Guardiola created a great football and is known as the philosopher of football (although Ibrahimovic also called him disparagingly by the same title), but he was not satisfied with this title, he was also a football diplomat.
If Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti wants to know the latest secrets in Manchester City's training, he only needs to ask Raul. Raul had just visited Guardiola in Manchester around the time of the Manchester City vs Liverpool match, and he had traveled to the UK more than once to recharge his batteries in Guardiola's training sessions. Raúl and Guardiola were excellent friends, and Raul's first goal for the Spanish national team was assisted by Guardiola.
Is Guardiola worried that Raul will reveal his secrets? He wouldn't think about it. There are a lot of Champions League secrets about Manchester City, even Guardiola himself and the players do not necessarily know in advance, he is always used to be creative before the game, sometimes his new moves are more effective, sometimes he hurts himself first. But Guardiola doesn't care, he seems to care more about always showing up on the field with the style he insists on, he can't always decide the result, but he can always decide the style, and the result is often determined by luck and a small detail or two. Now Guardiola is like a Go master who has achieved fame and fame, and only concentrates on leaving famous chess scores, and in recent years he has especially preferred to leave famous games with Klopp.
Perhaps, that's why Guardiola's Manchester City and Ancelotti's Real Madrid were able to play a gorgeous 4-3 in the Champions League semi-finals. Guardiola's Manchester City and Pochettino's Tottenham Have also played in the Champions League, but that was the quarter-final, and there was the VAR controversy, which is worth remembering as much as this semi-final.
This encounter between Manchester City and Real Madrid, there is no legendary chat scene between Guardiola and Zidane after the game, and the 90-minute game is a greater legend. The view that "both sides are not defensive" is somewhat superficial, and it is more accurate to say that the two coaches are like a tacit understanding, absolutely do not need to focus on destroying the opponent by similar to the rogue rogue's stalking, interference and blocking, but try to express their own football concepts, and to a certain extent, let the opponent have the space to express.
Guardiola's side certainly have to be the first to express themselves at home. The first two goals are classic Guardiola routines: when pressed across the line, the Real Madrid backline is forced to pull sideways, And City attack from the far side, but the forward is only a feint, the real direction is horizontally, like kicking the pitch sideways, Real Madrid's already stretched defensive line is too late to tighten, always leaving a contact point in the middle that Manchester City players can find. Real Madrid pulled back a 1-2 goal, relying on a counter-attack in front of the field, and Benzema showed his superb shooting skills.
But the best embodiment of Guardiola's "football diplomat" is Fernandinho's replacement of Stones with an injury. The 36-year-old Brazilian is at right-back, speed is definitely not his strong point, Guardiola has at least a professional defender option on the bench, but he has to use Fernandinho's offensive talents to have a wonderful 3-1 cross in the second half. High-speed under-the-bottom cross is not Guardiola's favorite routine, really want to play, let a cameo character who is not known for speed to complete.
Guardiola certainly knew what Fernandinho's flaws were, and Real Madrid quickly discovered and exploited them. The 3-1 was followed by Vinicius' long-drive breakthrough with the ball. Not only was it impossible for Fernandinho to catch up, but his serious lack of defensive experience in this cameo position also led to Vinicius being unstoppable after the breakthrough. Vinicius actually had a similar break, but he fell to the ground and the referee didn't blow fouls.
With Stones injured and missing Hasseló and Kyle Walker, most coaches will take a more conservative approach to play than Guardiola. However, Guardiola seems to understand the essence of romanticism - he seeks openness and integration, so he does not worry about the weakness of his team (he cannot be unaware of Fei Bird's flaws in the right-back position), exposes weaknesses and even allows weaknesses to be exploited by opponents, he is more concerned about whether the 90-minute football game can become a grand event in this kind of self-expression of ideas and let others express ideas.
Too many people have given praise for the game, and I don't have to quote them all, but the praise itself shows that weaknesses, scum defenses, mistakes and other issues can all be ignored, and what is important is that football presents unforgettable beauty and passion. This game proves that football can be ugly and dull to play, but sometimes it can also reach the most impressive excitement and passion of all human sports.
No wonder the famous Italian journalist Paolo Condo wrote only one word after the game: sex.
What kind of sex experience is the most fascinating? Everyone may have a different answer, but one premise must be satisfied: both sides are fully expressed. From this point of view, Guardiola returned from football diplomat to the identity of football philosopher, and his football is a sexy expression that perfectly interprets the words of the French philosopher Lacan: The opposite sex is the person who is opposite me.
Author: Wang Qinbo
This article was originally published in the Sports Plus app