Pep Guardiola wanted a lot in his career as a football coach. And he had, I imagine, almost all his wishes come true.
Barcelona coach (from 2008 to 2012), he wanted to be champion of several different championships. It was, winning Champions League, Club World Cup, Spanish Cup, Copa del Rey, Super Cups (European and Spanish).
Coach of Bayern Munich (from 2013 to 2016), he wished the same. He won the Club World Cup, German Cup, German Cup and European Super Cup.
Manchester City coach (since 2016), he never stopped aiming for great achievements. So far, he has lifted English trophies, the FA Cup, the English League Cup, the English Super Cup, all more than once. And, once, from the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup.
In terms of number of achievements (41, which could reach 42 this Saturday, against Chelsea, in the FA Cup final), considering high-level professional football, he is second only to the Scottish Alex Ferguson (50), now 84 years old, retired since 2013. The individual awards, most for “best coach” (of the month, of the season, of the century), are in the 50s.
The 55-year-old Spaniard, who as a player (midfielder) was also good (not so much as a coach), is one of the best-known names in football. Anyone who follows the sport at all knows who Guardiola is, generally admired not only for his titles but for his style of play, with intense possession of the ball and extremely high control over matches.
So, I was surprised when I saw Pep, in a question and answer program on YouTube (20 Questions, on TNT Sports), saying he didn’t want to stay in anyone’s memory.
The question was this: “How would you like to be remembered?” The answer, straight away, was this: “I don’t want to be remembered. I want to be forgotten.” It didn’t seem like irony to me, but rather an authentic desire. When he leaves the role he performs with such primacy, Pep wants to immerse himself in anonymity.
The reasons were not explained, he was laconic. It is possible to speculate, try to clarify this desire to be forgotten. Or this not wanting to be remembered.
Perhaps Pep considers himself “too human” to be elevated to the realm of football’s immortals, where he would stand alongside epic coaches such as Ferguson, Rinus Michels, Ancelotti, Cruyff, Pozzo (1934 and 1938 World Cup champion), Sacchi, Mourinho, Telê, Felipão, Zagallo.
Perhaps you consider yourself a mere “passenger” in football, with the sport itself being much bigger than its characters. Perhaps you consider yourself detached, averse to a reputation that could be seen as vanity.
Maybe you simply want peace. Without journalists looking for interviews in which they will repeat the glorious and frustrating moments. No fans looking for an autograph, a selfie, a wave, a smile.
In this “maybe” quatrain, I am certain that this desire is unfeasible.
Pep can even leave the scene, live in a little thatched house on top of a mountain or in an isolated village, live as a hermit or with minimal social contact. But the myth is created: he is and will always be a football legend.
How will you be remembered? Whatever the case, there is an unequivocal certainty, and the pleonasm was deliberate, to reinforce what is well-known: Pep Guardiola will never be forgotten.
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