Pep Guardiola has suffered more than most during he Covid-19 pandemic, losing his mum Dolors Sala Carrio to the disease.
And, as a man who has, in the past, backed the notion that football without fans is pointless, it might be thought that the return of English football tomorrow night might rankle with him.
But Guardiola welcomed the chance to return to normality, and said that no-one predicted the pandemic when he expressed his views about fan-less football.
Guardiola’s 82-year-old mum died at the beginning of April after contracting coronavirus.
And the Manchester City boss, whose team face Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, said the return to work has helped him.
“I’m happy to come back to this routine,” he said at today’s press conference. “I live personally what everyone else lives. All the people we lost are important. We have families to stay strong with all of us.”
And when asked what he felt about playing in front of an empty stadium, something he has not been happy about in the past, Guardiola suggested that these are unforeseen times.
“I think in that moment (when he said it) nobody would expect what would happen - not even the best scientists in the world,” he said.
“What is important is the health of the people. In Spain, Germany, England, they have decided we have to play and we are going to play.
“We have to adapt as players and as a team and we are going to do that as quick as possible.”
