Although it has been more than a decade since Pep Guardiola left FC Barcelona, his time on the Blaugrana bench remains one of the most cherished memories for Cules.
The now Manchester City manager created one of the most dominant teams in the history of football during his time at Barcelona, which was feared throughout Europe for its very distinct style of play.
In his four seasons at the Catalan club, Guardiola won two UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, three Spanish Super Cups, two European Super Cups, and two Club World Cups.
Despite having joined other big European clubs after leaving Barcelona, the Spaniard has never hidden his love for the Blaugrana side. As SPORT has reported, he once again talked about Barcelona as he appeared in an interview in Italy.
One of the subjects that he talked about in this interview was the influence that Johan Cruyff had on him, not only as a player but as a person:
“I can’t imagine how my life and career would have been without Cruyff. He taught me so much tactically, but above all, he shaped me as a person. He was a genius, unique. He made me fall in love with football.”
Guardiola also went on to highlight the greatness of Lionel Messi:
“You have to know him. For me, it’s easy to say he’s the greatest player of all time, but the stars aligned at that moment. The strongest? Maybe it’s disrespectful to Pelé and Maradona, but for me, yes.”
“I had never seen anyone like him in training. You can’t imagine someone maintaining this level of consistency for 15-20 years. When you see him up close, you think of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan: we were lucky to be their contemporaries. These figures are like Sorrentino’s La Grande Bellezza: it’s a great title for that team.”
Lastly, he identified Barcelona as the team that he would want to avoid facing, not for sporting reasons but for emotional ones:
“Good question. Barcelona, maybe. The love I have for them would destroy me. I was born in a small nearby village, and facing them is never easy.”
There is no doubt that despite some of the tension between the club and Pep Guardiola in recent years, he still loves Barcelona. The Blaugrana fans also reciprocate his affection, and have long been hopeful that he will one day return to coach their team to once again get it back to its position of glory in Europe.
