A glorious, gruelling season for Guardiola, Barcelona, Spain

At the top of a protracted, gruelling season, I can not be alone in listening to voices. Most loudly, in my head, I hear the voices of the uplifting interviews that marked the end result of this interminable, distinctive 11-month slog.

I hear Pep Guardiola’s, for instance. In the week main as much as Manchester City’s treble-clinching win in Istanbul, I requested him whether or not, given the horrible reverses he’d suffered as participant and coach, he’d ever “grown to hate” the Champions League.

I considered him shedding 4-0 within the 1994 last in Athens, as a Barcelona participant, to Fabio Capello’s AC Milan. The brutal semifinal elimination as Barcelona’s coach to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in 2010 — pressured to wearily journey to Milan by bus as a result of Icelandic volcano ash had shut down European airspace. All the earlier, painful “close but no cigar” moments with Manchester City. He smiled, and rebutted my concept. Firmly.

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“No, no, it’s given me more … I look at it from a different angle,” he mentioned. “It’s been 12 or 13 years, I’ve reached 10 Champions League semifinals, I’ve played three finals, winning two, and now I’m going to be in my fourth. It’s given me more than I could have ever expected.

“If my life had been to finish now, I’d have gained one as a participant in my membership [Barca], which I really like a lot, in addition to profitable two as my membership’s supervisor. Football gives and takes away from you. You need to be formidable however not too grasping.

“This competition has given me very, very sad moments which hurt me, which will always be in my mind, but it also gave me extremely beautiful moments, which will also always be in my mind.”

I preferred that dialog. I savoured that reply. His voice is in my head.

I consider the little DIY TV studio we mounted up in a small room in PSV Eindhoven’s stadium, for the top of the Women’s Champions League last the place both Wolfsburg or Barcelona gamers could be interviewed relying on who triumphed. It occurred to be Barcelona. Coming again from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2.

My favorite feminine participant on the planet, Aitana Bonmati, was the final of our three interviews — nonetheless in enjoying equipment, medal around her neck. A t-shirt bunched up in her hand. Upon profitable, she’d donned that t-shirt which learn: “Change your mind. WELCOME REFUGEES. Save their lives.” and headed for the TV cameras. I beloved that. Some match ‘go well with’ had ordered her to take it off. I hated that.

I hear her voice, now. Saying a few issues.

Firstly, once I requested her who the win was “for,” Aitana, who was later voted the Women’s Champions League participant of the season, instructed me: “Today, I had 25-30 people in the stands supporting me — my friends, my family — and it’s not the first time they have travelled to support me.

“I hadn’t celebrated profitable a last with them, as a result of the final one we gained was in Gothenburg through the pandemic, performed behind closed doorways. That’s why at this time has been so particular. I additionally need to thank all our followers.

“They all travelled to Turin last year, and we couldn’t get the win [against Lyon]. I recall apologising to them after the match last year, promising them we would be back. Today, they deserve it more than anybody.

“When the celebrations settle down, and I get to look again on this second, I’ll realise I’m privileged to play skilled soccer with Barcelona, and to have such followers.”

Beautiful sentiments. Something which adds meaning and veracity to any big occasion, regardless of which team wins.

Then, and I truly hear this right now, Aitana refused to leave our makeshift studio. Her team was getting ready to leave for the airport. In my opinion she had better places to be, but she told us that she wanted to stay and chat. So we did.

One of the best footballers in the world, triumphant, and fully deserving the release of jumping about, drinking Cava, singing and shouting with her teammates, stayed with us for another 20 minutes. Not filming, not recording. Just talking about the battle to educate people about refugees, about her hero-worship for Guardiola, about what football means to her. And how important it was to feel that, soon, matches like that Champions League final would be played in 60-70,000 capacity stadia. It was magical.

Then there’s the voices of these last few days.

A tense, technical, flat-out Nations League final on Sunday between Spain and Croatia — 11 months into the season — played at a pace, with such intensity that it could have been mistaken for a crucial game taking place in November or February when players’ batteries aren’t flat — when they’re supposed to be at their peak. Spain won, somehow.

Then, in another tiny makeshift TV studio at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium, basically a storage cupboard, pinched from the official trophy engraver who’d just finished his work, I can hear the voices of the two penalty shootout heroes, Dani Carvajal and Unai Simon.

Carvajal admitted he’d only ever taken one competitive penalty before in his entire career: “I needed to take one tonight. When the sport ended, I went to the supervisor. They had been doing a five-player shortlist and I instructed them that if any of the gamers had been hesitating, or weren’t assured sufficient, I want to take one. And, if not, I might take the sixth one.”

The sixth it was and, thanks to his Panenka chip over Dominik Livakovic, he lifted his first trophy with La Roja (following five Champions League wins with Real Madrid). Still in that cupboard he told me: “My spouse is pregnant, 36 weeks, and after we had been on the cellphone after the medals had been handed out she admitted she nearly gave start due to the stress of the soccer!”

I think he was joking. But it’s a voice which will live with me for a long time.

Then, the hero of the hour. Unai Simon. He’s a fabulous character: smart, articulate, deep thinker and fun, too. He handed me the Nations League trophy and insisted that I raise it for Scotland. And he admitted that, for all his preparation, it was instinct which had truly won the day.

Simon told me: “No phrase of a lie, I had studied all six penalty takers, besides for Lovro Majer [the first of two Croatia players to miss in the shootout].

“I had to make a decision, looking at how he placed the ball, and that’s why I chose that to dive right. When I figured out he might be about to shoot down the middle it gave me time to lift my feet up. It’s something you don’t think about doing, it just comes to your mind at that moment.

“When you might be fortunate sufficient to boost up your left boot, and save the shot, it fills you with happiness. Luck was on our facet at this time.”

Lovely. I don’t want to stop hearing that Basque voice — he’s a special competitor, a special guy.

I can hear a voice in the future, too. I’m not going to go on and on about it right now but it’s worth mentioning. I’m afraid I can hear, first, sources around Lionel Messi’s entourage briefing that he’s deeply unimpressed with life at Inter Miami. Then voices telling us about his bad temper and impatience when it comes to teammates who have no idea how to get on his wavelength. And who don’t possess a sliver of his talent.

Life in Miami — yes. Messi adding power to the MLS brand instead of going off to Saudi Arabia — great. Messi utterly changing his nature and being relaxed, even tolerant, of a club like Inter Miami, which looks like it’s a long way off from being well run — no.

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How important is the Nations League win for Spain?

Luis Garcia explains how important winning the UEFA Nations League is for Spain after they beat Croatia on penalties.

Which brings me to the voices I’m glad I heard. The ones which we should all have heard, which we should all be talking about. They belong to Guardiola (again), Frenkie de Jong, and Rodri. Voices which matter as much as those who celebrate beauty and glory and heroism. The voices which are warning us. The voices to whom, nobody, at all, in power is bothering to listen to. The voices we must support.

Guardiola started it on the pitch in Istanbul. Interviewed by Cesc Fabregas he said: “Right now I’ve received no vitality to even take into consideration subsequent season. What’s about to occur now’s that many of those guys who’ve competed on this Champions League last are off to play worldwide soccer for their nations.”

At this point Guardiola began tapping the side of his head before adding: “Please, FIFA, UEFA, take into consideration what’s occurring. It’s absolute insanity. It is senseless.”

De Jong, ahead of the Nations League finals, criticised UEFA. The Barcelona midfielder, who’s played nearly 4,200 minutes this season told De Telegraaf: “Our schedule is simply getting fuller. There is even a recreation for third or fourth place within the Nations League — actually no person is ready for this.

“There will be a new format for the Champions League with more games just so that UEFA can earn more money.”

The response? Instead of his voice having influence, he obtained a maladroit ‘ticking off’ from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

And all of it got here to an finish with one other of these voices — a stark, loud one. But nonetheless no person who issues is listening, will pay attention. And it makes me indignant on the gamers’ behalf.

It was effectively into Monday morning when Manchester City’s Rodri got here into the press corridor at De Kuip stadium after Spain’s Nation League triumph having executed what no person within the historical past of soccer has beforehand achieved — lifting the membership treble after which instantly including a fourth (worldwide) trophy.

He ought to be the No. 1 voice of the soccer gamers’ group proper now. I requested him if he knew from the place, in latest weeks, he’d drawn the power to maintain on going, carry on profitable trophies. The Spaniard’s viewpoint was: “I honestly don’t know where that comes from. We are at our limits. I just wanted to give it all. Out there tonight there was a mental battle with in my head every 20 minutes. I just told myself to ‘keep going!’

“This is a candy second in my profession however I can not maintain this [amount of playing time] each season. I can not. It’s loopy. We need to adapt. But the planning for my case subsequent yr might be completely different. If I need to play, in fine condition, till I’m 34 I can not play this quantity of video games each season.”

So, there you may have it. Now you’ll be able to hear the voices too. Those final three matter as a lot as those that rejoice magnificence and glory and heroism. They should not whistleblowers, they’re warning voices. But voices to which no person in energy cares to even give head-room, not to mention be influenced by. Let’s assist them, you and I. It’s them we love, not the fits.