💔Pep Guardiola:
“People think football gives you everything. The trophies, the nights under the lights, the songs from the fans… and yes, it gives you beautiful moments. But football also takes. It takes time. It takes peace. It takes pieces of you that you don’t even realise are disappearing.
For many years, I was obsessed. Completely obsessed. I woke up thinking about football, I slept thinking about football. Even when I was sitting with my family, mentally I was somewhere else — thinking about tactics, training, pressure, the next match, the next title. I gave everything to this game. Maybe too much.
There was a moment in my life when my wife looked at me and said, ‘You have to choose. Football or us.’ And the truth is… I chose football.
At that time, I believed I was doing the right thing. I told myself this was my passion, my responsibility, my identity. But passion can become addiction when you forget the people who love you outside of your work.
You win trophies, and everyone celebrates you for one night. Then the next morning, they ask what comes next. Another game. Another title. Another sacrifice. Football never says ‘enough.’ It always asks for more.
And one day, I looked around and realised the people I loved were growing older while I was standing on the touchline shouting about a misplaced pass. My children were becoming adults. Time was moving. Life was moving. And I was missing it.
That hurts more than losing any final.
Now I understand something I didn’t understand when I was younger: there is life beyond football. Real life. Quiet mornings with your family. Conversations without pressure. Laughing at dinner without thinking about the weekend’s lineup. Being present. Truly present.
Football gave me everything professionally, but family gives me something football never could — peace.
So yes, maybe it is time to stop for a while. To rest. To breathe. To wake up without pressure in my chest. To be a husband. To be a father. Not a manager. Not a genius coach. Just a man with the people he loves.
Because in the end, when the stadium lights go dark and the crowds go home, you understand something very simple:
Love matters more than football.
And for the first time in many years… I am ready to choose that.”
How far did @Arsenal have to go to win the Premier League under Mikel Arteta?
24,643 kms covered.
544 km sprinted.
1,427 km at high speed.
45,170 sprints.
What a journey.
Huge congrats to everyone at the club, and not least @tallen_5@BarrySolan@bentalbs22 & many more
Jadon Sancho’s drama continues. 😳
Did you know that during his substitution against Nottingham Forest, his entrance was delayed because of his socks? The referee noticed that his socks had cuts and told him he had to properly cover them before entering the pitch.
So the game had to pause for a moment while they found something to wrap around the socks and tie them properly before he could come on.
My question is: didn’t Sancho know that those cut socks are no longer allowed? What is really going on with the discipline of this boy?
For me, this is one of the reasons he even left Manchester United because of discipline issues, and it looks like the same problems are still continuing.
Maybe that’s also why he is getting limited playing time at Aston Villa. Yes, he is going to play in the UEFA Europa League final, but he still needs to change.
Dembélé, Ballon d’Or, est remplacé par Luis Enrique en demi-finale de la C1 à la 65e minute pour des raisons tactiques. Il quitte le terrain sous les applaudissements, en saluant son entraîneur et le public.
C’est ça la différence entre le PSG d’avant et le PSG d’actuel
🎙️ | Capello: “The national team is a reflection of the Italian league. In our league, players either walk or jog, whereas in other countries they run and sprint. When you then go to play a match where you need to sprint, you’re not used to it and you struggle. Habit makes you think faster, gives you the technique to anticipate a pass, to handle the speed of the exchange and the control — all things that in Italy we do at a rhythm that’s not suited to the international level.
The biggest mistake lies in the youth academies, where 12-year-olds are already doing tactics. I always have a bit of fun during speeches when I ask: do you have kids who play football? Yes. Do they do tactical schemes? Yes, they answer proudly. Well, I’d sack the coach immediately. Even professionals struggle with tactics, and they expect them from kids! Let them have fun — teach them how to kick the ball. Do you know what the problem is? It’s easier to teach tactics than to teach technique. That’s where we’ve failed — we don’t have the right teachers. You need to understand each player’s flaws: we’re not all the same; height varies, one may have a big foot, another a small one. Coaching is about observing, understanding, and teaching.
I was lucky to have GB Fabbri as my coach at SPAL — he lived for technique. Liedholm, for warm-ups, made us spend 20 minutes juggling and passing. It may sound old-fashioned, but we still play with the ball, and you’ve got to know how to handle it.”
[@Gazzetta_it via @Guidolino8]
@PedMenCoach Should me more often …
In modern football we just analyze GPS data and forgot Cardio impact on performances.
Thats a big mistake.
How many time players are in cardio red zone during week training …?
Ma grand mère m'a dit un jour : « Si tu prends le mauvais train, descends à la première gare, car plus tu mets de temps à descendre, plus le voyage retour sera cher. »
Il ne me parlait pas de trains.
💚 Il y a 22 ans, le 4 février 2004…
Une demi-finale d’anthologie se déroulait à GG, où les Verts (en L2) étaient à deux doigts d’éliminer l’ogre sochalien.
De 2-0 à 2-3, le Chaudron a livré l’une des plus grosses ambiances de son histoire pour ceux qui l’ont vécue.
At Arsenal FC, players must be alert from the very first minutes of training.
Under Mikel Arteta, the staff constantly use balls of different sizes to trigger reactions.
Perception.
Immediate focus.
No autopilot.
From the first touch, the brain is on.