Pep talk

Respect for Pep on and off the field

Last updated: 30th September 2009  

Pep talk

Guardiola: brains behind Barca

He is exactly the right person for the job but not even the most optimistic amongst us would have ever imagined that things would turn out quite as well as they have

Xavi
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Uefa midfielder of the year Xavi tells Revista de La Liga why his manager and former team mate Pep Guardiola is the man at Barcelona.

Guardiola finished his playing career as one of the more decorated players of his generation, thanks to 11 years with the Catalans that included four consecutive title-winning seasons under Johann Cruyff. Now he is in the hot seat at Barcelona and Xavi gives a unique insight into what makes the man tick

"I believed in Pep, I have known him for years, since we were teammates," Xavi told Revista.

"He is committed, meticulous, enthusiastic person. He has such a tremendous conviction in his belief and the ability to transmit all of his energy to you.

"I know there were some doubts to begin with due to his lack of experience but here at Barcelona if someone comes from outside of the club you have to show them how everything works. Pep knows exactly what he has to do.

"He controls all of the issues of pressure and expectation. He knows how the players feel and the pressure that they are under.

"He is exactly the right person for the job but not even the most optimistic amongst us would have ever imagined that things would turn out quite as well as they have."

Xavi also went on to explain that Guardiola is very supportive towards the players and knows that what they want to do more than anything is just to play football.

"He is very calm to be honest. He does not push too many things on you, his emphasis is on encouraging the players to enjoy themselves on the pitch and making the most of the privileged lives that we have.

"He understands us perfectly and knows that what footballers want to do is to play football. He gives us three or four key points about the opposition, how they are going to play and how we'll need to react - ten minutes maximum. More than anything he looks at concepts.

"He makes sure that we are all at the top of our games for at least one hour or an hour and a half of each training session playing at full pace.

"His emphasis is on keeping possession, moving the ball around quickly, but all of his training drills are conceived for a specific reason. Sometimes we look at how different teams are going to try and put us under pressure and how we can react when bringing the ball out of defence.

"But honestly he is not one of those coaches who is on top of the players all the time - the days of the coach being a distant figure are long gone."

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