Former Bayern Munich manager, Pep Guardiola has been unveiled as Manchester City coach.
During his first press conference, the Spaniard answered questions about prospective transfer moves, playing style, expectations, amongst others.
These are 5 major things we learnt from the press conference;
- He’s fine with the competition Mourinho brings
It looks like Pep Guardiola would not be exchanging words with rival Mourinho and he also feels competing with the Portuguese will take him to another level.
“[Mourinho] wants to win, I want to win. We know each other pretty well from before at Barcelona. I think it’s great that top managers are here [in the Premier League] – big managers take me as a manager to a different level”.
“Competing with them takes me to another level, they push you to win things like the Champions League. And then you find out if you’re big enough or capable enough of running teams like Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, like Manchester City, but I’ve only just started here,” he said.
2. Manchester City does not expect him to win the Premier League
“No [no targets set by the owner]. We saw each other three times and we just talked about what he thinks. We tried to meet each other, he lives in Abu-Dhabi, I’m going to live here in Manchester. But we are fully in contact by telephone, when he’s here we’re going to see each other.”
“And no he didn’t say ‘you have to win Premier League or Champions League’. He told me ‘do your job as best as possible, do your job like you are and after that we are going to see’. I feel the club is behind us, supporting us to reach what we need and what we are looking for.”
3. He is going to keep Kompany at the club, despite not playing much last season
“My dream for Vincent Kompany is to be fit. Especially in the last two years he played not too many games.
“The captain has a lot of experience, he is a magnificent central defender but he has to be fit. I spoke with him to say just focus on your body.
“Forget about the other things, just focus to recover and come back where you were in the past. After that, Vincent will decide for himself but we are sure of his quality.”
4. Manchester City job was his only offer
“Seriously it was only this one, so I will always be grateful for this club for allowing me to come to this country and join the Premier League.
“I think every coach has to prove themselves in the Premier League. Man City gave me that chance and I will always be grateful. I will fight until the last day.”
5. Guardiola will adopt the physical style of play
“I think it’ll be more physical. People say it’s less attractive but I don’t know. I’ll talk to Brian Kidd and Arteta to learn more.”
“When I arrived at Bayern, it was my first experience of moving on from the club I was at since 13.
“I feel completely the way Barcelona and I am going to make what I feel. But I learn I have to adapt to the quality of my players.”
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