Guardiola on De Bruyne farewell and Bournemouth win
20/05/2025
etihad stadium, Manchester, UK
20/05/2025
etihad stadium, Manchester, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi, Pet. Remember you're getting quite emotional when Sergio Guerrero said goodbye.
00:06Was it similar tonight, struggling to keep your emotions in check when Kevin said what he said?
00:11Well, the important is the emotion for him, his family, and our fans.
00:15So I think the vibe that we got and everybody saw how much they are connected,
00:23the people from Man City with him, his family, and how much love.
00:27The title is nice, you know, everything we achieve.
00:30But when you live in a place like you have been a decade with this incredible match of love and respect and gratitude,
00:36there is nothing else better than that.
00:40So I'm part of that. Of course, the club will take the decision. I'm part of that.
00:45And it's a sad day, so we'll be missed. So there's no doubt about that.
00:51And on the other side, I think it was a lovely day for him to make again a contribution to achieve that victory
01:01that is massively important. Still, we need a last step, but, you know, it has been really, really nice.
01:08So we felt how nice has been everything.
01:11He just couldn't cap it off with a goal. Do you think it was in when he struck it onto the crossbar?
01:19Sorry?
01:19Do you think it was in when he hit the ball onto the crossbar there?
01:24It was in the goal.
01:25Do you think it had gone in when he had his chance when he hit the crossbar?
01:28I thought it would score, yeah.
01:31I remember, I said in the flash interview, I remember the first season here when we played against Chelsea,
01:36for Antonio Conte, and after one, we were 1-0 up. It was quite similar, across the right to left,
01:42here from left to right, and was alone there, and was up, crossbar, and after they came back.
01:48And in that moment, I said, oh, what a year, you know, all the bad news that we had.
01:55But at the end, the team was stable, make a fantastic second goal, the third,
01:59and, again, can we help us to achieve it?
02:03James?
02:04Pep, a lot of people think Kevin is probably the greatest player City you've ever had.
02:10You need to replace him. Is that player already at this club?
02:14Is that player?
02:15The player who can, the next Kevin De Bruyne, is he already at the club?
02:18No.
02:20No, why would we have Kevin? Like with Serki, for example.
02:23There are players that are unique. Serki may score the most important goal in this history,
02:27and it was so nice to see the Bini and Leroy and Raheem and, you know,
02:33and the disaster outfit from Riyad and many, many, many older players, Pablo and Joe Hart,
02:43and everyone was there. It was so, so nice, and that was nice.
02:48So in 10 years, there's a lot of games, a lot of titles, a lot of moments,
02:51and I think today summarized a little bit. I saw how much love was there,
02:56and that is so nice, really, really nice.
02:59So is he irreplaceable, do you think?
03:02There are players that are replaceable. Of course, it's so difficult to do.
03:04It's not about how much I provide in those assets or those incredible steals.
03:08It's the connection that the way you play and the year-by-year, you know,
03:14provide for this club, for the people love, you know, because at the end,
03:19I'm pretty sure Kevin, when I arrived here, was not Man City fan, right?
03:22So I'm pretty sure, I don't know who it seems he supports,
03:25but I'm pretty sure now it's Man City fan. It will be forever,
03:29and that is because there are connections between them and between all the people and him.
03:33Hi, Pep. There were a few players not even on the bench tonight,
03:38like Kusinov, Savino, McAtee, Lewis.
03:42I know you said in the past that you find that hard when the players can't get in the squad.
03:47A lot of people are talking about the transfers that might come in this summer,
03:50but do you actually need a smaller squad now?
03:53No, no, I don't want that. I said to the club, I don't want that.
03:56You want smaller?
03:57No, no, I don't want to give five, six players in the Tribune.
03:59I don't want that. I will quit.
04:01You don't want to make a shorter squad, I will not stay.
04:06It's impossible for my soul to give the players in the Tribune where they cannot play.
04:12Now it happened because we are at four players, players, and immediately,
04:16it was maybe three or four months, we could not select 11 players.
04:19We don't have defenders. It was so difficult.
04:21And after, okay, let people come back.
04:23My next season cannot be like that.
04:24I cannot, as a manager, I cannot be training 24 players,
04:30and every time they're selecting, I have to be four, five, six players,
04:33stay in Manchester at home because it cannot be able to play.
04:36This is not going to happen. This is not going to happen.
04:38I said to the club, so I don't want that.
04:41Sure.
04:42Hi, Pep.
04:43Does that mean that there will be sort of exits this summer?
04:46No, no, I don't know.
04:47I should stay, but it's a problem.
04:48A question of the club.
04:50So I don't want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everybody is fit.
04:54If I have injuries, I'm lucky.
04:55We have some players in the academy, we do it.
04:57But I can have to stay for the emotional, for the soul of the team.
05:01I can create another connection between each other.
05:04This season lost it a little bit with the players like they know week by week
05:10and stay at home.
05:12You're a journalist, right?
05:13Imagine you both say, no, no, you are not going to write,
05:15you're not going to write, you're not going to write an article.
05:17What do you say?
05:18I'm going to know what I'm doing here.
05:20So the players have to be here to fight between them to play
05:24and have to be a right number.
05:27There's a lot of injuries, but we have to do it.
05:30How are you selecting those players at the moment?
05:32Because obviously he left a couple out of the cup final.
05:35Yeah, I try to, for example, Echeverry, for example,
05:42is incredibly good in the smaller spaces when the players,
05:45the team defense of D, Black Southampton and Crystal Palace
05:47against Bournemouth, this more transitional team open.
05:51Echeverry still is not ready to play these type of games.
05:55Or maybe he's ready, but I didn't see him.
05:56I don't realize.
05:58So that's why.
05:59And after that, okay, the previous game was some players
06:02and maybe on Sunday will be another one.
06:06So it's a headache.
06:07So yesterday I spent more than 45 minutes with six players, six.
06:12No, why don't you?
06:12Six players were at home.
06:14So I don't like that.
06:16Did you think it was possible earlier in the season when you were going through those results
06:26that Champions League, did you think that that was in jeopardy,
06:32that you wouldn't qualify earlier in the season?
06:35And kind of how big an achievement is it if you get that final point?
06:39Well, we need to get results there.
06:44It's always a pity because the games we play in Southampton and the FA Cup final,
06:47we were not the first time in Southampton, but the way we play.
06:50Always I judge when I see a game, we are better than the opponent or not.
06:56To judge if we deserve or not deserve.
06:59Always pay attention with that.
07:00You know, even being not in our best can happen.
07:05I've been better than the opponent, yes or not.
07:07And after that is what I feel.
07:08In both games we were better.
07:10We were better.
07:11We draw one, we lost one.
07:13It's football, it's fine.
07:14Nothing happened.
07:15That is what I want.
07:17And of course it will be different if I win the lift, but now it's forgotten.
07:23After one day it's forgotten if the FA Cup and I always compare focus in Bournemouth.
07:28The destroyers in the first leg, they were miles away better than us.
07:31So I know the intensity I had to play.
07:33I think the three in the middle of Kovacic, Gundo, and especially Bernardo was outstanding.
07:38And I think Erling is getting step by step, a little bit better, a little bit better.
07:43It's not easy when you are four or five weeks with this body, you know,
07:47got that rhythm and the tempo and everything.
07:49But he helped us a lot.
07:52And yeah, except that I remember today the long time did it happen.
07:58We gave away the chances for the opponent.
08:00We gave it away for the red card and for the goal we conceded.
08:03And I remember that in four or five months it happened every single game.
08:07And now long time didn't happen.
08:09You have to correct that.
08:10And just now we recovered and think in our final in London against Fulham,
08:15like always Marco Silva created a lot of points to us.
08:17It would be so tough to take the point that we need.
08:19But of course it's really, really important.
08:23And of course being the Champions League, the season after what happened,
08:27would be nice.
08:30Thank you guys.
08:30Okay, goodnight.