Tag: Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has told Aleksander Ceferin to “respect the procedure” in response to the UEFA president’s comments regarding Manchester City alleged Financial Fair Play breaches.

Ceferin recently told the Telegraph that UEFA “were right” to give City a two-year European football ban in 2020.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the punishment on appeal.

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City are also contesting claims by the Premier League that the club have broken their financial rules.

“As a lawyer that he is and president of UEFA, he should wait and after do whatever he wants,” said Guardiola.

“He has to respect it and he has to wait. He has a lot of jobs to do at UEFA. A lawyer should respect the procedure and understand we have a right to defend ourselves.”

City were charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations in February last year.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says a date has been set for the hearing but, speaking in front of MPs earlier this month, he said he could not reveal when it will take place.

Maria Guardiola has declared her dad as the greatest manager of all time after Manchester City’s Club World Cup win.

Pep Guardiola saw his dominant City side steamroll Fluminense in Jeddah to seal a fifth title of 2023 in style with a 4-0 win.

As family and friends came onto the pitch to celebrate in the aftermath, Maria Guardiola snapped some photos for her Instagram.

Sharing two black and white photos on her Instagram story, she wrote: “Best to ever do it” alongside a picture of Pep.

A second showed the two of them together with the trophy, accompanied by a small blue heart.

City’s demolition job of Brazilian side Fluminense saw Guardiola etch his name further into football’s history books, too.

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Victory saw Man City become the first English side to win five major trophies in the space of 12 months. As well as the Club World Cup, Guardiola guided City to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup.

Victory in Jeddah also saw Guardiola record his 16th  major trophy as Manchester City manager, and the 37th overall in his incredible managerial career, which began back in 2008 with Barcelona.

Beating Fluminense was the fourth time Guardiola has won the competition, which takes him one clear of Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

“I am so proud of this club,” Guardiola said after the Club World Cup win. “What we have done is an outstanding achievement.

“To win this trophy is to be the best team in the world and our players, our coaches, our backroom staff, all of them work hard every single day to bring us this success.”

In their quest to capture their first Club World Cup title, Manchester City have been studying footage of Brazilian opponent Fluminense as they are unfamiliar with their style of play, manager Pep Guardiola said.

Adding to the stiff challenge, City will be without Premier League-leading striker Erling Haaland, who travelled to Saudi Arabia despite having missed City’s past four games with a nagging foot injury.

Haaland was sidelined for City’s 3-0 semi-final win over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, and his absence means he is ineligible to play in the rest of the competition even if he was fit to play.

“We try in the hours after (our last) game to see Fluminense as much as possible, looking at the quality they have,” Guardiola told reporters in Jeddah. “They have five, six or seven players more than 30-years-old so that means they can control their emotions perfectly.

“They play a typical Brazilian style from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. Lots of short passes, combining really good, but also physically demanding. We have to be aware how much they run behind the ball, and be resilient in (handling) that.

“The way they play demands a lot of effort (from us). The way they play we have never faced before. They move a lot from side to side, so we have to impose our own rhythm and possession game as much as possible.”

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City have struggled lately, winning only one of their last six Premier League games to drop to fourth in the table, yet are considered the favourites to hoist what would be their fifth trophy over the past year today.

Guardiola said a key to victory will be keeping a tight rein on their emotions.

“How do you play a Club World Cup final without emotion?” Guardiola said. “Emotion is there, it’s how you handle it. It’s there. It’s how long it stays in your mind. That’s the big target in finals.”

Guardiola has impressed on the players that winning the Cup is a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

“The players are ready and know how important it is. As I have said before, what a pleasure it is to be here,” said the Spaniard, adding the team enjoyed a rare dinner together on Wednesday evening.

City defender Kyle Walker said a victory on Friday would be a terrific way to cap a remarkable 12 months during which they have won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup.

“I have experienced a lot of career highs, (but) it would top off what we did last season winning the treble as a group of lads that have spent a lot of years together working towards the right direction,” the 33-year-old said.

“It would be on par with one of my greatest achievements.”

Manchester City’s treble-winning coach Pep Guardiola and England women’s manager Sarina Wiegman are among the finalists for The Best FIFA men’s coach and women’s coach awards, it was announced on Wednesday.

Guardiola is a firm favourite after City won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles last season while Wiegman – a three-time winner – is the current holder of the women’s coach award.

After winning the Euros, Wiegman led England to yet another major final this summer at the Women’s World Cup, where they lost to Spain.

Chelsea coach Emma Hayes is also in the running, after another successful season where they won the Women’s Super League and the FA Cup. Hayes will be leaving Chelsea in May to take up the role of head coach of the United States women’s national team.

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Jonatan Giraldez, who led the Barcelona women’s team to the league title with just one loss all season, and their second Champions League crown, is the third candidate.

In the men’s category, Guardiola is joined by Simone Inzaghi who led Inter Milan to the Champions League final and won the Coppa Italia.

The third finalist is Luciano Spalletti, who ended Napoli’s 33-year Scudetto drought when they won the Serie A title with five games to spare.

The winners will be crowned on January 15 in London.

Best Women’s Coach finalists

Sarina Wiegman (England)

Emma Hayes (Chelsea)

Jonatan Giraldez (Barcelona)

Best Men’s Coach finalists

Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)

Simone Inzaghi (Inter Milan)

Luciano Spalletti (Napoli)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he still feels his side are going to win the Premier League for a record fourth year in a row despite drawing their last three games.

The champions are third, a point behind Liverpool and three adrift of pacesetters Arsenal who can move five points clear at the top with a win at lowly Luton Town later on Tuesday.

“My feeling today is we will win the Premier League,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of City’s match on today  at Unai Emery’s fourth-placed Aston Villa. “If we play at the level of Liverpool or Tottenham we’ll do it again.

“People don’t believe it after three draws, but we are going to do it again. We know that it is not easy, no team has done it yet (four Premier League titles in a row) and that is why the difficulty is there.”

City were held 3-3 at home by Spurs on Sunday after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool and a thrilling 4-4 result at Chelsea.

Guardiola said he was concerned about the goals conceded but the statistics compared well to last season, when City won a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

“I’m saying the average of conceding chances is lower apart from (the) Chelsea (game). The rest of the games are the same level as the previous seasons when we won a lot of titles,” he added.

Guardiola said City’s England defender John Stones was ready to play after injury, possibly as a holding midfielder in the absence of the suspended Rodri, while Jeremy Doku was facing a fitness test.

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City also have Jack Grealish suspended for the match at Villa, who have won their last 13 home league games.

Guardiola said he had a lot of admiration for fellow-Spaniard Emery.

“Always when he leaves, the teams are better in all departments, the results, the players, controlling high presses, deep, set pieces and transitions, it’s exceptional,” he explained.

“The run, the form that they have this season, especially at home, because they’ve won everything, but away as well, it’ll be a tough game. We knew it before, and we know it now.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has emphasised the importance of his team locking down top spot in their Champions League group.

The holders take on RB Leipzig at Etihad Stadium today  in their fifth Group G game, having won four out of four so far.

They and Leipzig have already clinched spots in the knockout stage, but first place in the pool remains up for grabs.

“We have to win or draw,” said Guardiola. “The first step is done for both sides so congratulations to RB Leipzig to qualify for the next round in February.

“It is important to finish first. We believe that when we play the last 16, [having] the second leg at home is not decisive but an advantage and we have to take it.”

City beat Leipzig 3-1 on matchday two. That result and City’s three-point cushion over Leipzig makes the permutations as straightforward as Guardiola laid them out.

Avoiding defeat will do the job and eliminate the potential danger of City finishing second and having to face the winner of another group in the last-16 stage.

City has every reason to be optimistic. Leipzig are fifth in the German Bundesliga, 11 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, while City have not lost at home since November 2022.

Guardiola delivered a pessimistic message about a number of fitness issues affecting his squad.

Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic, Sergio Gomez and Matheus Nunes are doubts.

Kevin de Bruyne is a long-term absentee, but there is positive news in the case of John Stones.

Stones suffered an injury in City’s win over Young Boys on November 7 but is “really close to coming back”, Guardiola said.

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Grealish missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool through illness.

“I’m not optimistic about some people coming back but we will see,” Guardiola said.

“I think it will be the same people who played against Liverpool. John Stones is getting better. He’s not for playing but maybe a few minutes.”

Today’s Fixtures

Lazio vs. Celtic 

Shakhtar vs. Antwerp  

Milan vs. Dortmund      

Young Boys vs. Zvezda 

Barcelona vs. FC Porto 

Feyenoord vs. Atletico

Man City vs. Leipzig       

PSG vs. Newcastle

Manchester City will have to take on Arsenal without John Stones after Pep Guardiola ruled the defender out of the crunch Premier League game.

Stones has not played for the Blues since the Community Shield in August due to a number of injury issues, and returned to training this week as he aims to prove his fitness. The England defender was named on the bench for the Champions League game against RB Leipzig and also was named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the national team for those upcoming games.

However, Guardiola said that the centre-back will not be fit to feature against Arsenal even if he is subsequently able to play for his country. Already without Kevin De Bruyne due to injury and Rodri due to suspension, City will have to find another solution to their midfield.

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“John Stones is not ready to play. Maybe for the national team but not for us,” he said.

“We start to talk today with my staff to analyse tomorrow morning, we have to prepare the game.

With Rodri, we are talking one of the best – maybe the best – holding midfielders in the world so it is normal. If he is not [able to play], we always handle it over many years.

Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City wingers Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku to prove they deserve a place in his attack.

Grealish was a key figure when City powered to the treble last season, but the England winger has struggled with injury this season.

The former Aston Villa man, who cost City £100 million in 2021, has just returned to action after watching Belgian youngster Doku flourish in his absence.

Doku, signed from Rennes in the close-season, offers a different kind of threat on the flanks than Grealish and some City fans have called for the 21-year-old to start in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Wolves.

 “Jeremy can play on the right as well. So who is going to play more, who is going to perform better?” Guardiola told reporters. “Phil Foden can play on the left too. So they compete with Phil Foden as well.

 “The guy who performs well and feels better than the other one is going to have more chances to play. Always it has been like that.”

City have made a flying start to their title defence with six wins from six games.

Guardiola’s men are chasing an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown and the Spaniard laughed off suggestions his side will cruise to victory at Molineux against a Wolves side that have taken just four points from six games.

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 “Normally all the games we play are ‘easy’ – and if we don’t win the Premier League, 10 points in front, in November, it’s a disaster! I know exactly what it is,” he said sarcastically.

”(Wolves boss Gary) O’Neil did an incredible job at Bournemouth and I have the feeling they will do it too.

 “It is a team where the quality is there. Hopefully we can respond with these next three games before the international break.”

City will again be without John Stones and Bernardo Silva this weekend.

England defender Stones has not played since City’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal on August 6 due to a thigh issue.

Silva has been sidelined after he came off against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League last week.

City also have Rodri out while the Spain midfielder serves the second game of his three-match ban after being sent off in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

 “Just for the amount Rodri has played, the consistency – of course, it is not easy to replace,” Guardiola added.