Manchester City's Pep Guardiola IS a footballing Messiah, but he can also be a very naughty boy
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The reason Pep Guardiola gave Raheem Sterling a peck on the cheek the other night was probably to stop himself wringing his player’s neck after another glaring miss.
Or, for those totally in thrall to the unbridled genius of Guardiola, it was the sort of compassionate man-management last enjoyed by the Twelve Apostles.
Worshipping at the altar of Pep is no bad thing.
He is producing a brand of football with Manchester City that is utterly mesmeric, heavenly, and now we know what a real Special One looks like.
But let’s not make him a special case.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
The signs were there when the Football Association decided they should just ‘remind him of his responsibilities’ after he ambushed Southampton’s Nathan Redmond at the end of a match in November and berated him for not playing in the way Pep thought he should be playing.
Ah, it was just his passion, spreading his gospel to the needy at other clubs.
Redmond should have been grateful.
Last Sunday in Cardiff, Guardiola’s anger was understandable.
By the final whistle, he knew Joe Bennett’s disgraceful challenge - if it can be called a challenge - would mean Leroy Sane missing a couple of months’ action.
Not only that, Guardiola, by that point, knew the consequences could have been a lot worse.
(Image: AFP)
So he vented his fury on Mason. He was on the pitch for a minute, pointing at Mason, shouting, ranting.
As he finally left the field, he could not resist one last accusatory jab of the finger.
That was that.
Guardiola’s very public castigation of a match official was deemed acceptable because of the violence of Bennett’s offence.
Yet having been inside the stadium myself, that violence was only painfully evident on televised review.
The FA did not even remind him of his responsibilities this time.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
(Image: PA Wire)
As Stan Collymore pointed out in his MirrorFootball column at the beginning of the week, Guardiola’s call for players to be better protected was marking referees’ cards.
And the public’s card, too.
That is partly why, in the match against West Bromwich Albion, Matt Phillips’ scything lunge at Brahim Diaz drew much more critical attention than Fernandinho treading on Grzegorz Krychowiak.
On Wednesday night, Guardiola took off at fourth official Kevin Friend, who felt compelled to call over ref Bobby Madley.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
Crimes against City’s players are mounting, yet that is only part-mitigation for Guardiola’s berating of officials.
However, playing the type of football he has brought to these shores pretty much gives you unlimited credit.
That is why most will swallow the line that Guardiola has long been on the trail of Riyad Mahrez, and not just after Sane got injured.
(Image: PA)
That is why his declaration that City cannot make the big, big signings does not get laughed out of court.
That is why everyone loves his scarf.
That is why we all love him — because we have not seen football of this standard played game in, game out, by a single team on these shores in our lifetimes. That is no exaggeration.
Pep’s a messiah, for sure.
But we should not forget he can be a very naughty boy.