Page 90 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

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THE EXTRAORDINARY 2–6 AT THE SANTIAGO BERNABÉU

‘Being a coach is fascinating. That’s why it’s so difficult for some to give it up. It’s sweet, a constant feeling of
excitement, your head is going at 100 mph all the time’ – Pep Guardiola, 2008.

Pep could only see the positives in the early days of his coaching career, embracing the moment; there
was always his inner voice reminding him that he was there for the short term. Methodical with a
passion, Pep thrived on organising, making decisions, sharing experiences, applying what he had
learnt over the years. His life centred on becoming the best manager he could be and tales of his
dedication to the job and attention to detail started to spread around Barcelona.
He had already shown that he was more than a coach who believed his job began and ended with

giving instructions to a group of players out on a pitch, and repeatedly demonstrated an empathy and
ability to understand the needs of those around him; taking responsibility for the welfare of anyone
related to the sporting side of the football club.
Before being appointed first-team coach back in May 2008, Pep was focused upon getting the
reserve team promoted to the Second B division when he took time to visit Gabi Milito. The
Argentinian centre half was a regular in Rijkaard’s first team and was recovering from an operation

on his knee. Despite the fact that Pep hardly had a moment to spare – not least because his daughter
Valentina had just been born – he surprised Milito with a visit that lasted more than three hours to
encourage and offer moral support to the player. Pep also spoke of his love for Argentinian football,
of his admiration for Menotti and Bielsa. Milito was won over by Pep’s charm and was especially
surprised when Pep told the media: ‘I’d prefer to see Gabi playing football again than win a title.’
After the final whistle in a cup match at the Nou Camp against Second B minnows Cultural
Leonesa, Guardiola bumped into a group of the modest players hovering around the door of the

Barcelona dressing room, hoping to swap shirts with their Barça counterparts. Pep greeted them all
with a warm smile and threw open the door to the first team’s sanctuary, telling the star-struck
opposition players to ‘go on in, please, and make yourself at home’. Cultural’s players couldn’t
believe it.
Now that he was a manager himself he soon discovered the solitude of the job and made efforts to
be included as a member of the coaching fraternity. Emulating one of the more courteous traditions of

the English game, Pep spent his own money on making sure that there was always a bottle of wine
ready to share with the visiting coach after a match. If a fellow manager at another club was sacked,
he would send him a message of support, even once cancelling all his own prior engagements to
organise a private meal with one individual to offer him encouragement only days after his dismissal.
He has an incredible capacity for hard work: upon returning home from Milan after a Champions
League encounter at around 4 a.m., Pep found that he couldn’t sleep, so he went to the training
complex to watch a video or two of their next rivals. He would increasingly have to turn to sleeping