Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola feels his achievements at Barcelona and Bayern Munich speak for themselves, but he has acknowledged he has also been fortunate to have worked with some “astounding” players.
Pep Guardiola
The Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the game following his successes at Camp Nou and the Allianz Arena, having won 14 major trophies with Barcelona before adding seven more titles to his trophy cabinet at Bayern.
Nevertheless, he realises things could have been different had he not been able to work with some of the best players in the world.
“I had a lot of success, but that is because I worked very hard in my job and I am very good at my job,” Guardiola told US broadcaster NBC.
“But I was also very lucky to train astounding players at my clubs. I do not know if I am exceptional.
“I think I am good because I have spent seven years plus at good teams. I won titles at amazing clubs with long histories. You cannot imagine how good those players were.”
Guardiola has struggled for consistency early in his City tenure and he feels people perhaps expected too much from him, although he believes things will improve over time.
“If people think: ‘Pep is here; City will win.’ No. That is not something you can switch on or off,” he stressed.
“You need many, many other things to change and we are in the process of doing that. It is crazy to think I will transform everything.
“I came to learn. That is why I move on. I came to learn. If I did not feel like that I would still be in Barcelona. I decided to prove myself and for my family, to move on from our comfort zone. That is why I chose Manchester, to prove myself and have a new challenge.
“When I came here people expected a lot of things from me and my staff because we won a lot of prizes in the past. But the best football I played at Barcelona was the last year, much better than when we won the treble or when we won six trophies in a row. My last year at Munich was much, much better than my first. So here, the last day I will be manager, I will be better than now.”
