In those games, why didn’t he try to

surprise opponents by appearing in wide positions, leaving the four central defensive players marking
shadows? There weren’t enough players overlapping down the flanks and Cuenca and Tello rarely
got one on one with the full backs in those key games – and when they did, they more often than not
failed to beat them. Pep’s gamble on youth over experience, his experiment, had failed.
Separated by just four days, those two games at the Camp Nou against Madrid and then Chelsea,
seemed to confirm that the fragile, perfect balance seemed slightly but inexorably broken.

‘President, let’s meet tomorrow,’ Pep told Sandro Rosell the night of the KO by Chelsea in the
Champions League; the next morning, the recent history of the club changed for ever.
Two days later, after announcing his departure to the players, Guardiola observed the light training

session at Sant Joan Despí from a discreet distance, before jumping into his car to travel the ten
minutes or so that separates the club’s training complex from the Camp Nou.
The ensuing press conference, to announce to the world his imminent departure, was crammed to
the rafters with local and international media; while down near the front row sat Puyol, Piqué, Cesc,
Xavi, Busquets, Valdés and a few players. Messi was not to be seen – he didn’t want the cameras to
capture his emotions. Sky Sports broadcast it live. Even in the UK, where some polls put Barcelona

as the fifth largest football team in terms of followers, the rumours about his future were having a
huge media impact. Sky Sports announced exclusively that Pep was about to say goodbye to all of us.
The set-up of the press conference and positioning of the lead characters was a smart piece of
staging. The coach was sitting to the right of the president; to his left, director of football Andoni
Zubizarreta. It was an attempt by the club to show that they had taken Pep’s decision well, they were
showing the calm, institutional face of a club that hadn’t always dealt well with change.
Barcelona’s president solemnly announced that Guardiola would not continue as manager of the

club. He hugged the coach. It was an embrace that seemed a little forced; perhaps it caught Pep by
surprise.
Guardiola went on to ask people to understand his decision and explained his reasons in much the
same way that he had done to his players.
‘I’m deeply sorry about the uncertainty that I’ve created. I have always thought that things are best

done in the short term. Four years is an eternity and I didn’t want to be tied to a contract that wouldn’t
allow me to make my own decisions. In October or November I told the president that the end was in
sight for me, but I couldn’t make my decision public because it would have been too complicated.
The reason is very simple. It has been four years and that time can wear you out and take its toll. I’m
drained. The reason is that I have to get my passion back. I wouldn’t continue as a Barcelona coach
should.’
He had no more to give and needed to recharge. Or, put differently: he could give a lot to the club
if he stayed, but not everything it needed.

‘I’m grateful for your patience, I know I have been a pain, here every three days with you all,’ he
said to the press. Now he would abandon the dugout for a time, although he pointed out that ‘sooner
or later’ he would coach again. At the same time he tried to stop any potential rumours spreading.
‘Leo is here’ was the only forthcoming explanation from Guardiola about Messi’s absence, a