Pep talk

“Guardiola is a young coach with a lack of experience, sometimes he talked too much…football is very simple."

That's what Franck Ribery had to say about Pep Guardiola. Of course, he has all the rights under the sky to voice his opinion but there are some depths he obviously misses in his statement because of sentimental reasons. First thing first, yes, Guardiola is indeed young for a football manager. He's 45 and if you put Totti's age (he turned 40 this week) into perspective, you'll get how young Pep really is. But that shouldn't come in his pedigree as an extremely ingenious strategist. With a managerial win rate of 75%, we're talking about one of the most successful football managers in history here. He certainly knows more than just a thing or two about football. To rewind, when he was appointed Barcelona's manager, the first thing he did was get rid of Ronaldinho. Now, who in his right frame of mind would do that? Well, Pep. He belongs to the old adage of placing the club above players, especially those who don't fit in his stratagem. He has little patience for nonsensical arrogance. Ibrahimovic wouldn't fit in for a reason. Yaya wouldn't either. When he was done with Barca, there was a pretty fine breeze about him moving west to England (read: Manchester United). He moved wester and holidayed in the USA instead. Why? He wanted to locate his inspiration once again. Here's a guy who listens to himself before speaking out his mind. That's where the talking bit comes from. Success is merely something that happens but the road you choose towards success defines you. Besides, isn't football more philosophical than any other sports out there? It's basically life served within a 90-minute window. But due to the importance placed on winning, we keep forgetting this piece of truth. Which is why managers like Pep are essential; they are rare. Also, football ain't simple. It's made to look like that by artists like Ribery who spent hours at practice. Without a manager to guide them, they'd stray.