After two weeks of tears and tantrums from the more excitable elements of their recently acquired supporters, Guardiola finally appears wreathed in smiles.
Guardiola judges the opening question to be pefect.
“Pep, a great result. A good performance against a strong team.”
The interviewer, in Pep’s mind, has said it perfectly.
” It is not necessary for me to add anything else.”
He does though find something to add.
“London, Away, Against Tottenham, one of the toughest teams.”
We are also reminded of the context.
“We have done what we have done after a tough week. Because in some moments it was so unfair on us.”
“After what happened to us this week, we come here and play with our personality and the way we want to play.”
If anyone has missed this frame of reference, Guardiola calls out the games in question.
“After we went 2-0 up, maybe it was not easy for my players, remember Man Utd, remember Liverpool, but we were good and create more chances to score goals in the second half. ”
“At the end, we are so, so happy.”
Leadership communication lesson
Success brings many benefits and one of the most powerful is the opporunity it provides a leader to shape a narrative to their benefit. Success in the league means that defeats to Man Utd and, most damagingly, to Liverpool can be used to highlight the ability of his players to rebound from setbacks. Every manager seeks to convince their players of this ability and Guardiola does not miss this trick. He will also know it is a trick and, over the summer, this will become apparent as expensive replacement are found through the transfer market.
Post-match 