adminMANCHESTER. — New Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appeared to take a pop shot at arch rival Jose Mourinho in his very first day in the job. The decorated former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager was unveiled as new City boss on Sunday afternoon in front of nearly 6 000 fans outside the Etihad. He took questions from the crowd as well as Twitter and Facebook and appeared to win over the watching supporters who clapped nearly every answer and chanted his name.
But when he was asked about coming to the Premier League he appeared to take a swipe at old foe Mourinho, who has recently been unveiled as manager of City’s arch rivals Manchester United. He said: “People don’t come to the Etihad to see how good the manager is – they come for the players. We have Jose, Klopp, Conte, Pochettino, Koeman. But we are just here to help.”
Guardiola added: “The first target is team spirit and play good,” he said.
“I know the players, I’ve played against them many, many times. I know their quality but they have to show me and their fans.
“The past is the past. We are here to try again. My tactic is to develop the players.”
Their rivalry goes back to 2011 when Guardiola was Barcelona boss and Mourinho was in charge of Real Madrid.
Talking about Guardiola’s Champions League successes, Jose said: “In his first season (Guardiola) lived the scandal of Stamford Bridge, last year he played against a 10-man Inter. Now he is not happy with refs getting it right… If the referee is good everyone will be happy – except Guardiola. He wants them to get it wrong”. — The Mirror.
Online Reporter