Guardiola hits back at Capelloās āarrogantā jibe

Between them, Fabio Capello (seven) and Pep Guardiola (12) have won 19 league titles with six different clubs
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Published
Pep Guardiola has hit back at Fabio Capelloās latest criticism of his management style ā and the Manchester City boss insists he has āraised the barā in the Premier League.
The pair have had a frosty relationship since the Italian managed Guardiola for a short time at Roma in 2002, and the 78-year-old felt the Spaniard spoke out of turn.
Capello reignited their feud in the middle of Cityās woeful run of one win in 13 games earlier this season.
Speaking on Sky Italia, the former Juventus, AC Milan and England coach said Guardiola was āway too arrogant and presumptuousā because he wanted to prove City were winning matches through his tactics.
While they have stabilised their campaign, City are still struggling for consistency and are fifth in the Premier League and face an FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth on 30 March for their only chance of a major trophy this season, having won the Community Shield in August.
After their 1-0 defeat at third-placed Nottingham Forest last weekend, Capello gave an interview to Spanish newspaper El Mundo in which, while praising Guardiolaās tactics, he said the City manager was āarrogantā and had ācaused enormous damageā to Italian football because coaches tried to imitate his tactics.
Guardiola was clearly aware of the comments, given the manner in which he acknowledged them when a question was asked before Saturdayās league game against Brighton.
āI listen to everything that people say about me, so be careful,ā he said.
āItās not the first time Mr Fabio Capello has said that. Iām not good enough to ruin Italian football. A big hug to Fabio. A big hug.ā
The response continued a long-established policy of Guardiola referring to individuals he has a problem with as āMrā, which includes former player Joao Cancelo, ex-midfielder Yaya Toureās agent Dimitri Seluk and Kevin Parker, general secretary of the Manchester City supportersā club, who got embroiled in a spat over attendances.
The sarcasm extended to a second answer as he assessed the ability of middle-ranking Premier League teams to win the title in the future.
āI donāt want to pretend to be, and naming again one of the big managers, one of the exceptional managers in Fabio Capello, and look arrogant, but we helped raise the bar in the Premier League,ā added Guardiola, who made five appearances in his one-year playing spell at Roma.
āTeams had to go to the markets and that helps people. People want to do good, people are well organised, have good structures, good decisions, good players everywhere.
āIāve been here when I went to Bournemouth in the beginning, and now itās different. And when I went in the beginning in Brighton, and now itās different. And when I went in Fulham in the beginning, and now itās different.ā
Bournemouth, Brighton and Fulham have played in the Championship during Guardiolaās nine-year City tenure and are now challenging for Champions League qualification places this season.
āIām an old guy, Iām the oldest manager here, nine years. So I know the evolution of the Premier League has been massive,ā he added.
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Published26 July 2022
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