Pep Guardiola reacts on the sidelines during the win over Galatasaray
Pep Guardiola can do a mean impression of Basil Fawlty. He doesn’t go as far as attacking his own car with a tree branch. But the Spaniard can be a constant whirlwind of arms and legs, that is almost worth the admission fee alone.
When Guardiola arrived as Manchester City manager in 2016, he offered a fascinating glimpse into his personality. In one of his first press conferences, he sat at the top table, took one look at the phones and recording devices on the desk in front of him, and re-arranged them into a perfect line.
Guardiola is the perfectionist’s perfectionist. A man obsessed with detail.
And when his team head into battle on the pitch, Guardiola rants and raves at the side of it, as he indulges in a fight of his own. A scrap with his feelings and emotions.
Like he did this week as City took on Galatasaray needing a win – and some help from elsewhere, to book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
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Dressed in his customary all-black, Guardiola started with his hands in his pockets. But like a volcano starting to erupt, these were soon on as his head as Erling Haaland blew a golden chance to score an early goal.
When Haaland did score minutes later, he walked back to his bench to consult with his coaching team. Back and forth. Back and forth. Like the Duracell bunny.
Never afraid to summon one of his stars to the sidelines for a roasting, Guardiola almost crossed the line to dish out a telling off to Omar Marmoush. Like one of those air traffic controllers who guides in planes on the tarmac, but with much more enthusiasm.
He slaps his hands on his thighs. He tapped Jeremy Doku on the backside after he had tracked back to relieve some pressure on his defence. When Cherki doubled City’s lead, he made goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma run 50 yards to get some fresh instructions. Before hammering Cherki moments later for taking too many touches. From hero to zero in a matter of minutes.
It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Up and down like a share price.
He consoled Doku with a loving arm as he limped off injured. And even when three pitch invaders gave stewards the run around, Guardiola continued to hatch his plot on the bench. Nothing could take his focus from what mattered most.
Guardiola will have headed back to his Manchester apartment in need of a lie down. And he wasn’t the only one.
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