My Barcelona were 'once in a lifetime' - Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola claim his Barcelona side of 2008 to 2012 were a team who came ‘once in a lifetime’ as ‘it was a special moment of the stars aligning’.

Pep Guardiola had no senior coaching experience before he took over Barcelona from Frank Rijkaard in 2008, yet the Catalan led Barcelona to the most prolific period of their history, by winning three Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.

In addition, the Man City manager helped develop the high-pressing, short-passing style presently in fashion.

“Johan Cruijff was the best person that I worked with, as he opened my eyes with his football style,” he said at an event in Italy, alongside Ex-Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti and former Atletico tactician Arrigo Sacchi.

“He helped us understand a different way of looking at football. It was like going to school daily. We would win and he’d tell us the reason we were winning. He made us fell lovely.

“It’s no accidently that so many players who play under Sacchi and Cruyff are now Coaches, because their minds were opened. They all gave us new love for the football.

“I’m not the one that invents tiki-taka. We won the Champions League with Barca and a team full of players who started in the academy at the age of 8 to 10.

It was a special moment of the stars aligning, with the faith the club have and a group of boys who saw football the same way.

“We could’ve signed bigger star players, but wanted to develop that hunger. To be frank, I don’t too like tiki-taka much as a concept, but we knew actually where we wanted to be with the ball.

“There is remembrance for it now, but it was unique to experience it. We’ll see maybe in 10 to 20 years they still talk about it, as they do with great films.

“Lionel Messi is quite person, but he’s an angry and good animal. Who helps people around him to play even better.

“He hates defeat, he still plays like that of his tender age and in the big moments, if the team select him, he makes the difference. It’s something which comes once in a lifespan.”