Manchester City: Pep Guardiola sends many coded messages

Manchester City advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals, knocking off Real Madrid. Guardiola’s post-match press conference was full of messages.

At the start of the post-match press conference, Man City manager Pep Guardiola sat down, checked messages on his phone, then rubbed his eyes in a sign of weariness and a need for a quick recharge of his mental battery.

Then he looked up to face the public with the last of his reserves.

Pep is deeply reflective, analytical, and his mind is always processing. His brain is at work so much that the Catalan-born manager absorbs all the energy in the conference room.

City’s gaffer is an introvert.

As an introvert, Guardiola is quickly drained by any public setting. Since his brain is continuously analyzing his intrapsychic baggage and the external surroundings, Pep gets mentally exhausted rapidly.

After the energy and emotion of a huge match and the intense preparation before the game itself, the last thing that MCFC’s boss wants to do is face a room full of people. It’s almost too much to bear.

Guardiola rubbed his face to prep for the task ahead. The chore is a requirement and an emotional hurdle for the 49-year old.

Like many analytical, introverted football managers, Pep sends subtle messages through everything he does publically. These signals are posted in the clothes he wears and the paralanguage in press conferences.

Friday was no different.