Guardiola will be back … but where? Odds are now out

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, walking away far too early, will be back. Somewhere. Sometime.

For now, apparently, he was simply out of petrol.

Is it really a surprise that such a perfectionist, a man so preternaturally demanding of himself and everyone around him, would flame out?  Here’s what Xavi has recalled to the Guardian, as remembered in this piece.

“When they signed him I said: ‘Madre mía, we’re going to be flying. I swear it. He’s a perfectionist. If Pep decided to be a musician, he would be a good musician. If he wanted to be a psychologist, he would be a good psychologist. He is obsessive; he would keep going until he got it right. He demands so much from himself. And that pressure that he puts on himself, those demands are contagious – it spreads to everyone. He wants everything to be perfect. He is a pesado.” (Heavy. Hard-working. Intense.)

But, again, he’ll be back.

Where? Well, here’s what the early odds say, according to European sports books:

• Chelsea – 3/1
• Man Utd – 7/2
• Man City – 5/1
• Inter Milan – 6/1
• England – 7/1
• Arsenal – 15/2
• AC Milan – 12/1
• Liverpool – 12/1