Guardiola on Burnley, defending title, schedule and Harry Kane's Bayern move
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00:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:03 Good afternoon, guys, same process as ever,
00:15 with mics on either side, we'll set an embargo partway through for 10.30 this evening.
00:20 We'll start with Ian, please.
00:22 Hello, Pep.
00:23 The Premier League season is upon us now,
00:26 how are the players' feelings about getting going again and targeting a fourth straight Premier League title?
00:32 Yeah, it looks like it finished yesterday, but we'll start here again.
00:38 I'll start from zero and try to, game by game,
00:44 it's not a good idea in August, September, to think about the title,
00:50 all these kind of things, so we'll perform our level day by day,
00:54 try to play better than the day before,
00:57 and go for it. We are here, so we'll try it.
01:03 Obviously, your team and yourself enjoyed unprecedented success for Manchester City last season,
01:09 how energised do you feel about going again and trying to do it all over again?
01:13 No, I don't think it will be possible to do what we have done last season.
01:19 It's a one-in-a-lifetime.
01:23 I said to the players, forget about it.
01:25 We climbed the highest mountain last season, what we have done,
01:28 but the last two days we came down to the mountain and we'll start from there.
01:36 Everyone with the same intention, and there will be a lot of difficulties
01:43 to climb as high as possible on our level, the mountain,
01:48 and we'll see. Our football, our behaviours, our mentality will dictate how the season will be.
01:58 In football and sport, what we have done remains in our hearts and our minds,
02:03 how nice it was, but it's over.
02:06 Every season starts from zero and again, but history speaks for itself.
02:13 When you achieve something, what you have done is almost impossible to repeat.
02:17 We have to be aware of that, and hopefully our fans and ourselves
02:23 can understand how difficult it was, and just try to win
02:28 or try to do good performances against Burnley, and after Newcastle,
02:32 and after Sheffield, and game by game. No more than that.
02:37 Obviously you faced Vincent Kompany last season with Burnley in the FA Cup.
02:42 They went on to come back to the Premier League after that.
02:46 From what you've seen last season, in pre-season,
02:50 what sort of a challenge do you expect from Vincent Kompany's Burnley in his first game?
02:55 Normally the first games are difficult for itself, especially for the new promoted,
03:00 because they have nothing to lose and they have the energy and the dream
03:08 to do a good season. A part of that, Bini knows us really well,
03:13 he made an incredible job, I think he's doing an incredible job,
03:16 he made an incredible job last season because he changed completely the way
03:19 he was playing Burnley for the last years with Sean Dyche.
03:24 He destroyed the Premier League, the Championship.
03:30 Since day one, win, win, win, win, it's so difficult in this competition.
03:36 And in the finest style, the proper style from Bini, he's made an incredible job
03:43 and I'm pretty sure he's going to do it really, really well.
03:45 It will be a tough, tough game, especially in the beginning of the season,
03:49 especially for the Champions League teams it's always so difficult,
03:53 because you need some time to reset, to really know,
03:57 'Oh, we have to come back to what we were', and that is a question of time.
04:05 Hi Pep, there's always a lot of noise around your players,
04:10 the latest is Cole Palmer, I know there's interest in other Premier League clubs
04:15 in taking him on loan, have you decided what you're going to do with Cole this season?
04:20 Cole is with us.
04:22 He's not going anywhere?
04:24 No, no, no. Today he's with us.
04:26 What's going to happen, I don't know, like other cases until the end of the month.
04:34 I understand completely he wants to be more active than the previous season,
04:40 I understand that, but Riyad is gone, so we have one more player there.
04:47 But we will see, I cannot say anything because of course the club,
04:53 because all the players have to know, me included as a manager,
04:57 we have a lot of desires, but the last decision belongs to the club.
05:01 Not the players, not the agents.
05:04 So you want to leave from here, it's OK, but you have to deal with the club.
05:09 Because at one moment in your life they bet for you,
05:14 and the club has to decide, and if they decide it's best to loan them,
05:20 or transfer, or stay here, all together we'll do it.
05:23 You spoke at length last week about the calendar and your issues with the calendar,
05:29 especially the new Club World Cup at the end of next season.
05:33 Next season also the Champions League expands,
05:37 so there's more games for every team, especially the biggest teams.
05:42 Are you bewildered why you don't get consulted?
05:47 You get told things are happening, but you don't get consulted.
05:51 There is no feeling about what the players think, what the managers think,
05:56 what everybody else thinks, just what makes more money for the game and for the club.
06:01 Sometimes we make meetings in UEFA, a long time ago,
06:06 but sometimes we do meetings in Premier League as well.
06:09 Yeah, we are there.
06:12 They don't seem to take any minutes.
06:16 I don't think so.
06:18 It's OK to play football, but it's a problem of the day,
06:21 so we don't have enough days to make all these competitions.
06:26 So when the Premier League team don't play in Europe, it's not a problem.
06:30 But normally when people say you play in the same conditions as the Premier League,
06:35 we don't play in the same conditions as the Premier League with the rest of the teams.
06:38 We play more games than the other teams.
06:46 We will be honest, when we play the Premier League 38 games,
06:51 we don't play in the same conditions as the other teams,
06:55 because we play much more and we play against Newcastle after playing on Wednesday two days ago,
07:00 the Super Cup against Sevilla.
07:04 We would like to play a lot of games, but it's a question of no more months, no more days.
07:11 So it's more games, so we cannot give days off to the players.
07:17 But this argument is from a long, long time ago and it's getting worse and worse and worse.
07:22 But what can I do?
07:23 So at the end they decide, UEFA decides, FIFA decides, the Premier League decides,
07:26 the clubs in Europe decide, and they will decide.
07:30 What can I say?
07:32 Nothing is going to change.
07:33 I think the worst is with all the managers here sitting,
07:35 because I remember Jurgen talking about that, or myself talking about that,
07:40 or managers like we are involved for many, many years in many, many games,
07:45 it's getting worse and worse, but they don't listen.
07:47 So that's why when they invite us to the UEFA meetings, we are busy.
07:50 When they invite us, the argument is, I cannot go because I'm busy.
07:54 I have a game the day after.
07:57 I have to prepare.
07:58 I don't have time to go.
08:00 I don't have time.
08:01 I have to prepare my team, I have to prepare mentally and relax myself to prepare,
08:05 because it's a lot, a lot.
08:09 Andy?
08:10 Hi Pep, how is Josco Vardial settled in, is he ready to play tomorrow?
08:15 Who?
08:16 Vardial.
08:17 Oh, yeah, he's ready.
08:19 How is he settled in?
08:21 Yeah, perfect.
08:22 Nathan Ake, how is he?
08:25 He's training good, he's ready too.
08:27 There's obviously been a bit of speculation about Kyle Walker's future,
08:33 are there any further updates on that situation?
08:36 No, we are wishing him a good stay,
08:39 it's been a long time since we've made him feel,
08:42 but no news.
08:45 Hi Pep, I don't know if you've seen the news today about Harry Kane,
08:52 your old club Bayern Munich have agreed a deal with Tottenham to sign him.
08:56 Is that officially?
08:58 No, but...
08:59 They agreed a deal, so the clubs have obviously got to that point.
09:03 I just wonder, Harry Kane is a player you admire,
09:06 what specifically is it about him, what qualities does he bring to the team?
09:11 Everybody knows,
09:14 everybody knows, just take a look at him, how good he is.
09:19 He has two attributes, he's a top striker, right, left, header,
09:26 dropping quality to play, assists,
09:29 score goals being in the box, score goals arriving.
09:33 An exceptional striker, he's shown that in many, many years.
09:39 Just Alan Shearer is in front of him, and a top goal scorer all the time,
09:43 so an exceptional player.
09:46 But I don't know if, in the end, Danny Levy allowed him to leave,
09:51 or whether he'll stay there, so I don't know.
09:55 What about your squad building at the moment?
09:58 We've spoken a lot about the number of games,
10:01 are you expecting to need to rotate more this season,
10:04 and in theory have more players to use?
10:06 Every season is the same, except we play the Super Cup against Sevilla,
10:13 the World Cup in Saudi Arabia in wintertime,
10:16 the rest of the games are the same as the previous season.
10:21 We'll see, we still have a few days, two or three weeks,
10:26 and the end of the market, so we'll see.
10:29 Can I ask you about the interest in Lucas Paqueta,
10:33 where is that, what is it about that player?
10:37 I will answer about Kyle Walker, but not about Paqueta,
10:40 because he's a West Ham player.
10:43 Does he fit the type of player, the type of midfielder you like, Paqueta?
10:52 He's a West Ham player.
10:54 Can I ask you as well, Pep, about the hunger of your players to go again?
11:00 It's something that you have proved season after season,
11:03 that you have the hunger.
11:05 I remember you said earlier this year that as a Barcelona player
11:09 you felt that after four leagues in a row you weren't as hungry.
11:13 How do you keep yourself hungry as a manager now?
11:16 We have to challenge ourselves.
11:19 I cannot do it for myself, my staff have to challenge me,
11:22 I have to challenge the players, they have to challenge me,
11:25 I have to challenge the players.
11:27 It's something to still be in there, we have to push each other.
11:31 If the people expect the players to be the only ones who have to do it,
11:35 it will not be possible.
11:37 So I have to admit I'm really surprised after many years,
11:41 every single year I have these doubts and everyone responds amazingly,
11:45 but we start again, so we will see.
11:50 But in the end, now in the beginning when something happens,
11:54 everybody starts to think 'oh, it's going to be different',
11:58 it's 11 months, so question step by step,
12:02 recover who we are and compete like we have done against Arsenal.
12:07 Step by step we will take our best form for most of the players.
12:13 And the players have to know that,
12:16 OK, we are here, let's go again.
12:20 Summer is over, let's go again.
12:23 This job is short, it's magnificent, it's so beautiful,
12:27 but with 33/34 it's over, so we have to use it every season like an opportunity.
12:32 And if you are tired at an absence, because here,
12:35 I believe you are tired, but you are not.
12:38 So we have to be ready again.
12:40 Set the embargo for 10.30 this evening, please, guys.
12:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]