BAYERN MUNICH COACH Pep Guardiola insists he just wants to be loved, despite being a man seemingly obsessed with silverware.
At 44, the former Barcelona boss has already won the Champions League twice, as well as five league titles in Germany and Spain in his first six years as a manager.
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But in a revealing lecture on leadership, Guardiola said he is driven by winning the affection of those he works with and not the lure of titles.
He explained: “If you want to know what I want in life and from my work, I want to be loved, I do not seek more. That’s what I want, that’s a feeling.
“Really, I’m not looking for titles.”
That said, Guardiola admits it can sometimes be difficult to convey emotion to a player, particularly when they are left out of the team.
“If you have to leave players out there, they are offended because they think that I do not like them,” he added.
“They do not think that these are decisions for tactical reasons, but because they are not loved.”
The former midfielder revealed a story involving one of his star players, to highlight the effect of caring about an individual can have on performance.
“I went with him to a cafe and we talked about life, not about football.
“In the next game he scored two of the four goals our team scored. He felt something special, because he felt loved.”
'I want to be loved, I do not seek more'
BAYERN MUNICH COACH Pep Guardiola insists he just wants to be loved, despite being a man seemingly obsessed with silverware.
At 44, the former Barcelona boss has already won the Champions League twice, as well as five league titles in Germany and Spain in his first six years as a manager.
But in a revealing lecture on leadership, Guardiola said he is driven by winning the affection of those he works with and not the lure of titles.
He explained: “If you want to know what I want in life and from my work, I want to be loved, I do not seek more. That’s what I want, that’s a feeling.
“Really, I’m not looking for titles.”
That said, Guardiola admits it can sometimes be difficult to convey emotion to a player, particularly when they are left out of the team.
“They do not think that these are decisions for tactical reasons, but because they are not loved.”
The former midfielder revealed a story involving one of his star players, to highlight the effect of caring about an individual can have on performance.
“In the next game he scored two of the four goals our team scored. He felt something special, because he felt loved.”
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