2023-06-23 09:00:18
Gündogan from Barça de Guardiola was haunted. The one he saw on television with a midfield as legendary as unrepeatable. That Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta trio allowed the player to fabulate about what it would be like to touch the ball in that area surrounded by those geniuses.
In addition, the former City captain was fascinated by Guardiola’s way of working at Bayern Munich (2013-2016), despite the fact that it deprived him of domestic titles. “You spent 90 minutes chasing the ball without knowing why,” Gundogan said, astonished, while trying to assimilate that a couple of people he trusted had whispered to him that Guardiola liked him.
One day, in the changing room tunnel, prior to Bayern-Dortmund, the Catalan coach slipped through the players on his way to the bench. Suddenly he nudged Gundogan. He thought then that it was something casual. Maybe he wasn’t. Months later, City activated Guardiola’s first transfer plan after his hiring was made official in February 2016. And on the list is the arrival of Gündogan as a priority objective.
Even so, the player wanted to meet with the coach. “Do you really love me?” he snapped. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it. He needed to hear it. And there began a long and fruitful relationship that allowed him to settle the debt that was left pending at Wembley with that lost Champions League final.
Then, as neighbors, he told an anecdote. She was with a friend and they found out then that it was Guardiola’s birthday. He handed her a bottle of champagne and a congratulation written in Spanish. Half an hour later, the player and his friend received an unexpected visitor. “When I heard the doorbell, I thought he had ordered a pizza or something like that. My friend opened the door and it was Pep! He asked: ‘Where’s Gundo?'” That’s what the coach calls the midfielder. He brought Pep three glasses and the bottle of champagne. They spent an hour talking together.
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