It’s a system Pep learned as part of Cruyff’s Dream Team. In his autobiography, Guardiola describes the play as “ pels extrems i amb els extrems”, a wonderful Catalan phrase that means “on the limit and with the wingers”. The young coach then asks him a really good question. “Pep, who are the good ones? Is it the most famous players?” Guardiola was on a sabbatical between his job at Barcelona and his eventual move to Bayern Munich, and during their first dinner in New York, he discussed various topics with Kasparov, though neither chess nor football arose in conversation. It was all very high brow and intelligent, as one might expect.

We’ve done so much tactical work,” says Martinez. “He has shown me 200 videos and taught me concepts: when to move out with the ball, when to mark, where to position myself. He has an idea and knows how to teach it every session. He’s incredible.” You can see why it would be annoying. Liverpool had to put up with it towards the end of last season, hearing that City were being held, only for them to eventually find a way to win. On Saturday, I’m sure Pep and his players avoided the score from Anfield for a while, even if their title hopes were already slim then. To be an elite footballer, you need to eat like one. Hardly revolutionary, but when Guardiola saw pastries and cakes laid out for the team during his first pre-season at Bayern, he called for a nutritionist. Pep changes his mind again. The 3-4-3 had become a 4-2-3-1, but now he opts for a 4-2-4 formation. Just as he did in Dortmund in July 2013, in his debut match, he swithers between patience and passion and ends up going for passion. But it didn't work in Dortmund, and it won't work now.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper plans training ground visit for young fan, 16, who was left distraught after being unable to complete The Last Post ahead of Premier League win over Aston Villa

Intimate with his players, he cried with youngster Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when the midfielder lost his father to stomach cancer Whatever you think about their owners or the money the club has spent, what Guardiola has achieved at City has been incredible. Not just the phenomenal point totals, but the way his team has played in that time. Swedish trail runner Emilia Brangefalt, 21, dies by suicide after being diagnosed with 'extremely high heart rate' which stopped training Es muy fácil hacer juicios desde una silla, comiendo papitas. Cuando vemos el trasfondo de la primera temporada de Pep al frente de un equipo que venía de ganarlo todo (Triplete), te das cuenta de que en ocasiones, no ganar campeonatos no es sinónimo de fracaso. Prueba de ello, el haber ganado 4 campeonatos en su primera temporada con el Bayern teniendo a medio equipo lesionado más de media temporada.Liverpool 'are NOT ready to win the Premier League', insists Jamie Carragher after 1-1 draw at Luton left them three points adrift of Man City - as Reds legend identifies two weak areas they must strengthen first No. The really good players are the ones who never lose the ball. Those who know how to pass it and who never lose it. They are the good ones. And that’s who you must always use, even if they are lower profile than the rest.” It took just three months for Jurgen Klopp to understand what the English game is all about: football, and lots of it. Even a manager as well prepared as the German didn’t realise there are replays in the FA Cup and two legs in the League Cup semi-final. Guardiola will be spending more time pitchside than ever before. In the last few days he has asked for up to date stats on the team's finishing, which continues to disappoint. It's not something you can teach in training and in any case, high goal scoring phases are just that: phases." pg. 198 Pep’s free-flowing philosophy may be what draws in the casual observer, but he dedicates more training sessions to defensive organisation than anything else. It shows: before the 2015-16 winter break Bayern had conceded only 49 goals in 85 Bundesliga games since he arrived, keeping 50 clean sheets.

Statistics don’t turn him on. What gets him passionate is the play itself and his post-match analysis of it.

This week’s free podcast in the aftermath of Liverpool’s score draw at The Etihad reflects on the game, how it played out and what the Reds can take from the result.

Planchart’s work is available the day after the previous game and shapes training for the following week. Last-minute Movember? Mason Mount sports a new-look moustache as he arrives at Man United's training ground ahead of Everton clash

The extreme effort it would take to be that concentrated and contemplative for such a period against an opponent like that would be too much for him.Pep is still shut up in his office with Domenec Torrent, Carles Planchart and Manel Estiarte well past midnight. Ostensibly, they are there to review the match together, but in reality his assistants are trying to boost the boss's morale. They can see that tonight Pep is a broken man.