Pep Guardiola on Man City's 4-1 defeat at Sporting CP
05/11/2024
Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal
05/11/2024
Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal
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00:00Hi Pep. Bernardo, it was said on TV that Manchester City are in a dark place at the moment. Is
00:26that how you see it, or is this a bigger challenge because it's something so unusual?
00:32I don't agree with him.
00:35You don't agree with him?
00:36No. We're not in the dark side. We played really bad against Bournemouth, we played
00:41really good today. Don't regret, you can concede the third or fourth, it's not necessary,
00:47the penalties. I would say we cannot start the second half, score a goal, yeah it can
00:51happen. They do the good action, it can happen, but 44 minutes or 47 minutes left, and emotionally
00:58we were in that position, stable. I think we made a really good first half against a
01:03top, top team. We were close to score the second, the third, and emotion is difficult
01:08when we play the first half that we played, and after two minutes, second half, we are
01:12losing 3-1. It's not easy to swallow, but it's an experience, and I'm here. So it's
01:18a big challenge, and we knew it would be a tough season to start. We know it, we talk
01:22about that for many reasons, but this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I wanted to face
01:29it and lift my players and try it. So life is like this. Maybe the past, the six primaries
01:39in seven years, four in a row is the exception, and naturally sometimes you lose. So in sports
01:44we played really good, today we played really good. Bournemouth, they deserve it, and yeah, continue.
02:00Hi Pep, when you say you were not emotionally stable, do you just mean in that moment?
02:04No, in these actions, in these actions. We don't have to touch the opponent in the ATR
02:11box, we talked many times in that action, but of course we are stable. Listen, we lost
02:154-1, congratulations, there are no defences today. So we lost, they deserve it, what can
02:23I say? But I know how the way we behaved today, how good we were, and the young central defender,
02:32the exceptional game he played, and yeah, so nothing else. So when you lose 4-1, what
02:38can I say? Nothing. But the team, I like it, we were close to mid-0-3-0-3, the stadium
02:45was calm, but in one action, we lose simple things with the quality players that normally
02:51don't happen, and when you have the ball and you lose the ball away, being a lot of players
02:56in front, there was a transition, but we create more, we play better, but after doing what
03:02we have done 3-1, sometimes it's difficult for the players, I understand it.
03:06So you're looking forward to Brighton and seeing your team play well there, hopefully?
03:12What should we do? Otherwise? No. So we're coming back to Manchester and prepare the
03:19game in Brighton, yeah, absolutely. I'm not giving up. Maybe people are waiting, but I'm
03:24not giving up. No, no, no, that's for sure.
03:30Obviously Bernardo feels down, and I guess some of the players do as well, but you're
03:33obviously convinced that it was a good performance. How do you convince them over the next few
03:38days to lift their head up and keep going?
03:41I know it was all for one, it's impossible to say for the whole it was a good performance,
03:46we lost for one, so finish. But they know they play good, in certain moments they play
03:52good, and we were what we were. But we are not, what I would say, that we have to do
03:58a lot to score goals. And we were 3-1, of course, in the first half, like Sevilla lose
04:04the ball, and the Koreans have the chance one against one, apart from that, they didn't
04:09do anything apart from after the goal. And doing this against that team, this exceptional
04:14team, talk highly about me, but this is my feeling. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.
04:20Sorry, is that a problem? You say you have to do a lot to score a goal, but maybe the
04:23other teams don't have to do so much?
04:25It happened in my first season, in my first years, especially that we played really good
04:29and they do it, but sometimes it happens. Try to find an explanation, yeah, I have to
04:34try to find it, but sometimes it's just football, you know? And men accept it, it's just, okay,
04:42life is that, sport is that, sometimes good and bad moments, okay. We face them, or the
04:49reality, or we say, oh, I start to complain, I start to find excuses. Everyone has to try
04:53to be better, but better, but better, and we will find it. Still, we are alive in our
04:58competitions and, yeah, we continue.
05:02Hi Pep, you've been very complimentary of Ruben Amorim before, but did you expect his
05:08team to come at you like they did tonight? Like, even at 3-1 up, they were attacking
05:12in such numbers.
05:13In transitions, yeah, we were really, really strong.
05:16And did you expect them to keep coming and coming, even though they were 3-1 down?
05:20They continue what?
05:22Even when they were 3-1 up, they kept attacking in numbers, they didn't sit back and sit on
05:25the lead.
05:26No, they sit back. They sit back, but they run a lot in transitions. Yeah, so they sit
05:34back, but they run in transitions. When we lose the ball in that position, in context
05:38with Goycarez and Trincao and the other players, the physicality, they can do it. Yeah, emotionally
05:43we're fine, and when that happens, you know, with 3-1, it happens, of course you can, I've
05:48been in that position many times and I know your mood is good. Football is emotional feeling,
05:54you know, and handle that we play really good after the tough defeat against Bournemouth,
06:00how good we react, and after that, oh, we're playing good, we're 3-1 down, you know, it's
06:04not easy.
06:05And for them it's, wow, it's fantastic, and the emotions are there, so after we can analyse
06:10the reason why, so do it that, but I think we make incredible build-up, I think they
06:14were there and all the action for, mainly in transitions, but yeah, no, all the teams
06:18it's normally happened.
06:21Pep, you've seen in your time a lot of young managers come and go and rise and fall, Amirim
06:32has got a big reputation, are you looking forward to, is that part of what you enjoy
06:37about the job, are you looking forward to the challenge of what he will bring when he
06:42arrives in English football?
06:44Yeah, I will be manager for United, and we're going to face them two times in the Premier
06:48League, and I don't know, in the FA Cup, in the Champions League, it cannot be possible,
06:53and we'll see, yeah, I learned from all the managers I faced, Ruben, I think as well,
07:01so yeah, but you have to understand that my concern is focused not in the challenge we
07:08are playing in United, you know, see what can we do to, you know, back and our best,
07:13this is what we're trying to do.
07:14We'll take a couple of questions in Portuguese, please.
07:38Yeah, it was good in the pre-game, with 0-1 it was quiet, and after 1-1 they were, you
07:57know, in good momentum, and after the second half, in two minutes, 1-3, 3-1, so it's normal,
08:02so yeah, the stadium, you know, pretty sure Portugal, Spain, Italy, you know, Greece,
08:08these environments are there, so it's, yeah, it was really cool, I thought the result was
08:12not good, but it was nice to play here, and as I said in the beginning, so nothing to
08:16say, when you lose 4-1, all you're going to say is congratulate the sport in Lisbon for
08:20the victory, for the good performance it has done, you know, that's all I can say.
08:32I have a question a little bit off the top of my head, an opinion poll in Brazil, I put
08:37your name as the coach of the Brazilian national team, the people, the Brazilians want it,
08:43I'm sorry to go back to that moment, but what do you think about it, what is your feeling
08:48and even before a moment like this at City?
08:52After 4-1, I'm no longer an option for Brazil.
08:55No, no, no, I have, more than ever, I want to lift the team, to return to our level.
09:12Good evening, Pepe Guardiola, João Os Domingos for RTP, since you arrived in England, you
09:18went to Manchester City, you dominated English football, you dominated the city of Manchester,
09:23but after what you saw here today, from Sporting and Ruben Amorim, do you think that a coach
09:27who will be able to compete with you will arrive in England?
09:30I don't know, I don't know if he will be better than us, I don't know, we have to wait, right now I don't know.
09:40Welcome, obviously for him to come with this result is much better than it would have been
09:45another one, but what will happen in the next few years, two, three, four, Ruben there,
09:52only he can answer it with an attitude, I don't know.
09:57Good evening.