Pep - "if you are the best team in England you have to defend the crown"
Pep Guardiola on Manchester City's performance and the team chats he gives to motivate his players.
18/08/2024
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
18/08/2024
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Really good. I'm the same. I'm the same impressed, surprised like you. So I didn't expect performing
00:12that level for this commitment that there is a why. What a privilege and honour to be
00:18a manager of this group of players in this club because after what we achieved and after
00:22lack of preparation with the finer teams in the bad moments and the difficulties and lack
00:27of preparation and many things, like many other clubs of course, but it's different
00:31when you start without winning and when you want a lot and I always had the tendency to
00:37relax and still I didn't have the feeling today. Good news as I said before in the flash
00:42interviews is good news for the first three points. The bad news is we have 70 games ahead
00:46of us. So that's why the best way is calm, relax, enjoy the moment of course. Have one
00:52more week and one more week to prepare Ipswich and West Ham before international break and
00:58after I'm pretty sure after that we'll have the team all ready who stay all season or
01:04who leaves and yeah, more weeks and time for our preparation.
01:10What do you make of Erling Haaland? He wasn't in the game for much of it but he still finds
01:1791 goals in 100 games. It's pretty much an unstoppable record.
01:22Yeah. I had the feeling that he feels better than the last season in this stage. After
01:29travel last season he felt mm-mm. I always felt he was tired this season. I think for
01:36Euros he was, unfortunately for Norway, he wasn't there. I think he was more at rest
01:41and yeah, he feels good and the goal is magnificent. I should review the goal he's allowed for
01:48Rico Lewis. Honestly, mm-mm. I don't know. I know it's a penalty to him. But his contribution
01:57in many things is important. He has two or three chances. I always had the feeling there
02:00is a gap to improve as a football player.
02:03How does it feel to get 91 goals in 100 games in the Premier League era as it is now?
02:09He has the numbers from Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo. He's controlled the last decade, 50 years,
02:14absolutely everything. In terms of numbers, he's that level. I don't know how he does
02:21but scoring 100 games, 91 goals, is something in the Premier League, you know that, in this
02:28country, is unbelievable.
02:30Tyrone?
02:34How important is it for the players to have that belief that you've won a game of this
02:37size without Rodri? Because obviously he became a bit of a talking point and a bit of a...
02:41Yeah, listen, Rodri is massively important for us. Massively. But last season, Kovac
02:50was the first season. Today is the second one. They have another alternative. So, yeah,
02:56it's important to win without him. Rodri is so necessary. He's really, really important.
03:02Yeah, when someone says City cannot do it without him, we break all the opinions, all
03:08the records. And we broke this one as well. But wishing him back as quick as possible.
03:14But in the meantime, it's a question of surviving this period, surviving. Last season we could
03:19not beat Chelsea a home and away. This season we did it. It's nothing, it's just three points
03:25114, you know. Now we have 111. So when you think about that, it's nothing. But of course
03:32it's better for our confidence, for our fans next weekend on Saturday against Zipwich.
03:37For all of us to say, OK, you still win exactly the path. What do you have to do to be competitive
03:43as a team against the best teams in England? Of course Chelsea is.
03:49Congratulations on 2-0 today, a strong foundation for the new Premier League season.
03:54What do you need to implement this season in order to ensure quite competitive Premier League titles?
03:59No, no, the same. The same. No injures, players. Make some little details, but the same.
04:08Nothing new. And of course we spoke about that yesterday, today. So forget about it,
04:13thinking about the Premier League again. Forget about it. We did it last season. Last season
04:17we didn't speak to win. So it's just how can every game be better than the previous one,
04:23a little bit better. And when we arrive in May, April, March, April, and still you're there,
04:28and after you can be focused to try to do it again. But in these stages, focus has to be individually
04:35get better, be a better football player, as a team better, the contributions to everyone.
04:40This is the message that we have to get and we'll see.
04:46What's the message that you tell your players right before going on to the pitch?
04:53That if you are the best team in England, during 38 games you are going to defend the crown,
04:59until May or June you are the champion. And to be, you know, to not defend that in the next seasons,
05:10we have to behave like we are, a champion team. And especially in the bad moments.
05:14I want to like to see the team in the bad moments. Because today I said we are going to suffer moments,
05:19but how we do it together, how we help each other. And this is the most important thing.
05:25With the final big teams is the bad moments, how they are together. And again, in the bad moments
05:30we suffer, we were composed and we did it.
05:33Hi Pep, you mentioned this is going to be a very long season, 65, 70 games.
05:39Carlo Ancelotti the other day said he's thinking about being an individual all the way to four years.
05:44Do you think it's a solution and do you think it's too much?
05:47Maybe. I'll read, and if Carlo says it, maybe I have to pay attention and I will follow him.
05:55Yeah, maybe in some moments I'll play a lot, a lot, give it, go one week at home,
06:00or even in the training session and come back. Yeah.
06:02There's a way we did in pre-season, at least after winning what we won, a lot of games to refresh.
06:09If here it doesn't work and you are tired here, forget about it. You cannot sustain.
06:13So it has to be the desire to be here, to still enjoy, to play football, the training session, enjoy,
06:18to be in the locker room together. When this happens, after you can demand, ask everything.
06:22But without that, they are tired because it's season after season after season,
06:27games and games and games, Euros, World Cups, from one of them.
06:30At the right moment, the body, the mindset, it's enough.
06:34When you have that feeling, go home. We play with the academy, we play with other players.
06:39It doesn't matter. Otherwise, it's not positive.
06:44Some players take a while to send it to the Premier League, but it looks like you've been here five years.
06:51Yeah, right.
06:52Better than you expected?
06:54No, we expect always the best. But today, the first game is like a coin.
06:58How is the team? How does it feel? I don't know.
07:01In one month, I would tell you, OK, the team is doing well, we need that.
07:04But the first game, 80% of the pre-season in Turin, we were the academy players.
07:10So 80% of the team was not there.
07:13But the first impact has been really, really, really good.
07:17You know, Cucurella could control the first actions to Jeremy, but with him, he did it.
07:24It means a lot. It's not about how you perform.
07:26In the first game, in England, in Stamford Bridge, in performing that well,
07:31sends us a message that he's mature, that he has a good personality to become a top, top player.
07:39And that is incredible news for us. Incredible.
07:43Pep, the commentator doesn't normally get too many headlines, but he was really exceptional today.
07:50What qualities did he bring to your side when he played?
07:53Well, I guess quality. I said before also in the FAJ interview that most qualities come from mum and dad.
07:58His mum and dad gave an unbelievable human being.
08:02He's a top-class person. Top. He's an incredible beloved.
08:07And this is massively important in our group.
08:10They are a group of friends. They are so connected between each other.
08:14Families, you know, going together.
08:17And he had adjusted up really well last season.
08:22And the quality he knows, playing in Madrid, when you play in Madrid, playing in Chelsea,
08:26and after with us, Croatia national team for I don't know how many games.
08:29There has to be something special, otherwise you cannot play.
08:33It's not easy to come here. He's so attached to Chelsea Football Club.
08:37He always talks massively high about Chelsea.
08:40And come here, we perform and after, fantastic goal.
08:44And the goal is his biggest quality, when he can drive with the ball.
08:47The aggressivity he attacks, the last line is unbelievable.
08:51It's not as scary with the ball, even with pressure they have.
08:54He makes consistency.
08:58And we need him. We need him because without Rodri, or even with Rodri,
09:02we need all the squad as fit as possible.
09:05Time for one more, guys. Just Michael in the middle, please.
09:11Ninja, it's up some disturbing in the knee.
09:14He said he knows perfectly, had in the past.
09:16I know the reason why he has to solve it.
09:20And more or less, a question of lack of preparation, lack of training sessions.
09:24Apparently, it's not a big problem and we'll be ready hopefully next Saturday.
09:29Thank you, guys.
09:30Thank you. Good night.