Quotes About Pep

Pep had analysed Real Madrid in detail and, an hour and a half before the game, he got Messi, Xavi and Iniesta together: 'You three against Lass and Gago have got the game. If you do it right, three against two, we've beaten them.' Lass and Gago were going to find a third man to defend, Messi would position himself as a false striker in between the centre backs and those two.

With Pep's help and his own intuition, Messi started playing football with an accordion-like movement: the further the ball was away from him, the more distance he would put between himself and the ball. The closer it was to him, the closer he would move to get involved.

He was also excited about the prospects of working with Raheem Sterling. Pep had no say in his signing but Sterling was young, had lots to learn and was someone Pep thought he could convert into a winger, drawing as much out of him as he had with Douglas Costa. Pep intended to teach him to wait for the ball, so that by the time it arrived the lines of pressure would have been broken and he would have a one v one with the full back.

Pep organised his attack (creating the conditions for one v ones, or looking for superiority across the pitch) in a way that nobody else did in the Premier League, where attack was too often left to improvisation.

Ramon Besa put it wonderfully: 'He is a bit of a Quixote. In an era of fast food, Pep wants degustation football, as if it were a wine.

Superiority in midfield, as predicted by Pep, was the key to the game.

The director of football went away and started doing some digging around, gathering second opinions about Pep's qualities as an actual coach.

Football was his passion, his obsession, the thing he knew best, and Serie A was considered the league that practised the most advanced defensive tactics since Sacchi. His Milan of the eighties were regarded as having set the benchmark in terms of work rate and defensive strategy over the previous two decades – and Pep was determined to learn as much as he could from his time in Italy.

In the end, Pep won most of the doubters over with a clever ploy, a few well-chosen words and a single bold decision.

Bielsa's teams 'can play badly or well, but talent depends on the inspiration and the effort depends on each one of the players: the attitude is non-negotiable', Marcelo, 'el loco', told him, adding that his sides cannot win if he cannot transmit what he feels. Pep agreed, taking notes all the time.

During this period, Pep perfected other weapons that were going to be used during the rest of the season – and from then on. A high defensive line, quick pressure after losing possession and allocation of space for each player was the order of the day.

Little by little, the plan changed because one of the pillars of Pep's methods is based on the evolution of the process. Guardiola has never believed in absolute truths, which gives him flexibility when it comes to interpreting life.

Pep had realised that one of the few weaknesses of the Atlético defence was with second balls. They defended so deep that if his players attacked as a unit and were already around the box they could attack those rebounds.

On the way to the tiny Los Pajaritos stadium (capacity just 9,025), Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' blared from the speakers on the team bus. That song, a favourite of Pep's, would become the soundtrack to the rest of the season – the anthem for Guardiola's era, even. When that song played, the players knew the moment had arrived. It was a warning. The call to action.

There was certainly an improvement and any dissent or unrest was external – in the media and on radio phone-ins – rather than inside the dressing room. Some reactionary pundits even called for Pep's head.

I am grateful to be here, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity Manchester City gave me.

I told my doctor I get very tired when I go on a diet, so he gave me pep pills. Know what happened? I ate faster.