Pep Guardiola is a passionate football manager and sometimes, that passion can be misinterpreted. But as Vicente Guaita discovered during Crystal Palace ’s goalless draw with Manchester City on Monday evening, he is not afraid to say what he thinks.
The Catalan confronted Guaita on the pitch at the final whistle after the goalkeeper had played a key role in keeping Man City at bay, frustrating the visitors as their hopes of retaining the Premier League title took a dent.
The 51-year-old was seen in a heated discussion with the Eagles stopper after Manchester City dropped two crucial points at Selhurst Park, gesticulating furiously as he spoke with the Spaniard.
While the context of the conversation was not revealed due to the conversation not being caught by the TV microphones, it appeared Guardiola was frustrated with Guaita’s antics in goal.
City had attempted 18 shots on the hosts’ goal but only four of them landed on target. And with the game ending in a stalemate, City are now only four points clear of Liverpool who have a game in hand.
Unsurprisingly, it is certainly not the first time Guardiola has lost his cool with the opposition, his managerial counterpart or even his own players on the pitch. Mirror Football revisits those feisty incidents from his career in the dugout and what happened next.
Have Your Say! Does Pep Guardiola need to tone down his antics on and off the pitch? Comment below.
Sean Dyche
Back in 2018, Guardiola was forced to apologise for squaring up to Burnley boss Sean Dyche on the touchline during their FA Cup third round victory. Sergio Aguero scored twice as the Premier League champions sealed their spot in the fourth round of the competition, but tempers threatened to boil over when Aguero cancelled out Ashley Barnes’ opening goal.
Dyche and Guardiola approached each other in the technical area, with the latter seemingly unhappy about Dyche berating the officials. But after the game, Guardiola said: “I am sorry. I said please leave the referees. I am sorry, I apologise. I didn’t want to lose control. I said please leave the referees.
“It wasn’t for Sean Dyche. I have a lot of respect for the way they play. Of course, the way they play is completely different than the way we want to play, but they do it perfectly. That’s why football is top.”
Dyche tends to operate on a no-nonsense basis and clearly, he had no problem with the way his fellow manager reacted, responding: ”You both fight, you both want to win. That's how it should be.”
Touchline ban
With pressure from Liverpool in the Premier League and losing out to the Reds in the Champions League too, Guardiola reached a new level of trouble after landing himself in hot water with UEFA. He was handed a touchline ban following his behaviour during Manchester City's Champions League defeat to Liverpool in April 2018, after storming onto the pitch at the interval to confront the officials.
UEFA confirmed he had been handed a two-match ban away from the dugout, although the second of those matches was suspended for another season in case he had another disciplinary matter to answer for. Guardiola had been sent to the stands during the second leg encounter after launching a tirade against referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz for disallowing Leroy Sane’s goal as the teams left the pitch.
Consequently, he was absent for the first game of the group stage the following season, giving Guardiola a reason to rethink his approach in future on the touchline.
Graham Potter
Manchester City had already wrapped up the title when they took on Brighton in May 2021. But that didn’t stop Guardiola from blowing his top at Seagulls boss Graham Potter. City had taken a 2-0 lead through Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan, despite having Joao Cancelo sent off early on.
But Brighton roared back in style in front of their own fans, with goals from Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster and Dan Burn completing a stunning comeback. At full time, Potter and Guardiola could be seen arguing on the sidelines, with the latter’s backroom staff also becoming embroiled in the flare-up.
It later emerged that the Brighton coach’s celebrations were viewed as over the top by the Man City bench, something Potter apologised for after the game. “With the first goal, I was a bit emotional,” he said.
“It wasn’t my finest hour, I have to apologise for that. It wasn’t meant with any intent or anything towards anybody, it was an emotional response from me. But it wasn’t a good one, so I apologise to them. Like I said, no offence meant from my perspective but, again, I understand it wasn’t a nice moment.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester derbies can often produce tense moments between the players on the pitch but also the managers, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer proved he was no different when he went toe-to-toe with Guardiola. The Norwegian daringly entered Guardiola's technical area to confront his opposite number during a heated altercation in the Manchester derby in the 2020-21 season after Man United had ended their rivals’ 21-game winning run in the Premier League.
Solskjaer's United scored early in both halves on their march to a 2-0 victory at the Etihad, with Bruno Fernandes slotting home a second-minute penalty and Luke Shaw doubling the advantage in the 50th minute. City had no response for their visitors' resolute backline and constant threat on the counter-attack, and their lacklustre performance at home brought an end to their remarkable run of wins.
Guardiola looked unable to contain his frustration on the touchline and when his City players refused to give the ball back after an injury to Marcus Rashford, Solskjaer took it upon himself to vent his fury at Guardiola. The two managers initially appeared to make up only to continue quarrelling moments later, before ending their touchline feud with a second fist-bump.
Sergio Aguero
Of all the players to have played under Pep Guardiola, Sergio Aguero might be one of his favourites after scoring 153 goals in five seasons for the Catalan coach. But even despite their close relationship, the pair had a number of rows between them. The most public of those disagreements came during the 2019-20 season when Aguero reacted furiously to being substituted during their game against Tottenham, having scored the opening goal.
Aguero was selected ahead of Gabriel Jesus from the start, only to be brought off for the Brazilian midway through the second half. And Aguero, never one to back down from an argument, made it abundantly clear to his manager how he felt.
The TV cameras picked up their blazing row as it continued off the pitch, with then-assistant coach Mikel Arteta stepping in to stop the row. Guardiola explained what prompted the awkward discussion between the two men, revealing there was a misunderstanding from the striker.
“Aguero believed I was upset with him for the goal we conceded. The goal we conceded was a corner,” he said. “I wanted one on one movement. He thought I was upset with him.
"I am sometimes exaggerated on the touchline but few times am I upset with the players. I was a football player, I know what it is like to be in there. Emotion is part of our game. We talked after and during. He’s a guy I love a lot.”
Nathan Redmond
One of the most bizarre exchanges between a manager and player saw Guardiola approach Southampton attacker Nathan Redmond after the two teams had faced each other at St Mary’s. Man City had battled to a 2-1 victory over the Saints, with Raheem Sterling scoring a late winner, but Guardiola did not appear at all happy with his side’s performance.
Worse yet, it seemed he had targeted Redmond to take out his anger after speaking to the winger at the final whistle. During the conversation, Guardiola became animated and refused to leave Redmond alone as the pair walked off the pitch. However, what appeared to be an intense argument turned out to be a passionate compliment from the tactician.
The Football Association asked Guardiola to explain his version of events and the Man City boss testified that he was complimenting the player, rather than berating him. Surprisingly, his story was later clarified and corroborated by Redmond.
However, Guardiola conceded he should not have approached Redmond in such a way. Asked whether he regretted the incident, Guardiola said: “Yes. I did it in Munich, with my old player [Joshua] Kimmich, I did the same in Dortmund and had regret there after the game and the same now. I cannot control myself. Hopefully I will improve.
“What I said is what I said and what Nathan said in his statement. I admire him as a player and say thank you for his comments but if the FA want my statement again I am able to explain whatever they want. If they don’t believe me I don’t know what we’re doing here.”
Guardiola said after the game that he was telling Redmond ‘you have to attack because you have the quality to do that.’” Redmond then revealed how he responded: “I told him I was doing what my manager had asked me to do in the game.”
Thomas Muller
Long before Pep Guardiola became a household name in English football, he had taken on the challenge of trying to dominate Europe with Bayern Munich. But in doing so, he had to handle a number of strong-willed personalities, including Germany star Thomas Muller.
Back in 2014-15, Guardiola clashed with Muller during their humiliating Champions League defeat at the hands of his former club Barcelona. Lionel Messi had tormented his side and grabbed a brace before Neymar completed the rout to give Barcelona a seemingly unassailable lead in the semi-final first leg.
Guardiola was already smarting after being humbled at the place he had called his home for four years as Barca coach. And so when Muller registered his unhappiness at being substituted for Mario Gotze at 1-0, the forward made his dissatisfaction known to his manager. Muller was clearly frustrated at being withdrawn as the pair took part in a heated exchange before the German forward finally took his seat on the bench, continuing his protestations to Guardiola’s staff and fellow substitutes.
