PEP Guardiola has paid tribute to the man who set him on the path to becoming one of football’s top managers – Txiki Begiristain.
And Guardiola has revealed he would not have joined any other Premier League club but Manchester City where Begiristain – nicknamed “Cheeky” – has been sporting director since October 2012.
Begiristain and Guardiola have remained close friends since they were team-mates in the Barcelona “dream team” which won the Catalan club’s first European Cup in 1992.
One of the best connected administrators in the game, Basque Begiristain – his real first name is Aitor – later joined the board at the Nou Camp as director of football and was hugely influential in the promotion of Guardiola from rookie ‘B’ team coach to first team manager in 2008.
Part of a head-hunting team of three along with Marc Ingla and Ferran Soriano, now City’s chief executive, they actually interviewed Jose Mourinho for the job vacated by Frank Rijkaard.
But instinct prompted them to go for Guardiola despite the fact he had only been in charge of Barca’s second string for a year. And it was a gamble that paid off spectacularly with 14 trophies delivered in four years, including six in his first 18 months.
Guardiola acknowledges the debt he owes his friend.
"Txiki was so, so important in my life,” he said. “When I was absolutely nobody and nothing, they trusted me to handle Barcelona, an amazing club with amazing players.
"I said to him once I go to England and you are with a club I will go to you. It was so important to me that Txiki was here [at City]. Txiki convinced me about the club, many things. That’s why I decided to come."
If Begiristain had got his way, Guardiola would have been installed as City manager when Roberto Mancini was sacked amid dressing room turmoil in 2013.
But half-way through his year-long ‘sabbatical’ in New York, Guardiola surprised the football world by announcing he would be taking over at Bayern Munich.
Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to the man that brought him to Manchester City
"I went to New York with the family because I was so tired [after Barcelona],” he said. “My energy was spent, it was empty. I went there to improve my English – and rest.
"If Bayern Munich had not come for me, maybe I would have come to Manchester City then. But I thought ‘Bayern are calling and maybe they won’t call anymore’ whereas I thought I was still young enough and had time to go to England. I decided to move on to Germany and it was a fantastic experience.
"But sooner or later a coach has to prove himself in the Premier League and I will always be grateful to the people who gave me this challenge. Until the last day, I will do my best to achieve what we want.”
Bayern, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti, provide the opposition tonight when Guardiola takes charge of City for the first time back in the Allianz Arena that was his home for three years.
He will adopt the Wales slogan “together, stronger” to fire up his players for the new season.
Guardiola says one of his first tasks in the early weeks in the job has been to win the trust and confidence of the players he has inherited – and instil a better team spirit.
City finished a disappointing fourth last season prompting accusations they had lost motivation after the club’s mid-season announcement that Guardiola would take over from Manuel Pellegrini.
Guardiola, whose City side then travel to China where they play neighbours Manchester United in a mouth-watering friendly in Beijing on Monday, insists if they are to challenge for trophies they must all be prepared to fight for each other and run through brick walls for him.
He said: “They have to understand alone they have absolutely nothing. You have to believe together you are stronger. There is not one player around the world who can alone decide absolutely everything for himself – they all need each other. That is the most important thing.
"I will try to win and keep their confidence. Every training session, every speech, every time we speak, whether we’re taking a beer together or whatever, I want them in that moment to see they can trust me. That’s the first step for me.
"We have to create a good body language on the pitch. I want them to feel that I work for them because in the next action they have to run for me.”
Guardiola will be without many of City’s best players because of post-Euro 2016 and Copa America breaks.
Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, Joe Hart, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bacary Sagna and Eliaquim Mangala will all be missing while Vincent Kompany is continuing his recovery from an injury-blighted season.
But Guardiola says the rest of his squad must hit the ground running because they have a two-legged Champions League play-off round looming next month, the consequence of their slide to fourth place.
"We cannot forget we are not yet in the Champions League,” said Guardiola. “There are many good teams [in the play-off round]. We have to be focused and prepare the team.”
The result in Bavaria tonight is not so important but you can be sure the obsessive Guardiola will scrutinise every detail of the performance.
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