Exclusive-Soccer-Man City's third-placed finish may be better achievement than title win, Guardiola says

By Fernando Kallas

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described his team's first trophyless campaign since 2017 as a season of growth and reflection, dismissing notions of failure and suggesting it may have been a greater achievement than a previous title win.

"I want to suffer when I'm not winning games," Guardiola told Reuters in an exclusive interview. "I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want that when the situation goes bad, it affects me... I want that!

“I'm angry... my food, it tastes worse... I don't need to eat much because I need to feel that (anger). Because if it doesn't, what sense would it have? Winning or losing... We're here in this world to feel different experiences, different moods.”

The 54-year-old, who has won 12 domestic top-flight league titles across Spain, Germany and England, spoke about last season's challenges, which saw City finish third in the Premier League and fail to secure silverware in domestic or European competitions. It marked only the second trophyless season of his managerial career.

Guardiola rejected the idea that the season was disastrous, instead arguing that it may have been the most valuable of his tenure at City.

"You judge happiness if you win. You judge success if you win and win. And that is a problem," he said.

“I will not judge myself or my team because of bad seasons or good seasons... Maybe finishing third in a season and never giving up otherwise you finish 10th or 12th, maybe that's a better season than when we won the fourth Premier League in a row.

“We faced so many difficulties that were higher due to injuries, relaxation, I was not good enough... for many reasons. Maybe the analysis about my period is that the last season was better. Qualifying for the Champions League when we were on the verge of not getting it.

'WINNERS ARE BORING'

Reflecting on setbacks, Guardiola quoted former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica: "Success is how many times you stand up when you fall down." He added: "Fall down, stand up. Fall down, stand up... That is the biggest success."

"Winners are boring," he said, adding that he always looked forward to post-match interviews with players and coaches from losing sides. "It's nice to see the losers. That is when you really learn."

Despite his remarkable record, Guardiola dismissed any notion of exceptionalism. "Do you think I feel special because I won a lot of titles? No! Forget about it!" he said. "I feel that special is the doctor that saves lives. The people who invented penicillin. That is a genius. Me? Genius? Come on."

“I don't want to pretend to be humble: of course I'm good! I'm proving that over many years I'm good... But the success I had, I was chosen. In certain moments, to lead Lionel Messi and the other ones, to be in those type of places I made incredible teams... But other managers, in the right moment, in that position, maybe they could have done the same.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming season and the Club World Cup, Guardiola emphasised the importance of team spirit. "Play good. Create a good vibe, good team spirit... Try to make the new players bring us an energy that we need to lift the team again. And at the end, we can lift trophies," he said.

Guardiola also reflected on the pressures of public-facing jobs with constant scrutiny.

“The stress is always there because you are being judged every single day, but it is what it is," he said.

“Nobody put a gun to my head forcing me to choose this job. I have chosen that... There is no professional in football that wins all the time, because it's simply impossible. So, it happened last season... you accept it, improve, learn and there will be good learnings for the future."

(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)