Guardiola on Rodri injury latest and schedule
24/09/2024
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
24/09/2024
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Are you going to see us tomorrow or not?
00:13Is there a game tomorrow?
00:14No game.
00:15No?
00:16I'll give you a day off, guys.
00:17Nice to see you.
00:18Same process as ever, guys.
00:19You can raise your hand, we'll come to as many of you as we can.
00:20Simon.
00:21Pep, congratulations.
00:22On the win, before we start, can I just ask you what the situation is with Rodri?
00:35I know you spoke before the game, but when do you expect to find out what the situation
00:39is?
00:40Still, we don't have the definitive.
00:45We'll be out for a long time, a while, but there are some opinions that maybe it will
00:53be less than we expect, but unfortunately he was injured and right now still I cannot
00:59tell you because we are waiting the last phone calls from him and the doctors to know exactly
01:04what definitely he has and the type of surgery that he has to get.
01:12When do you expect to find out?
01:14Let's play tomorrow.
01:17I think tonight, tomorrow we'll know exactly.
01:19I think the club will inform perfectly.
01:23Just in terms of tonight, Nunes has not had the easiest time since he arrived from Wales.
01:29Do you always believe that he can be the player you want him to be?
01:33We have a special quality that few players have.
01:36He's unique.
01:38His pace and the transitions are unbelievable.
01:43I'm really pleased for him, for the goal, who will score more, and I still have something
01:46I have to read to understand because it's not easy sometimes when the new players adapt
01:50a few things.
01:51I'm really pleased for him because he's a lovely guy and lovely guys deserve always
01:58good things.
01:59I know you made a joke then about the number of games you got to play, but what has it
02:04taken out of the players physically to play twice in three days, and particularly Kyle
02:07Walker, who's obviously started on Sunday and played 90 minutes tonight?
02:11Well, Kyle didn't play last game so much, he played last game 70, 75 minutes, and to
02:19play the central defender you have to make less effort.
02:22You know, it's more position intelligence, he's really good because he has a good long
02:28pass and he's paced from behind.
02:32I spoke with him the last 15-20 minutes, how did he feel, and he said, no, I feel good,
02:36so I played 90 minutes and really good.
02:39We planned to make 45 minutes generally, 45, Savio, and the rest of the players didn't
02:44play against Arsenal, so it's good for the rhythm, for everything, for the message to
02:48me.
02:49Yeah, we play, we concede one shoot, and lately it happened that we create a lot to finish
02:57the game with 3-4, 5-0, second half especially, clear chances, and after, yeah, the last
03:03minute we went through everything that happened, but finally we could close the game and go
03:07to the next round.
03:08Hi Pep, this is a competition you've obviously won four times and always taken very seriously,
03:15with the way the fixtures have been done this year, with the European games being up against
03:19it last week or tomorrow, is that damaging the competition as a whole?
03:25I would say the next round is going to play the players, I announce you now, they play
03:29the last minutes or the second team, we are not going to waste energy for this competition
03:34for sure.
03:35I don't know what's going to happen, if I have a lot of injuries I'm going to play the
03:39second team, and you have players, you have all the squads ready, it's a good competition
03:45to take the rhythm, that's for sure.
03:50Just as Richard said, given your history in the competition though, does that frustrate
03:54you that you're now in a position where you're saying we're not going to waste energy on
03:57it?
03:58The schedule is the schedule, we cannot handle it anyway, so differently.
04:05Today for Makati, for Mateus, from Jagged he didn't play, and from Phil, it's just three
04:11months he didn't play, from of course Nico, from Rico of course played a lot of minutes
04:16but he didn't play against Arsenal, and from John for example, Kyle, for the young like
04:2160 years old, from Stefan, it's perfect.
04:26I saw players that didn't play lately, how they feel, how they are in physical condition,
04:30how the rhythm and the pace and everything, so that's why it's good this competition,
04:35otherwise we're going to win four in a row, if we take it seriously.
04:39We lost last season against Chelsea in Newcastle away in the first round, and we played really
04:43really really good with a lot of young, Jacob played fantastic 25-30 minutes, so it's good
04:50and we play, we play, we play, everybody saw it, we play to win the game, to go through,
04:56we never never throw up, you know, get rid of a competition again, never ever.
05:02But of course, we play 50 hours a go, so we cannot, players play a lot of minutes, so
05:10absolutely I'm not going to take a risk in this competition for a Premier League or a
05:15Champions League.
05:16Can I just ask what yesterday looked like, what is the preparation for today?
05:21The preparation was the guys didn't play in Arsenal, train a little bit, a little bit,
05:25the position they're going to play, and recovery yesterday, today all the players before, earlier
05:31than usual to make another recovery for players, Waters and the other one, and that, try to
05:40so watch as much as possible, watch for my people, myself today, what they do and prepare
05:46the game like usual and compete like they had.
05:49Hi Pep, just on Rodri again, have you spoken to him and how is he, is he devastated?
05:56No, it's OK, he's strong, sad of course, and waiting the final decision, but he has to
06:01do.
06:02And how sort of confident are you, you can still have a good season without him, you
06:05know, for as long as he is out?
06:09Don't want it, but we will have a good season, I trust a lot of my players.
06:15I have the duty to find a solution, Rod is irreplaceable, when a team don't play with
06:20the best midfielder of the world for a long, long time, of course it is a big blow for
06:27us, but it's football, it's happened, but my duty is to find a solution, to be competitive
06:33like we have been for many years and continue to be there, to be a problem for our opponents.
06:40Could Kevin De Bruyne be back, you said no risks tonight, could he be back for the weekend?
06:45I don't know, yesterday I didn't train him, today I didn't see him, so I don't know.
06:52Is Rodri, you said he's the best player in the world, is he irreplaceable really?
06:59Yeah, I will find a solution, we have alternatives, we will do it, when one player is irreplaceable
07:07we have to do it as a team, and this is going to happen.
07:12We have last season, three months without rolling, five months against Kevin, and we
07:18were there, we won the Premier League, despite of many things.
07:21I know Mikel Arteta is a friend of yours, but did you feel, did Rodri feel, did the
07:30players feel that maybe he was targeted by Arsenal?
07:33I'm talking about specifically, basically at the start of the game I think it was Havertz
07:37who ran straight into him, did you think that was what was going on there?
07:41No.
07:44Not at all?
07:45No.
07:46And Rodri didn't think that?
07:47No.
07:48I didn't speak with him, hopefully not, he thinks the same of me.
07:51OK, thank you.
07:52You're very welcome.
07:55You said you're going to have to find a solution for Rodri, I know obviously you wouldn't want
07:58him out, but is there any part of you that finds that challenge exciting, that you're
08:02going to have to try and find a solution now without him?
08:05I realised for many, many, many times that the opponents, after winning 4-5, 0-0, 6-7,
08:11they are going to install the red carpet in every single game to make it incredible with
08:17our best dresses.
08:23Perform like you want, so never, never thought that, so this is a challenge, we need that.
08:29So, and different ones, so when the people say what do you have to do, what do you have
08:35to play, we challenge different thousand million teams and different ways to against us, and
08:41we handle it.
08:42And what happened against us, now this belongs all the time against us, so never, never,
08:48ever in my life, even the people thought in my comments because the people misunderstand
08:53me, because they don't want to understand me or they don't believe me what I said, the
08:57opponents can play the way they want to do it, it belongs to us to handle them and break
09:04them in the way we have to do.
09:07With Mikel, because after the time we text each other and the relation don't change
09:12absolutely anything, they decide to play in that way, it's more than perfect, I never
09:16justify, it's fine, I was not able to do it, they were brilliant, it's about us how
09:22we can break them, and we did it really well in many things, so, always it happens, so
09:28we are not here to say to the team, oh you are going to play the way we want to play,
09:32absolutely not, we play in that way, lately we play a lot of teams defensively, Inter
09:36was so deep, Arsenal so deep, for the reason 10 against 11, today what for, it's about
09:42us, because it's not the first time in eight years, do you know how many times we play
09:47teams that play in that way, like today or the last game, do you know how many?
09:50Millions, millions, and there are other teams, no, that they are more aggressive, they are
09:56more brave, they are more attacking or whatever, it's about us, it's really, so we can expect
10:03it's going to give you, oh guys, do whatever you want to win the game, that's not going
10:06to happen, you have to know it, that's why the challenge, Roddy is not here, he has a
10:09problem, yeah, we have to complain, I feel so sorry for him, I feel so sorry for Oscar
10:15Bopp, he's not there, when he was in incredible form in the BC, what are you going to do?
10:20Guys, we're with you, and recover as best as possible with the best department, staff
10:24department, medical, you have, and go through with what you have, and this is the challenge,
10:29so it's nice, so always happen in the problems, this is a big one, what do you have to do?
10:37I'm so sorry, it's a pity, absolutely not, let's go, what we have, what happens we have,
10:42go to Newcastle to try to win the game and do what we have been for many years, it's
10:47what it is, so it's simple as that, so me as a manager reflect what can do better against
10:54incredible, even if it's 10 players, it's so deep like Arsenal, what can do better?
10:58Of course they can do it, I admire them what they have done, I cannot do it, I'm not able
11:03to do it with my team, defend, fight central, defend away, defend every single ball, block
11:08every single ball, what I'm saying, I said to Mikel, you did it amazingly, so it's not
11:13a problem, everyone decide, they know the teams, they know the players, they know exactly
11:18what they have to do, it's not about that, it's not, it's what we have to do to do it
11:24better, and this is the way, or the reason why, for the quality, for many reasons, that
11:29you had success, our mindset, this is what the team have been and will be, until I'm
11:35here, this is going to happen.
11:37Thank you guys.