Brighton, England – All the strain Pep Guardiola feels during the pursuit of titles becomes worthwhile when a winners’ medal is placed around his neck.…
Brighton, England – All the strain Pep Guardiola feels during the pursuit of titles becomes worthwhile when a winners’ medal is placed around his neck.
It happens a lot.
Manchester City won its second straight Premier League trophy on Sunday, finishing one point ahead of Liverpool in a thrilling title race and giving Guardiola eight league championships over 10 years in three countries.
“Winning the title gives you a lot of energy,” Guardiola said after the clinching 4-1 victory over Brighton, “and is so addictive.”
Winning was become routine for City in a way it never was before the flow of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth began in 2008.
When Sheikh Mansour bought City, City’s only English championships in a history stretching back to 1880 were won in 1937 and 1968.
Now the club that was trampled over for so many years by Manchester United – and had to escape the third tier 20 years ago this month – is the force of English football with four titles in eight seasons. City finished first in 2012 under Roberto Mancini and ‘14 led by Manuel Pellegrini, then under Guardiola became the first repeat champion in a decade.
Guardiola earned six league titles as a defensive midfielder for Barcelona in the 1990s, the had hat tricks of league titles as coach at Barcelona and Bayern Munich
“I push my staff,” Guardiola said, “and I push myself.
