Quotes About Guardiola

Jerome Boateng spoke pre-season after the World Cup in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and described how Guardiola told him in every training session exactly what he had to do in different defensive situations.

I saw Guardiola as a mystical type of person. The way he dressed – always in black – he was sometimes very quiet, constantly analysing things, thinking things over: why we won, why we lost, why he'd lost the ball. Sometimes his obsessiveness was excessive.

Guardiola has taken certain areas to another level – such as pressing the ball – and Barcelona's disciplined style of play and work ethic have become a trademark of all his teams.

Guardiola would ring him to express his doubts to him, whether they be about the use of space by his players or the behaviour of those off the ball. Rodolf Borrell, now at Liverpool FC, was a coach with one of the Barcelona youth teams at the time, and each week Guardiola went to his defensive training sessions to observe and learn.

Guardiola signed for Roma in the summer of 2002, motivated less by the opportunity to play for a bigger club than to be coached by, and to learn from, Fabio Capello, a manager he greatly admires despite their differing approach to the game. Pep was eager to experience Capello's defensive rigour and discover his secrets in terms of how to apply pressure upon an opponent.

For Guardiola, tactical concepts are taken in if the players have the right attitude and understand what they are doing.

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.

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.

The most important thing in Guardiola's theory is to play football, and this always stays the same. The basic idea is always the same, but different opponents offer different space which you can use to play in.

I've been playing football for a while, but Guardiola really made me a better player. I was 29 when I started working with him, so I wasn't very young, but if you see the steps I made thanks to him, it shows you what he is capable of doing. Guardiola didn't just put me on the flanks but in other positions as well.

What I will miss the most about Guardiola? His obsession with the game and his knowledge, which makes you a better football player.

It is obvious that it is nice for any player to know he is wanted by a team like Barcelona, with Guardiola as coach, and with players like Messi or Puyol.

Guardiola has a way of playing; he has a system, and he sticks to that.

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

Guardiola has come to City with a very unique style. And he wants to continue that philosophy. We had to work to adapt to his style.

I think that Guardiola only wants victory and perfection.

Pep Guardiola is like going to university. I spent a year with him at City, learning something new every day. On the playing field, watching videos or at any time, when he approaches you and explains things to you. He has no problem teaching someone at 34 years old, as I was, like someone who is 18. He is a great teacher.

Guardiola is exceptional.

My style of play has always been 'Guardiola style,' so I've not had too many problems. At the same time, he helps you to evolve and to change little things, because it's obviously not exactly the same style of play as at Bilbao.