Page 93 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

make decisions?’ The Dutchman considers Catalonia a nation that is often lacking in initiative.
Initiative would be key, in Cruyff’s eyes, because in his experience he had seen that every team in the
world had its own Messi (that is, a star player, although clearly not at his level); but not all coaches
knew how to get the best out of him.

Guardiola pretty much answered Cruyff’s concerns on his first day in the job, at his inaugural press
conference, when he announced that Messi would be liberated from the shadow of Ronaldinho. But
this had other implications, effectively ensuring that Messi wasn’t going to be the focal point through
his actions but by default, because Pep would get rid of anyone who could overshadow him. Although
he had to keep Eto’o for a season longer than he initially anticipated, Ronaldinho and Deco were
moved swiftly out of the club and out of Messi’s way. Of the stars who remained, Henry was made to
play on the wing when the Frenchman wanted to play as a number nine. There was only one ball and

that belonged to Messi.
Guardiola knew that it would become impossible for anybody to try and compete with his star; he
had never, ever, seen anyone like him. From very early on in his tenure, Guardiola recognised that,
while it was true his Barcelona team represented an array of talented individuals who were
combining to form an outstanding football team, Lionel Messi was going to take that group to another
level. In subjugating every ego under one individual, by making just one player the focal point for a

team that otherwise defined itself as a true collective, Pep was asking others to consent to something
that could only be accepted by those who had lived and grown up alongside Messi and who knew,
better than anyone else, that this was not simply the whim of some star-struck coach. It was a decision
based upon the knowledge that the star of this team would be someone truly, truly special.
So Pep took another step that delighted Messi. While he would be given the opportunity to lead the
way through his football, the burden of leadership in other areas would not fall on his shoulders. At
just twenty-one, the weight of responsibility would be too much. Instead, the captaincy would be

shared among the core of home-grown players. Not only would Pep give the youth team footballers
the chance to progress to the first team, but he would also give them the chance to become captains,
role models and representatives of FC Barcelona. It was a responsibility shared by Puyol, sometimes
Xavi, Valdés or even Iniesta. They would captain the ship: Messi would be the wind in their sails.
It was in stark contrast to Messi’s position with the national team of Argentina: there he was not
only expected to lead the way and make decisions on the field, but also to captain the side. The

armband imposed a burden on Messi, who just wanted to get on with playing his football, not to have
to argue with the referee in defence of his team-mates, nor to be anybody’s role model, nor give
inspirational speeches.
In the same way that the coach, after some reflection, started understanding what made Messi tick,
so Pep was convinced that he would understand everything that he would ask of him, and, if not, he
would charm him into understanding. However, Pep also knew that he needed something that would
win the player over completely. And he found it, even though the new coach had to convince the club

that it was the right thing to do.
During Pep’s first few training sessions with the team in Scotland, Pep and Messi had two public
confrontations.
In the first, Messi reacted angrily to a Rafa Márquez tackle. The players squared up to each other
and Pep rushed over to them and reprimanded them. Messi wanted to avoid him but the coach took
him to one side. The Argentinian stared at the ground and backed away from Pep.

A similar scene was repeated two days later. Guardiola approached Messi to ask him to explain
his cold attitude during training. He told Messi that, if he had a problem, he should tell him to his face