Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he is not a genius and partly attributes his glittering coaching career to simply being in the right place at the right time.
Guardiola has been the most successful coach of his generation, winning league titles in Spain, Germany and England as well as the Champions League on three occasions.
He is also credited with revolutionising the game with the bulk of teams across Europe now mimicking his preferred possession-heavy style of play.
Check out Pep’s record at City after nine seasons in charge 📊🤩
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The Catalan rejected claims that gave him an elevated status, however.
In an interview with Reuters, the 54-year-old said: “Do you think I feel special because I won a lot of titles? No! Forget about it!
“I feel that special is the doctor that saves lives. The people who invented penicillin. That is a genius. Me? Genius? Come on.”
Of course I’m good – Guardiola
Critics of Guardiola point to the fact he has always been blessed with overseeing already good teams.
His first job was at Barcelona, where he managed arguably the greatest player of all time in Lionel Messi, before taking over at Bayern Munich, the dominant club in Germany.
He moved to City in 2016 and has built an empire on the back of the riches of the club’s Abu Dhabi owners.
Guardiola accepts that argument, to an extent, and says his success could have been replicated by other coaches had they had the same resources.
He added: “I don’t want to pretend to be humble: of course I’m good! I’m proving that over many years I’m good…
“But the success I had, I was chosen. In certain moments, to lead Lionel Messi and the other ones, to be in those type of places I made incredible teams… But other managers, in the right moment, in that position, maybe they could have done the same.”
Guardiola admits: I choose to have a stressful life
City’s run of four successive Premier League titles ended last season, during which time Guardiola cut a frustrated figure and was seen with self-inflicted scratches on his head on more than one occasion.
He has been in the limelight, either as a player or a coach, for the best part of 35 years but insists he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The stress is always there because you are being judged every single day, but it is what it is,” he said.
“Nobody put a gun to my head forcing me to choose this job. I have chosen that… There is no professional in football that wins all the time, because it’s simply impossible. So, it happened last season… you accept it, improve, learn and there will be good learnings for the future.”
