As Manchester City prepared for what many see as an impossible task, Manager Pep Guardiola did not try to offer false hope or complicated tactics. Instead, on the eve of the second leg against Real Madrid, he delivered a blunt message to his squad, believe in the comeback, or do not bother showing up.
Speaking to the media from the press room at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola’s mood was calm but his words were sharp. His team faces a 3-0 deficit against the kings of Europe, a gap that no team in Champions League history has ever overcome against Real Madrid in the knockout phase. Yet, for the Spanish manager, the numbers do not matter as much as the mindset.
“If they don’t believe, it’s their problem,” Guardiola stated flatly, referring to his players. He dismissed any excuse for a lack of faith, pointing to the privileged position the squad finds itself in. “They are adults. They have a good salary. Mum and dad well educated.”
For Guardiola, the inability to envision a victory in the face of defeat is not a tactical failing, but a personal one. He made it clear that the comfort of their lives off the pitch means they have no reason to be afraid of failure on it. If a player cannot find the motivation to fight, he suggested, they should remove themselves from the situation entirely.
“If they don’t believe in that in the Champions League, go home, stay home,” he said. “We have to try. What do we have to lose?”
The manager was realistic about the mountain his team has to climb. He acknowledged the skepticism surrounding the tie, not just from the public, but within the very room where he was speaking. He pointed out that no one in the media, and likely few fans, truly expect City to turn the tie around.
“In this room, someone bet on us we’re going to come back? No one,” he said, scanning the room of journalists. “No way. No one in history has ever come back from 3-0 against Real Madrid in the Champions League knock-out stages. Never, ever.”
Yet, rather than using this history as a reason for despair, Guardiola used it as a source of freedom. The pressure, he argued, was off. The expectation was gone. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, his message was simple, go out and play without fear.