"You can be happy even if you don't win"
Pep Guardiola has a particular way of looking at football, and also at life. Proof of this can be found in his recent interview.
In football, it's often only a win that's worth celebrating, but Guardiola believes that it is possible to be happy without the success and victory. This is what he confessed in an interview with Puma, the sports provider for Manchester City.
Guardiola, interviewed by the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, an idol in his country, along with other sportsmen like his compatriot Sunil Chetri, star of the Indian team, for Puma, gave his point of view on competitiveness in sport.
"It's always about winning, winning, winning, and that's not true. You can be happy even if you don't win. Suffer the bad moments, enjoy the good ones, but have fun. Try to do your best all the time. Don't you win? Okay, try again. We'll do our best to win," he explained.
He praised, however, the step forward that his club has managed to take. "We are a team that has taken an incredible step forward in the last decade. We wanted to be on a par with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham... And we are there. We did it," he continued.
And he also revealed what makes him focus on a particular player. "We see the skills, but we should see more of the character. To know the skills, you watch the videos," he said.
"Everyone can see them, but in the videos no one can say how they handle difficult situations, how they react and how they overcome adverse situations. Character makes the difference in being competitive and hungry," Guardiola said.
He made it clear that, like almost everyone, he misses playing with an audience. "Without people it's not the same, it's like a friendly match. We can do it because the show must go on," he said.
"We need people back in the stadiums. It's a completely different game. It's empty. Playing behind closed doors is strange," added the City coach.