00:00What has Pep Guardiola brought to the Premier League?
00:02He's brought a level of success and performance
00:05to where you realise that...
00:07Let's go again.
00:09Yeah.
00:10So what has Pep Guardiola brought to the Premier League?
00:13I think at times he's brought a level of football and success
00:16to where if a team isn't perfect,
00:19people think something's going wrong.
00:21You know, you look at the times where they've had 100 points,
00:22where they've had to get to the 90-plus points
00:24to win league titles while going head-to-head
00:26against a Liverpool side.
00:28You can see the standard's been raised to a point where
00:30many of us probably never thought he would reach.
00:32But he's done that in a way which has always been his vision,
00:36his style of play for the players,
00:37his understanding of football,
00:39and he's driving his eye,
00:40and you can see how much that's affected the players that he's played with.
00:43But also, so many sort of young coaches and managers now
00:46can see the game through the way that he sees it,
00:49and everyone's taking little bits away from it
00:51and adding it to their own identity.
00:53So I think his legacy goes far beyond his team
00:55because you can see his DNA is all over the Premier League.
00:57And the English Football League.
00:58I don't know anything.
01:00We talk about Alex Ferguson and his ability to transform a match at the United States.
01:09And you look at that and you create a completely different team.
01:16I think the fact that Guardiola has changed so much across the years,
01:20because some people say,
01:21oh, you know, it's Tiki Tiger football, it's this, it's that, it's boring.
01:25But when you watch it, and you watch it year in, year out, you see the subtle changes.
01:29So many different players have been important for him across all his tenure at City,
01:32whether it's an Aguero to start with.
01:34Then it turns into a false nine.
01:36Then you've got centre-backs going into midfield,
01:38full-backs going into midfield.
01:40Then you've got four centre-halves playing across the bag.
01:43You can have it however you like.
01:44And what I think is really impressive is the fact that he's read the league,
01:48seen the direction it's going into,
01:50seen the problems other teams have caused,
01:52and tried to find remedies for it.
01:53I think sometimes people perceive him to be the guy that's had one idea
01:56and never changed it.
01:57But he's a guy that's had one big philosophy,
02:00but finds lots of little changes to guarantee that his team will have
02:02a good chance of being successful.
02:04And with those players, he's elevated some players who've been good players,
02:07and very good players,
02:09to some of them being great players.
02:11And amongst some, some of the best the Premier League has ever seen.
02:14Do you think it's a...
02:16You look at players that they've got to play for Pep,
02:18do you think they realise that they can change who they are
02:23to reach levels that they didn't even imagine they could reach?
02:26I think so, yeah.
02:27And I think that's one of the best things for me about coaches in general.
02:30A good coach will find a way to make someone play their best football.
02:33A great coach will show someone why that's going to happen.
02:37And as a player, if you can understand the why,
02:40you can elevate yourself to a point that you probably never thought of before.
02:42And I think again with Guardiola, speaking with like,
02:45if Gael Calici, Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany,
02:49when Guardiola comes in,
02:50you start to think about football in a different way.
02:52And when you think about these players,
02:54they've been playing for hundreds of games before,
02:56and for years before.
02:57How can somebody make you feel like a new player again?
03:00Well, that's what Guardiola can do.
03:02And those players, they know it, they understand it, they get it,
03:04and they take it forward with them for the rest of their lives.
03:07Whether it's the case of like, Joe Hart doing punditry,
03:10or Gael Calici and Vincent Kompany in management.
03:12People see it, they get it, they understand it,
03:14and they thrive because of it.
03:17You've also had the two greatest pieces in film,
03:20with David and Bernardo.
03:23Now, Bernardo seems to be able to play anywhere.
03:26I haven't seen him in goal yet.
03:29But that adaptability,
03:31how big a miss is that,
03:32could it have been a full-man City goal?
03:35Yeah, I think it's going to be a huge miss,
03:37because with Bernardo,
03:39he's essentially somebody that
03:41hasn't missed much football at all for City.
03:43In terms of being robust, he's been available.
03:46As well as being available, he's been so good
03:47that it's impossible to drop.
03:49And this season, you saw that,
03:50the fact that he's playing as captain.
03:52This guy, he's running 12, 13 kilometers every game,
03:55but he's still available for every single game.
03:57But I think that adaptability, the versatility,
04:00I think for me, it highlights the fact
04:02that he's a genius.
04:03He's a genius working under a genius.
04:05And as a consequence, the two have been able to thrive
04:07and find a connection that have brought
04:09some of the most consequential years in the history
04:10of Premier League football.
04:12So it will be a huge mess,
04:14but now that allows space for somebody else
04:16to do it their way,
04:17whether it's going to be a Nick O'Reilly,
04:19a Phil Foden, a Shirky,
04:21someone else to come in, you just don't know.
04:23But the fact is, the way he's done it,
04:25it will never be replicated.
04:27But that's not a bad thing,
04:28because once upon a time,
04:29people didn't think that they needed it.
04:30So football's changing.
04:32And the next person to come in
04:33to get the opportunity to do it,
04:34I'm sure they'll do a good job.
04:36As a fellow defender,
04:38John Stones,
04:40it didn't matter when he made Lionel Messi,
04:43he disappeared from the game.
04:45What have John Stones meant to this club?
04:47I mean, he's a phenomenal defender.
04:49Yeah, he's a phenomenal defender.
04:51But if you look at it,
04:52I remember when he was at Everton
04:54and people got really anxious
04:55when they thought he was taking too many touches.
04:57Well, he wasn't.
04:58He was just in control at the moment.
05:00And John Stones is somebody
05:01where when he's at his best,
05:02everybody's at peace,
05:04because he can be involved
05:05in some of those defensive actions.
05:06He's a big fella.
05:07He's a strong fella.
05:07He's quick.
05:08He reads the game really well.
05:09When the ball's at his feet,
05:10you trust him wholeheartedly.
05:12There is no danger.
05:13And I think that having that level of composure
05:15but that level of grit
05:16and determination defensively as well
05:18is huge.
05:18And I think for myself,
05:20like all these players,
05:21I don't really know these players,
05:23but with John Stones and Bernardo Silva
05:25and John Stones in particular,
05:27I saw him at the cup final,
05:28the FA Cup final,
05:29and I said,
05:30I'm gutted you leaving
05:31and I would have loved to have played
05:33with a player like you.
05:34I've played with some great players,
05:35but I would have loved to have played
05:37with a player like that.
05:37Because the way that he does it,
05:39it brings you with him.
05:40His style of play leads by example.
05:42He can be vocal,
05:43but watch the way he plays
05:44and you want to do it as well.
05:46You want to follow him,
05:46you want to go to war with him,
05:47you want to get the ball from him,
05:49you want to defend with him,
05:50you want to attack with him.
05:51And that's,
05:51you know,
05:51that type of player that I get
05:52will be very, very difficult to replace.
05:55But, you know,
05:55for the way football goes,
05:56you can't stop, can you?
05:57No, exactly.
05:58So, when you look at
06:00how City are going to revolve now,
06:02because it's going to be an evolution,
06:03isn't it?
06:04It has to be.
06:05Whoever comes in...
06:06I would want to see
06:07Vincent Kompany come in,
06:08but Vincent Kompany is doing
06:09a great job at Bayern Munich,
06:10one of the biggest clubs
06:11in all of world football.
06:12So, that's probably not going to happen.
06:14I think Bayern Munich...
06:14Not this year.
06:15Pardon?
06:16Not this year.
06:17Not this year.
06:17At some point,
06:18I'd love to see Vincent Kompany back in Manchester.
06:20And in fairness,
06:22at some point,
06:23maybe he would.
06:24But right now,
06:24I'd say that Bayern Munich
06:25doing an incredible job.
06:27Like, this season,
06:28domestically for them,
06:28I think they've broken records
06:29in the Bundesliga
06:30in terms of scoring.
06:31So, clearly,
06:32he's doing something special.
06:34But in terms of
06:34whoever comes in next,
06:36I want them to be given time
06:37to sort of do it their own way.
06:38I think, obviously,
06:39as they arrive,
06:39there'll be tons of players
06:40who are very used to the Guardiola
06:41training methods,
06:42the scheduling,
06:43the way that they train,
06:44and so on.
06:45But this next person to come in,
06:46I want the players,
06:47the staff, the fans,
06:48everyone to be receptive,
06:49to do it a different way.
06:50It might take time.
06:51It might not.
06:52But the fact is,
06:53the players are good enough
06:54to be able to do whatever
06:55the coach wants,
06:56because he's seen that with Guardiola
06:57across the last few years.
06:58So, I want them to sort of
06:59stand their authority,
07:00but not feel they have to
07:01knock down the house
07:02that was built there before.
07:04Because what's been built before
07:05is actually quite a positive
07:06position to be in.
07:07Tons of great players,
07:08great infrastructure,
07:09great staff around the place,
07:10a fan base that knows
07:11and understands the team,
07:12understands what it is
07:13to be at the club
07:13beyond these last 12,
07:1513 years.
07:16Sorry.
07:16Yeah, 13 years,
07:17however long it's been.
07:18So, as a consequence,
07:19like, I just want somebody
07:21that has the same drive
07:22that's already here.
07:24Because I think if someone
07:25comes in with that level of drive,
07:26I think they can be a success.
07:27But again, if someone comes in
07:29and they want to do it
07:29completely differently
07:30and try and make a point
07:31of getting rid of the guy
07:32that was there before,
07:33I think you'll struggle
07:34and you'll probably find a lot
07:35of resentment and resistance
07:36amongst people already here.
07:37And then just finally,
07:39Manchester City's a club,
07:41we look at the success
07:41they've had
07:42the WSL,
07:43the under-18s,
07:45we look at the 20 months
07:46of development.
07:48After,
07:49there's a big drop-up
07:50when Ferguson left United,
07:53what City seems to have
07:55is support networking
07:56that whoever comes in
07:58will have the whole support
08:01and everyone who wants to develop
08:03their own style.
08:05Do you think that's the uniqueness
08:06of Manchester City
08:08and the hierarchy?
08:09Yeah, I think so.
08:10I think so.
08:10I think a lot of the people
08:11in their key positions
08:12like the decision makers,
08:14they understand the bigger
08:15sort of picture
08:16and they're not living and dying
08:17by any particular manager.
08:19Because you mentioned
08:19the women's first team
08:21winning the WSL,
08:22you mentioned the youth team
08:23winning the Youth Cup.
08:24They've been contesting
08:24the Youth Cup
08:25for I think probably three or four
08:26of the last few years.
08:28They're excellent.
08:28The academy is excellent.
08:29The academy brings in
08:30some of the best talent
08:31both from this region
08:32but around the country as well.
08:34And from a WSL standpoint,
08:35you know,
08:36they're now going to be bringing in
08:37with the new training ground
08:39space that they have themselves
08:41dedicated just to them.
08:42You know, they're continually
08:43building, continually building
08:44and this stuff goes beyond
08:45any particular manager.
08:47So I'm very, very positive.
08:48I'm very, very hopeful
08:49because this job itself,
08:50the manager's not being sacked
08:51for incompetence.
08:53You know, the manager
08:54is stepping aside
08:55and leaving one of the best
08:56projects and best setups
08:57in all of world football.
08:59And as a consequence,
09:00I say, whoever comes in,
09:03they're going to have some great ingredients
09:04to try and potentially make
09:05what they want to call
09:06their own masterpiece.
09:06Please.
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