Rodri has attributed the inevitable end-of-the-season winning runs Manchester City go on to Pep Guardiola amongst other factors.
Over the years, fans and pundits alike have made the mistake of doubting City before they go on winning streaks not many teams have in Premier League history.
So much so that even when Pep Guardiola’s men are not performing at their optimum best for much of the season, there is a sense that they might kick into gear at any time during the business end of the campaign and get over the finish line; as they could do after the international break this time around.
However, the question is why that is the case.
Rodri says the Pep Guardiola factor is one of the primary reasons why Manchester City go on end-of-the-season winning runs
Unlike say, Real Madrid and their enviable record in Europe, it is not as if City have always been prolific at the end of the season.
As a result, this habit of theirs cannot be attributed to an age-old tendency that the club has.
Rodri, however, thinks that one of the main reasons why Manchester City tend to be as exceptional as they are during the end of the season is Pep Guardiola.
“It’s going to be good for us, this break”, he said [via The Independent].
“You will see the best version of this team at the end of the season.”
“Always it happens because of the manager, because of the standards of the club, because of ourselves and the ways we have learned over these years. This is what we want to do.”
Rodri reiterated the fact that Manchester City will inevitably return to their unstoppable best under Pep Guardiola this campaign.
“We asked the lads to rest as much as possible. I know it’s tough but we have friendly games.”
“It’s important to play for our national teams but also to think about the end of the season. I think the best is yet to come.”
Pep Guardiola has transformed the culture of the club
The fact that Rodri singled Pep Guardiola out as the reason for this phenomenon instead of any one of his Manchester City teammates showcases the culture shift he has brought into the club.
Guardiola is often praised for his tactical brilliance but one of the aspects of his management that merit praise is his tendency to set a winning culture wherever he goes; a trait one can only associate with the likes of Ferguson, Sacchi and Mourinho amongst a select few coaches.
Nowadays, City are a club that prioritise winning over everything else, which was not the case before Guardiola’s arrival in 2016 under the likes of Pellegrini and Mancini.
