Page 42 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

It is testimony to the mutual respect that the pair hold for each other that, when I approached Van
Gaal to request an interview asking him to reveal as much as he could about his personal relationship
with Pep, the Dutchman – operating under a self-imposed media embargo at that time – was more than
happy to chat about Guardiola, his former player and pupil.

According to Van Gaal, it quickly became apparent to him, back when Pep was a relatively
inexperienced young player, that he possessed an innate ability to lead a group of his peers and
superiors: ‘I made Guardiola captain because he could speak about football. You could see then that
he was a tactical player. He could speak like a coach, even then – not many players can do that.
Guardiola’s best position was as a number four, that is in the centre of the midfield, because from
there he can see the game and he had the personality to dominate it. He was younger than Amor and
Nadal, but he was my captain. I told him in a meeting that I had chosen him and he said, “It’s not how

it happens at FCB, the oldest player in the team is usually the captain here.” But I insisted, “No, you
are the only one I can speak to on my level, you are my captain.” He used to tell the other players like
Figo where they should be: ahead of him, out wide, where he could play the ball. Pep is a very
tactical guy and also a good human being, and because of that he could persuade his fellow players.’
As the Barcelona captain and his coach’s relationship developed, Pep grew in stature and did more
than just disseminate Van Gaal’s instructions to the other players out on the pitch, frequently

suggesting an alternative approach if he felt it was for the benefit of the group.
Van Gaal gives one such example of the way the pair would work together to try and achieve a
solution: ‘Pep was always modest. Yes, we would talk and he would suggest ideas but always in a
modest way. For instance, I will tell you what happened with Stoichkov. Hristo didn’t want to accept
my rules. Discipline is key, very important. If there is no discipline off the pitch, there is none on it. I
always had to tell the Bulgarian in front of the other players, “You don’t obey, I cannot keep you in
the team.” I even forced him to train with the reserves. But the players thought that was not such a

good idea, so Guardiola, already captain, told me I should give him a second chance. I said to him,
“OK, it’s not about me, the team is more important. But he cannot fail again.” So Hristo trained with
the first team but he failed me soon after and I had to correct him again. Pep came to me and said, “Go
ahead, we have given him a chance and he didn’t take it.” He knew how important Stoichkov was to
the side but also that there are rules, limits. That the team comes first.’
That requirement, to put the team before the individual, was something that Pep would experience

first hand when, during his second spell in charge of FC Barcelona for the 2002–3 campaign, Van
Gaal edged Pep one step closer towards the end of his playing career and inched him towards the
next phase in his journey from player to manager. ‘By the way, I put Guardiola out of the team for
Xavi,’ explains Van Gaal. ‘I think Pep understood. Players must understand that you make changes not
just because of talent but because of the future. You have to think about development and if you see a
player dropping in form and the other improving, you have to act. That’s hard for a player to
understand, maybe deep down Guardiola couldn’t. But it has turned out good for the club that

Guardiola progressed, that he eventually moved aside as a player and returned as a manager.
Everything goes full circle. The culture of the club, of any club, is essential; and it’s very important
that the institution teaches the footballers the need to preserve that. You now have key players – Xavi,
Iniesta, Puyol – who are applying to their leadership things they learnt from Pep as a player and
leader.’
Van Gaal’s legacy at FC Barcelona is perhaps one of the most misunderstood elements in the

club’s history, largely a consequence of his uneasy relationship with the local press, which constructs
and disseminates the popular memory of the club to the public, converting perception into fact for