Pep Guardiola: The new 'Special One' of the Premier League
At his opening press conference back in early July, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke with a threatening smile.
“Maybe we’re not going to win every day, but we’re going to try,” he said. “And when it doesn’t happen, something is going to happen.”
“So, I think that is the most important thing to change in our players,” Guardiola added to ensure that his players understood the threat was directed at them.
The players have not yet experienced the meaning behind “something,” of course, because Manchester City has yet to lose. City won both Champions League playoff matches against Steaua Bucharest, its group stage match against Borussia Monchengladbach and all five of its opening Premier League matches – including a 2-1 away victory at Old Trafford.
When asked about Manchester City’s chances of winning the quadruple – i.e. titles for the Champions League, Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup – Guardiola responded, “What the [expletive]?”
It’s not a question that should be asked of a manager so early in the season, but it is being asked around England. Because Guardiola seemingly asks his players to win every second of every game, and his intensity is impossible to deny. Man City will lose at some point, probably, but Guardiola has essentially taken the same parts and rearranged them to play better football than the Premier League has seen in a long time, possibly ever.
The cloak of invincibility that once defined Jose Mourinho is now seemingly stronger than ever and draped over Guardiola, who forces one to stare long and hard at the fixture list to pick out a game that Manchester City will lose. Away to Spurs on Oct. 2? Against Everton at home on Oct. 15?
Manchester City’s first defeat doesn’t look like it’s coming until Oct. 19 when it travels to Barcelona for Champions League Matchday 3. So, discussing the quadruple is not entirely without cause, though it is premature.
“My happiness is [sic] not depends on [if we] win all the titles or not,” Guardiola responded after dropping the F-bomb and stammering a line about Manchester City only making the Champions League semifinals for the first time a season ago. “My target now is be happy today, drink a little bit wine, and tomorrow, prepare [for] the game.”
Guardiola added, “After that, we are going to see.”
The mentality of making the next tackle, pass, shot and match the only focal point is exactly why Manchester City has looked like the most consistent side in the Premier League and, frankly, all of Europe.
With every victory, the Spaniard is seemingly also growing comfortable in England. Along with the profanity at his most recent press conference, the Spaniard got in a dig at rival Mourinho and Manchester United with his postmatch comments over the weekend.
“Until now, Bournemouth was the best team,” Guardiola said after Manchester City beat Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday. He explained that Bournemouth played progressive football to create problems with passing, whereas the previous opponents largely resorted to long balls. Still, commenting that a team that Man City thrashed 4-0 was better than a Manchester United side that played out a gripping, narrow 2-1 result had to be seen as a gentle, taunting pat on Mourinho’s face.
After all, Mourinho is under immense pressure at the moment. The Portuguese must win the Premier League or he potentially faces the biggest failure of his career.
With a defeat against Watford on Sunday, that confident aura of the “Special One” is fading fast. United assembled a squad that features the most expensive transfer in history, Paul Pogba, along with a couple of rather expensive signings in Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Oh, and Mourinho also brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who may not be a spring chicken but he’s still a goal-scoring legend. Ibra turns 35 at the start of October, so the Swede likely didn’t cross the English Channel to win next season.
With full fan and club support to go along with every player he wanted, Mourinho must win the Premier League this season. The problem, of course, is Guardiola.
Manchester City is six points clear of its city rival after five rounds, and Guardiola is sitting in the driver’s seat. Back in July, he started his opening press conference with a friendly warning that he would look to take over English football in the same way he dominated Spanish football and, then, German football.
“Fasten your seat belts because we are going to enjoy the ride,” Guardiola had said when he took over Barcelona. Upon taking over Manchester City, he gave a similar warning: “Fasten seat belts, but on the other side of the car.”
Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass
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