Champions League Biographer reveals secrets

Guardiola fully adapting to Manchester life

Guardiola: It's a final for Manchester City but not for Barcelona

Marti Perarnau, close friend and biographer of Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has opened up on what it has been like to spend so much time with the tactician. Having already published one book about the former Barcelona boss called Pep Confidential, which detailed his first season at Bayern Munich, he has now released another called The Metamorphosis. The new book details the changes that Guardiola went through in Germany and is important in order to understand his working methods.

Metamorphosis

"It was a gradual change, influenced by victories and defeats," Perarnau stated. "The important thing though was whether the team played as they were instructed. "Pep arrived in the summer of 2013 and until March 2015, he didn't realise that much of his work was done. That happens when you are working so hard and don't think about the lessons that are being learned."

Pressure in Manchester

"Well, it takes about 18 months for the team to really understand what his project is," continued Perarnau. "His way of playing is like a language. You can learn some of the words and expressions but to speak it, or to speak it well I should say, that takes time. That comes when the players do things without thinking. When [Usain] Bolt is running, he isn't thinking about running or the fact that he is competing in high-level spot - he's just doing it."

Managing defeat

"City went six games without a win until West Brom when they broke the streak. How did he manage it? Well, after the draw with Southampton he locked them in the dressing room for 40 minutes. The message he pressed upon them was that the way of playing was one they have all chosen and committed to so there should be no doubts about what they are trying to do. An error [John Stones' slip-up] should not be confused with the entire game's pattern. They are the kind of things that need to be corrected."

The thief of ideas

"Pep is thought of well by most people but he would define himself as a thief of ideas," his biographer added. "One of the labels that comes his way is that he is a fundamentalist but he isn't. Pep is very curious and is always trying to learn and pick up new things. He wants to know things and is very inquisitive. Not everything is simply about following on the Johan [Cruyff] way of playing."

Valero Rivera, Estiarte, Kasparov...

"You can learn from other sports," said Perarnau. "From Rivera, you can look at the way that defensive handball is played. He has taken things from Estiarte and waterpolo, watched the All Blacks rugby team closely. [Gary] Kasparov talks a lot about the importance of openings in chess and Guardiola has took that advice conceptually."

The value of Messi

"Some of the comments about Guardiola when people reflected on the book was that his tactics at Barcelona were simply to give the ball to [Lionel] Messi," laughed the author. "[Jose] Mourinho says there are two kind of teams in football. There is a team and then there is a team with Messi. Pep himself has commented on his work at Barcelona by saying that it was easier than his work at Bayern. In 10 years, Leo has solved many problems and Pep lived through that but he also suffered too."

Mourinho as a challenge to improve

"Pep has always been very cautious, even in victory," he concluded. "One of the things that Kasparov warned him about when they met was that when you relax, that is when the losses will come your way. What he knows is important is that his rivals are always prepared and that keeps you on your toes. In private, he always talks about other good coaches, although his words may be different in public."