Pep Guardiola, who manages one of the world’s top soccer teams, Manchester City, has revealed that he uses his good looks as a training method.
Guardiola’s occasional “felt” gags were on display after a rivalry match.
City took a 27th-minute lead through Elling Holland before conceding a 35th-minute equalizer through Trent Alexander-Arnold to draw 1-1 with Liverpool in the 13th round of the 2023/24 Premier League season at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Friday.
The draw between the Premier League title contenders moved City and Liverpool back up a place in the standings as they share a point apiece. Arsenal defeated Brentford in their next match. The Gunners are now on 30 points, followed by Man City with 29 points. Liverpool dropped to third place with 28 points.
On the day, Holland made Premier League history once again by scoring his 50th Premier League goal, the fastest of any player, but it was overshadowed by his team’s second-half concession.
In fact, City is an injury ward right now. With star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne unlikely to return this year due to a hamstring injury, winger Jack Grealish and utility midfielder Mateo Kovacic are also sidelined. Not long ago, the absence of key midfielder Rodriguez, who orchestrates the midfield, plunged City into a losing streak rarely seen in the Premier League.
Guardiola said after the Liverpool game that the team’s training session was shortened to 10 minutes due to the number of injuries.
According to the Daily Mail, Guardiola was asked by a reporter, “How did you get the players to learn the tactics in such a short time?” He replied, “Because I’m a really good-looking guy. I’m a handsome man, and I seduce the players. We did it,” he laughed.
He was referring to his appearance as the secret.
Of course, that’s not the real secret. “Now we have television and cameras,” Guardiola said, “and we talk privately. I spoke to Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker about what happened in the 4-4 draw with Chelsea.”
Guardiola has cut short his one-on-one tweezer coaching. “They made mistakes and we had specific conversations about them. The players understood.”
Guardiola is known for his ability to manipulate world-class players. His tactical prowess is such that world-class stars are almost subservient to his instructions.
Guardiola’s humorous comments after the Liverpool game also revealed the secret to City’s success. City hosts Tottenham, Son Heung-min’s club, on December 4 at 1:30 am.