It was coming up to an hour after the final whistle when Manchester City were ready, finally, to collect the trophy. The pitch had been cleared of fans. Wonderwall had been sung. And then it was just the business of picking up the silverware and pretending — wink, wink — those “Champions 2024” shirts hadn’t been printed in advance.
Nobody wants to be seen as overly presumptuous in a title showdown. But equally, nobody at City was offended by the video that came out over the weekend showing Arsenal’s staff rehearsing their own trophy presentation — just in case — in the Emirates Stadium last week.
Every club in this position does the same. The difference, perhaps, is that City took better care of keeping it a secret. And, by this stage of Project Pep, it is all second nature anyway: the fireworks, the ticker tape, the euphoria. Same again next year? Oh, you really wouldn’t bet against it.
Whether Guardiola intends to remain in Manchester beyond that remains to be seen. He will be out of contract in 2025 when he will have had nine years in the job. And he could be excused for sounding tired, even a little emotional at times.
“The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying,” he said. “We have talked with the club. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But (more than) eight or nine years? We will see.”
For context, Guardiola had four years at Barcelona before feeling so worn down that he decided to leave. He does not have to contend with the same sort of media or politics at City, but there are other issues he will have to wrestle with. How, for example, does a man who has won everything still motivate himself?
Guardiola and City won the title for a fourth season in a row on Sunday (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
“I had that last season after Istanbul (winning the Champions League final),” he said. “I said, ‘It’s over, there’s nothing left’. But I have a contract, I’m still here. Some moments, I was a bit tired. But some moments, I loved. We were winning games and looking good with new players. So I started to think, ‘No one has done four in a row, why don’t we try?’. And now it’s been done. So what next?”
Five in a row, perhaps? The man sitting here, with a glass of Champagne in front of him, had just reinforced his reputation as an elite trophy-getter. For City, it is six league titles in the last seven years. Add in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it is 12 in 15 years.
But it also takes immense energy and application and we are at the stage of the season where a man with Guardiola’s pressures and stresses is entitled to ask himself how much longer he can put himself through it.
“Before, it was Liverpool who pushed us to our limits,” he continued. “The last two seasons, it has been Arsenal. This one has been incredible. We got the message from Mikel (Arteta) and his players that they will be there for many years. They have sent us a message, ‘You have to be careful’. We have to make the right decisions because they are here to stay.”
More on Pep Guardiola
Guardiola’s own decision could conceivably be the biggest of the lot if there is, presumably, the offer of a new contract at some stage.
This is not the first time he has floated the idea that he might have run out of puff. And in the past, he has always come back for more.
It must be slightly unnerving for City, all the same, when the man in question has such a hold over the players and the club as a whole.
“It’s a bit demanding at times,” said Erling Haaland when asked what it was like to be part of Guardiola’s dressing room. “It’s tough, but just look at what he’s done. He demands a lot every single day. If you don’t live up to what he expects, you have a big problem. He’s demanding, he’s a lovely guy and I love him to pieces.”
It was strange, perhaps, that the question that really set Guardiola off referred to Jurgen Klopp, the end of their rivalry and the fact Liverpool’s now-departed manager had reserved some kind words for him as part of his long goodbye.
“I will miss him a lot,” said Guardiola, his voice cracking. “Jurgen has been a really important part of my life. He brought me to another level as a manager. We respect each other incredibly. I have the feeling he will be back and thank you so much for his words.”
Unfortunately for Guardiola, Klopp had also pointed out that City’s opponents next season will include lawyers as well as rival players. And so, there will also come a time when The Awkward Question has to be asked again of City’s manager.
Guardiola said he would miss Klopp (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
The Awkward Question relates to the 115 alleged breaches of spending rules, the expectation that everything will be decided next season and… well, what happens if the case is proven and big punishments have to be dished out?
It is a sensitive subject, plainly, for a man who has always believed that City will be proven innocent. Guardiola must be acutely aware that the verdict will, ultimately, affect his own legacy and how his achievements are remembered. Yet there is also a sense of determination at City, who deny the charges, that their trophies cannot be tainted while nothing has been proven against them.
“If someone had said I would win six leagues in seven seasons, I would have said, ‘You’re insane… all these players for Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea? All those teams?’. I would say, ‘Are you crazy? It’s impossible’,” said Guardiola.
“We have done something unbelievable. In terms of numbers, nobody has been better than us – the records, the goals, the points and now four in a row.”
His team did have to endure a few anxious moments in their final assignment, especially when Mohammed Kudus flashed in an overhead kick for West Ham late in the first half. They were only brief scares, though. Even at 2-1, there was never really any sense that City might blow it.
Another team might have found the weight of expectation pinning them down. City just kept passing, moving the ball, pushing their opponents back. Rodri’s goal soothed any lingering concerns and Phil Foden, scorer of City’s first two goals, reminded us again why he has scooped up the player of the year trophies.
And so, City’s fans turned the volume back up again. They went through their songbook. They cackled with delight when Kevin De Bruyne did a nutmeg on James Ward-Prowse. “Are you watching Arsenal?” became the song of choice. They serenaded their manager. And, of course, they took the opportunity to poke some fun at Manchester United’s expense.
Yes, it is Arsenal who have been looming in City’s wing mirrors. And, yes, they will be glad here to see off Klopp after some of those almighty tussles with Liverpool. Yet, if you understand the local hostilities, you will realise what made this fourth successive title extra special. It was about doing something that Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams had never done.
Guardiola embracing Foden (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Foden, who understands the rivalry better than most, talked about “creating history” and “putting ourselves right up there”, meaning with the greatest teams there have ever been. Still 23, Foden had just become a six-time Premier League champion. “I’m absolutely shattered, to be honest,” he said.
Guardiola also gave the impression that he could benefit from a rest, blowing out his cheeks and shaking his head as if still trying to take it all in. He is 53, three years younger than Klopp.
But then he sat upright in his seat, looked out to his audience and reminded the journalists in his company — with his family sitting at the back of the room — that there was still the small matter of an FA Cup final against United next weekend.
Gary Lineker, host of BBC’s Match of the Day, had let him know City could become the first team in history to win back-to-back Premier Leagues and FA Cups. And this, perhaps, was the moment that summed up Guardiola — tired, admitting he feels “exhausted”, happy, contemplating how much longer he can go on — more than anything.
“Right now, I don’t know what exactly the motivation is to do it,” he said. “It’s difficult to find it (motivation) when everything is done. But knowing the players and knowing myself, I know that when we are there we will say, ‘Why should we not win today? Why should we not work as much as possible to do what we have to do?’. And I know we are going to do it.”
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Read the full article here