Pep Guardiola is a tough man to please and even though his Manchester City team is on the verge of winning the Premier League and well-placed to add other trophies to the cabinet this season, he doesn’t want anybody talking about it.
Nope. Not at all. Any talk of the quadruple is banned by Mr. Guardiola.
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Case in point: before their UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg game against Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday (City lead 2-0 on aggregate) Oleksandr Zinchenko was asked by the media about the possibility of winning the quadruple this season.
The young Ukrainian international was fairly straightforward, but quite bullish on their chances, saying: “We have an unbelievable squad, the best players in the world, definitely, why not?”
His manager wasn’t best pleased with talk of winning four trophies in one season, as Zinchenko referenced what Bayern Munich did last year and what Pep’s Barcelona did in 2008-09.
Guardiola not happy with quadruple talk
Here is what Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said when asked about Zinchenko’s comments.
“I am older than Mr Zinchenko, I have more experience and I don’t agree with him,” Guardiola said. “The only thing he has to be worried about is trying to do a good game and try to go through. This is the only way. Four titles is a utopia. It never happened before and I think it’s never going to happen. We just think about this one, then the next one at Goodison Park, then the international break. Hopefully the players can come back safe and well because we play for important things when they come back and this is the only important thing.”
Guardiola’s stock answer when asked about the quadruple is simple: ‘the next game.’
Some may call it boring, but that is actually how he operates and that is actually how intense of a manager, and person, he is. That is what breeds greatness and Guardiola will be irked that Zinchenko has revealed that players are talking about winning all four trophies.
Not because City can’t do it, because clearly they can, but because all they should be focused on is the next game. Nothing more, nothing less.
Guardiola is a demanding, ornery, intense character and this reaction proves it. Pep wants perfection, but he wants perfection with full focus. He’s not asking for much, Oleksandr.
