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Guardiola questions how FIFA can pick his squad at world club cup

04/10/2024

CFGA, Manchester, UK
Transcript
00:00If Kyle Walker plays tomorrow, it'll be his 400th Premier League appearance, quite a record.
00:06He's 34 years old now, is he showing any signs of slowing down at all?
00:10Sorry?
00:11Is he showing any signs of slowing down? He's 34 now.
00:14I don't have any doubts about Kyle, about his physicality, he can play wherever.
00:21Kyle is focused on what he has to do.
00:25I'm happy he's back in the national team, this milestone is unbelievable,
00:29and I think his win rate is not spectacular, it's superior.
00:35So that's why I congratulate him, because that means how consistent,
00:40how many games you have to play, how few injuries,
00:42because his physicality is out of the normal.
00:45But, yeah, Kyle has to be completely focused to get the best of him.
00:53You mentioned there he's back in the England squad,
00:55did he take a bit of time to get up to speed, maybe this year?
00:58Up to his best form?
01:00No, he has to play.
01:02The best form is play, but he has to, you know,
01:05to the end of every training session and the games and the minutes he plays.
01:09So all the teams, it's competitions.
01:12There are so many types of players, so there are many players that have been here
01:15seven, eight years, all together.
01:18And the men to play, but the men what they have done in the past,
01:23because I won the Premier League, I won here,
01:25for all the players, for the senior ones,
01:27I'm not talking about Sabino, the first year here.
01:30You know, for many, that is part of history, that doesn't count.
01:35You have to perform well right now, today, tomorrow at 3pm,
01:40this is the only count in modern sport and modern football.
01:46Just on Kevin and Belgium, Tedesco has been talking this morning
01:50and saying he's asked to skip November because he wants to look after his body.
01:54Do you think that is a sort of decision that comes with age and experience?
02:00You probably wouldn't have been able to make that call nine years ago.
02:04He knows his body, every player knows it,
02:06but especially at that age and especially after surgery,
02:09it will be the same like Rodri.
02:11So I know from my experience that when you have these long injuries,
02:15after that you have to be careful.
02:17And what the problem has, Kevin, is just the consequences
02:21for the last surgery, the last season was five months out.
02:25When that happens, when you have these surgeries,
02:30your body becomes unbalanced.
02:32Something is right, left, it's something.
02:35That's why you have to work out of the pitch a lot
02:39to make your body as balanced as possible.
02:43You cannot play every three days because after one year it will be perfect.
02:51But it is what it is, so we have to understand it.
02:55That's the reason why he decides for himself, for Tedesco,
03:02to decide what is the best for him.
03:04Because the best for him is the best for the national team.
03:06What is his actual problem at the moment?
03:08What's the injury?
03:11I don't know in English.
03:15I don't know.
03:16It's something here.
03:18The upper body is unbalanced for the lower body.
03:23It's not a big issue, but it still doesn't feel good.
03:27Can I just ask, when someone is out that long,
03:31after a surgery, particularly at Kevin's age,
03:35how do you go about managing those niggles and fitness issues?
03:40I would like to be told,
03:42today I'm tired, today I'm not ready.
03:45It's better to have less minutes, but the players don't say that.
03:48I would love to play every single game.
03:50That's nice, that's fine.
03:52But some moments the body says,
03:56warnings, I'm here.
04:01Because they are humans.
04:02There are a lot of games, a lot of years,
04:04many years of injuries, long ones,
04:06and the consequences are here.
04:08The same car, when you go to play for something,
04:12it's not the same car.
04:14Something is a little bit worse.
04:16It's not the same when you go to buy a car.
04:19It's normal, it's a lot of years there.
04:23That is part of the decisions you have to take,
04:26when you think about the selections,
04:28a bit about the future, the teams, the squad.
04:34It's not about the talent of the players,
04:39they are really, really good, all of them.
04:41But there are players that have age,
04:43and it happens, it's normal.
04:47We talked a little bit about the captaincy last week,
04:49and obviously there's six now,
04:51and I'm pretty sure there's other players in the dressing room
04:53who have strong personalities as well.
04:55How useful is it for a manager to have a dressing room
04:58where you've got so many senior, experienced players like that,
05:02who can sort out problems for themselves?
05:04It's better, much better.
05:07They have to.
05:09Absolutely.
05:11It's like that.
05:13I think in life, it's not all the time
05:15the manager will say they have to do it.
05:17There are many subjects, many issues,
05:19many things happen there, they have to solve it.
05:21They don't even knock on my door in my office.
05:24When there's a big problem, of course I'm there,
05:26I will intervene, but the rest, they have to.
05:29How much do you speak to them now?
05:31Has it decreased since you arrived?
05:33Do you speak to them less now than you did at the start?
05:35Much less, yeah.
05:38We know each other quite well.
05:40They know there are issues that are not necessary.
05:43So what do you talk to them about now?
05:45Just tactics for them, last match, next match?
05:47Yeah, mainly.
05:49That's why I'm here.
05:51Mainly that's the reason why.
05:53When there is something I smell,
05:55or some people say to me,
05:57I reflect and say,
05:59it's their business,
06:01I don't like that, let's go, let's talk.
06:03It's simple.
06:05Just in terms of your future,
06:07I know you said you didn't want to give an answer
06:09in terms of what you're actually going to do,
06:11but in the past you've talked about
06:13the smell of how things feel,
06:15if the players are hungry and fresh.
06:17In that sense, do you have a good feeling
06:19about this season?
06:21They love me so much.
06:23Honestly.
06:26They adore me.
06:30Don't laugh, it's true.
06:34Hi, Pep.
06:36Obviously after the injury to Rodrian,
06:38it could be any big player,
06:40senior player in the club,
06:42it might be natural for some of the team
06:44to worry that similar things could happen to them.
06:46Have you seen any sort of nature
06:48of players holding back, fearful of injury
06:50since in the games afterwards?
06:52Have you had to talk to anyone and say,
06:54don't be worried about injuries like Rodri's?
06:58Talk to them if they are concerned
07:00about the injury of Rodri.
07:02It could happen to them.
07:04No, don't think about that.
07:06I don't know if what's going to happen
07:08is going to happen.
07:10You've not seen any players maybe holding back?
07:12No, no, just go.
07:14Don't stress.
07:18You never know what's going to happen.
07:20Just prepare better your body.
07:22Not well prepared.
07:24Of course you are more risky
07:26but they are well prepared mentally and everything
07:28so it's not a problem.
07:30It's not affected the players mentally?
07:32No, I don't think so.
07:34They want to play, they want to do their best
07:36and when they are there.
07:38We feel sorry for Oscar, for Rodri,
07:40for all the injuries we had in the past.
07:42All the clubs have long injuries
07:44so the demanding of this sport every day
07:46is tougher and faster and quicker and stronger.
07:49It's the contacts and everything.
07:51The weather conditions,
07:53the less recovery
07:55and the risk is there.
07:57We know that but we don't have to think about it.
07:59Otherwise, as much as you think,
08:01as much as you are concerned about that,
08:03more risk is going to happen.
08:05Just flow and try to do your best.
08:11Pep, you obviously look at your squad
08:13and the fitness and try and manage
08:15people for the season.
08:17Do you have to do that now?
08:19Is it a normal season like that
08:21or do you have to think about the FIFA
08:23tournament as well?
08:25It's quite similar from the previous seasons.
08:27The only difference was the World Cup season
08:29in Qatar.
08:31Anyone knows
08:33what really would happen.
08:37But the rest is the only problem
08:39I would say would be the next season.
08:43I don't know
08:45what's going to happen.
08:47The season, as much as you go through
08:49in the competitions, the FA Cup, Champions League
08:51and so on, you have two more games
08:53in the Champions League.
08:55It's not much different I would say.
08:57The difference is when you finish the season
08:59and you go to the holidays,
09:01you have to go to the States
09:03to play the World Cup.
09:05The rest is quite similar
09:07to the previous seasons.
09:09When you get to that stage
09:11of the season to get to America,
09:13players could be physically
09:15or personally,
09:17could you see
09:19at that stage
09:21players being exhausted
09:23by the season?
09:25It depends
09:27if you are in the last stages
09:29of the FA Cup,
09:31so I don't know.
09:33I don't know if
09:35at the end of the season, before the States,
09:37the World Cup, we are going to play more games
09:39than the travel year.
09:42They won't play all the games
09:44of the season.
09:46Maybe we'll play less games.
09:48At the end, we'll be at this part
09:50this month, these three weeks,
09:52and after the holidays,
09:54the Premier League won't allow us
09:56to postpone Chelsea,
09:58but other teams will go to the
10:00World Cup, postpone the first two games
10:02to come to recovery.
10:04They don't postpone these games,
10:06so the moment will be
10:08like,
10:10what do you have to do?
10:12I don't have an answer right now,
10:14because I've not been there before.
10:16I don't know.
10:18We are going to take a decision
10:20with common sense.
10:22We are going to see the players,
10:24we are going to see how is the schedule,
10:26and after, we are going to decide.
10:28Have you asked for a delay?
10:30Did you say you and Chelsea
10:32won't let you
10:34delay a game next season?
10:36The first one, the first game,
10:38the Premier League,
10:40postpone it one, two, three weeks
10:42in the middle of the week
10:44to have one more week
10:46or two more weeks of holidays
10:48after the World Cup.
10:50Is that not allowed?
10:52Absolutely not.
10:54The Premier League say yes to us?
10:56No, absolutely not.
10:58It's not going to happen.
11:00Just similar to Mike's question,
11:02there's a perception, maybe with City,
11:04that you drop points in the autumn-winter months,
11:07but you come good around March, April, May.
11:09Is that something that's on your mind now,
11:11trying to think about already
11:13how you get this team?
11:15Never think about the future, March, February,
11:17what happens in the World Cup, never, ever.
11:19So I demand
11:21for my team, for myself,
11:23every single game, do the best.
11:25Because I don't know
11:27if we are going to make that plan
11:29because February will be perfect.
11:31Who knows that?
11:33I plan to be 12 months perfect.
11:35This is what I plan,
11:37knowing that we'll be up and down,
11:39but this is my plan.
11:41First season where we go, knowing that,
11:43OK, do your best,
11:45and knowing that we are not the best
11:47in the first games of the season,
11:49do the best every single time.
11:51Knowing that with this preparation,
11:53I prepare the game for tomorrow.
11:55All my preparation is full,
11:57not because I prepare
11:59because in February and March
12:01we'll be better than now.
12:03Maybe we are 20 points in front.
12:05Who knows?
12:07The game next is the best solution.
12:09In my experience, it's the best way.
12:11Can I also ask about Nathan Ake?
12:13We haven't actually asked him
12:15in a couple of weeks.
12:17Are you still expecting him back
12:19after the international break?
12:21Yeah.
12:23I would say without injury,
12:25but Nathan is not like Phil Foden,
12:27for example,
12:29or another player, I don't know,
12:31he's not in two training sessions or a fit.
12:33So he needs time.
12:35There'll be a big boost happening back, obviously.
12:37Yeah, I think it will be.
12:39The info I had yesterday or the day before
12:41is the Australia training
12:43on the pitch,
12:45and yeah, we'll see.
12:47Last one, Joel, please go.
12:49Just back to Kevin
12:51and the fact that he's asked
12:53not to play for Belgium next month
12:55to prolong his season effectively.
12:57Do you think more players will start
13:00to think about that and maybe
13:02not go on international duty
13:04because of the pressures that are being put on them?
13:06It's my advice.
13:08When they are fit, go to a national team.
13:10When you don't feel good, don't go.
13:12This is my advice.
13:16It's my advice.
13:18It doesn't mean they have to follow me.
13:20If they feel good,
13:22you have to represent your country.
13:24It's the most, I would say,
13:26for many players, the most important thing.
13:28When you are not fit, recover
13:30because you will be fine here
13:32and after you will be back better
13:34to the national team.
13:36That's why Kevin,
13:38my point of view, is the smartest
13:40and the wisest decision.
13:42Thank you, guys.

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