It’s in the eyes. As Pep Guardiola once said, “You look into your players’ eyes and it’s a bit like looking at a lover. Either you see passion and a willingness to be seduced – or you watch as the passion ebbs away.”



That was in March 2014. He had just led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in record-breaking time in his first season in charge, but he was explaining to his biographer Marti Perarnau how difficult it had been to keep the magic alive in his previous job at Barcelona. “I had introduced a million tiny tactical innovations over the four years and the next step wasn’t going to be easy,” he said. “The same thing will happen here at Bayern. After a few years I’ll no longer know how to seduce my players and that will be the time to leave. It’s all in the eyes. It’s all about seduction.”



At Manchester City, as at Barcelona, Guardiola has inspired his players to heights that...