Being naked, alcohol and sleeping at 4AM, Kompany to Bayern – Every word from Pep Guardiola’s embargoed pre-Manchester United press conference | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has discussed Vincent Kompany’s potential move to Bayern Munich to become their new head coach as part of a wide-ranging embargoed press conference.

Manchester City have the opportunity to win their fourth trophy of the campaign in the final domestic fixture of the season, following on from last weekend’s fourth consecutive Premier League title win.

City have already claimed the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in the ongoing campaign, and now have the chance to become the first ever side to win the domestic double in back-to-back seasons.

Speaking ahead of Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup final against Manchester United, Pep Guardiola has discussed a number of talking points including the prospect of being naked without his players, the sarcastic importance of alcohol, and Vincent Kompany.

This is every single word from the embargoed section of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Manchester United press conference from the City Football Academy on Friday afternoon!

On Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich

“I don’t know, it’s not confirmed, right? I’m happy with that link, if this happens, that Bayern are linked to Vinny. I have a huge, huge opinion about Vinny, it doesn’t matter if he was relegated with Burnley.

“What I felt when I played against him, and I know him a little bit, I have a high standard opinion about his work, as a person, because of his personality, knowledge about the game, and how he handles the media, and many things.

“I would love Bayern to take the best decision, they deserve it, I love that club, I’m in love with Bayern Munich for many, many reasons, especially the people that are still there. And hopefully they can take the best decision. If they believe that Vinny is the right decision, from Manchester City, they have a guy that we will support unconditionally.”

On whether he still thinks Vincent Kompany will end up at Manchester City one day

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah for sure. You will call me when this is going to happen.”

On what he thinks has been the biggest difference between Manchester City and Manchester United

“I don’t know. Don’t tell me these questions, because now it’s easy to answer… I don’t know, I’m not there. I would like to answer you with all my honesty. But I’m not there. So I don’t know. So I can talk about what we are, it’s obvious.

“So I said many times, from above, there, up there, to here, the same path, and we do our mistakes, but we believe in what we do, and we continue and continue. Not all the signings are good, not all the decisions are good, it’s impossible.

“All the clubs in the world take a wrong decision, but it’s not about after you complain, it’s just OK what’s next and try the same path. And when that happens, you are consistent. And after, to win the titles at the end with the little, little margins, a bit of luck.

“Bernardo (Silva) said perfectly in these days; in the Premier League we had luck sometimes, and in the Champions League we were incredibly unlucky many times. It’s football, so accept it and move forward. And I think this is the reason why.

“Of course, it helps having the same manager for many years, the same sporting director, the same chairman, CEOs, and all the people, of course move a lot of people since I arrived here. A lot, a lot of people from our departments, here in HQ changed a lot. But the idea is quite, quite similar. That’s why we are still there.”

On the perception of Manchester City winning fairly easily in the FA Cup final due to the Premier League gap

“We are used to it. We start in September, October and we are going to win the Champions League, the Premier League by 25 points in front. Every year, in the last years. I said, ‘OK it’s right’. But you say it’s boring. When you win by one point or two points in front, like what happened with Liverpool many times, or Arsenal many times, it’s not boring.

“If you tell me that every season we win by 15 or 20 points, I would tell you, ‘Yeah it’s boring’. But it’s not going to happen. So they are used to it. People think about that it’s going to happen because we are 31 points in front of United, and the people say it will be easy.

“I understand that, but it’s another competition, it’s one game. It can be 10 against 11, bad decisions, mistakes can happen, and you can lose the game, you can lose a game, we know we can lose a game. In a long period, we have been better than United, in these years, it’s obvious, it’s facts *claps hands*. Every game we are there. But in one game? Everything can happen.

“And the players know, and feel it, and I hope we are ready to play the last game of the season. And to try, it’s the FA CUP! FA Cup is… wow, it’s nice! FA Cup is FA Cup, that’s why it deserves all our focus.”

On whether he views last season’s final as a very close contest

“There were moments. We started really well with the early goal from (Ilkay) Gundo, and after we had a good period, and after they equalised. The second-half was really good, we scored the second, we played really good.

“We could make the third, and in the last minutes they put a lot of players there (in attack) with (Scott) McTominay. I remember perfectly; long balls, second balls, and we struggled, on free-kicks, corners in the last minutes. But at the end we handled it well. I think we deserved to win that game, and with all honesty.

“It’s past, it doesn’t matter the opinion about that. But it’s a final, so moments, we had moments, they had moments. But in general, we played a good final.”

On whether the FA Cup final is different this year as it does not precede a Champions League final

“Well, no, it’s quite similar. Of course we had it a little bit in mind Inter Milan, but we knew that we took it seriously. We arrived tired, I would say, last season. In the last games, mentally we were so exhausted last season because now the fact that in the quarter-finals we were out to Real Madrid, we didn’t play semi-finals between Nottingham Forest, Fulham or these kind of games.

“So that helps us for the Premier League. I don’t know how we would’ve reacted, how we would be just in case we would have gone through in the Champions League. But I think we arrive in a good mood and we trained really well in the last two or three days, and we will see. Maybe we play a bad game and maybe we don’t win, I don’t know.

“But I have the feeling that now we take lunch, and after take a train and I have the feeling we will travel with the intention to still be there, we are not disconnected already after the Premier League. I have the feeling that still we are there.”

On whether he still has that feeling in his stomach before matches, real anticipation

“I cannot deny that the mood in the offices is really, really high, it’s really, really good. People laugh a lot, but in the moments of work, they were so focussed. It’s normal. I don’t want to be so much concerned because still I like to be with the players to enjoy, celebrate the fact they won the Premier League.

“But I’m pretty sure tomorrow we’ll have the butterflies, we will have what they do, we have the good decisions, how the players will feel, all the question marks that you have before the game – I think it’s going to happen.”

On what gives him the feeling, because it could be normality

“No, it’s not. Always I have the feeling that this is an exception, always I have the feeling that when you win the Premier League it’s an exception, and the people think differently. I have the feeling that playing the final of the FA Cup is an exception, always I have the feeling that it’s so difficult to win against Spurs away, we have to win against Newcastle at home, we have to win against Luton in that moment, so to arrive here always is difficult.

“Always I don’t take it for granted. This is the reason why we respect a lot the opponents, we take it seriously, we can lose every single game, at the same time we can win it and never, never I have the feeling that it doesn’t matter, it’s only one. Absolutely not. In the finals, when you arrive, it’s something ‘WOW, it’s a privilege’ to be here again. Many good teams think in the past that it’s for granted, look now it’s difficult. Always I say to the players, ‘What you have done, to arrive in the finals, always it’s difficult’. And I don’t change my mind.”

On the importance of the FA Cup knock-out games for Jeremy Doku and Oscar Bobb’s development

“Everyone has his own skills and qualities, and we need some specific, specific things and we need them. All the players know that we arrive here all together, everyone made his own contribution, ones more than the other ones, we know that. But it happens in all the seasons, with all the managers, with all the teams, that there are players more important than the other ones.

“We arrive all together. When you see the minutes from Julian (Alvarez), (Mateo) Kova, important players that we are there because they were massively important to arrive where we arrived. And they have that feeling, they have that feeling that they made a contribution and helped us a lot. In the highlights always there are specific ones, two, three players, the manager when we win – that’s fine, because it is what it is.

“But we know internally how many, many, many important players for us, maybe they are not in the highlights but they were important and that proved a lot.”

On the important factors to keeping Manchester City’s injuries as low as possible

“It’s a good question, because sometimes you do the same and you have a lot of injuries but I think in the past, in the last years, we controlled really, really well. I think we have Lorenzo Bonaventura, this is a master to know exactly to tell me, ‘Pep, today is soup’. Soup, hot soup, and garage. Don’t do. Sometimes today we have to increase a little bit.

“We are used to playing for many, many, many years since we are together playing every three days during 60 matches until the last stages for many, many years. And we know, we learn that sometimes it’s no training, just a little bit and keep the energy for the game, it’s so important. And second we have an incredible department of doctors and physios, unbelievable.

“They stay here 60, 70 hours. It’s not just 20 minutes making a massage, it’s hours and hours and hours, mornings and afternoons, don’t go home, to the players to do it. And the players itself, always it’s a part of the players. They sleep properly, they eat properly, they train properly, they go out a lot, they go to sleep at 3 or 4, they drink a lot of alcohol – this kind of stuff is invisible that you don’t see, it’s massively important.

“And I have the feeling that all of the, they are incredibly focussed in what they have to care about the bodies to be fit. Because you can have a lot of ideas, tactics, or many, many things. If you don’t have the players, what can you do? I’m naked! In that moment, I’m naked! This is the truth. We have an incredible departments.

“When we talk about the group and the team and the organisation, what I said before about what is the reason why, it’s that. So every department pushes eachother and gets better and they found what they can do better and better, and all big teams have this infrastructure that doesn’t depend on me, it depends on the club, you cannot survive (without this). Once a week, maybe.

“Now, I’m going on holidays on Monday. But these guys – 70% or 80% of them – go to the national teams. And when I start the pre-season, yesterday I started to think about it or the day before, we have an Academy and four or five players, Erling (Haaland), Oscar (Bobb), Sergio (Gomez), Matheus (Nunes), and that’s all. Stefan (Ortega), Rico (Lewis), there’s five or six players. Scott (Carson), no more.

“Going on tour with these seven or eight players, and after when we arrive in four or five days, Community Shield! And most for the Community Shield will not be there. And you have Olympic Games, maybe some players want to go to the Olympic Games, and Copa America, and European Cup, so that’s why if the players don’t do this or you don’t have this structure, you cannot survive at all. It’s impossible.

“And we have really, really good doctors, Max and Edu are unbelievable, and all the physios, all of them, and nutritionists, Tom and Hannah, they are really, really good. And that little details helps to be fit and after you can use them and compete in the competitions.”

On whether he has doubts about his Manchester City line-up vs Manchester United

“No, doubts not. We can play in different ways and I have to think about it. They are all fit, they want to play, and now I have to decide. Mainly I’ve decided, but I have some doubts with the training, we talk with the staff, and we will decide tomorrow.

“But it happens quite often. Playing every three days, never when I come here do I have a 100% the decision made, a few, few times. Always I have the last night to think about it, and the day of the game normally I decide the team.”