Glowing eulogies for upcoming opponents are a staple feature of Pep Guardiola press conferences.
When his old mentor Marcelo Bielsa is about to come to town, you just know he’s going to lay it on extra thick.
On Monday lunchtime, he duly made Leeds United sound every bit as threatening as each team in the Champions League draw that had just happened but actually hadn't happened yet.
“We dropped four points, before [playing against Leeds last season]. We know it already - they are one of the toughest opponents,” he said.
“Especially because they play every week in a special and unique way and we play against this special and unique way just two times a year.
“We have to adjust a few things because they are completely different to the other opponent.
“In the end, you are going to play the way they play and we are not used much to playing in these types of games.”
City are top of the Premier League table, with 12 wins at 38 points from 16 matches so far.
The idea that Leeds, slumped in 15th with three wins from the same number of matches, might dictate terms to the reigning champions seems fanciful, but Guardiola was insistent.
“What I know is that if there is one person who never complains about what happened it’s Marcelo,” he said, having reflected upon the injury problems that have hindered England duo Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips this season. “He loves to work when the situations are tough.
“If you look at the stats, there is no single game where they don’t create more chances than the opponent.
“It is a game where we know we will have to suffer, try to adapt and impose what we want to do.”
On Tuesday night, when Pep inevitably hurls an expensive multi-pocket coat to the ground and Marcelo contorts himself atop his trusty bucket, it will be apparent that suffering is pretty much a non-negotiable aspect of the art for these two footballing obsessives.
Guardiola’s relationship with Bielsa, who he travelled to visit in Argentina for a lengthy conversation over barbecued meats before entering elite coaching, is well documented.
But along with the Leeds boss and the late Johan Cruyff, there is another important mentor in Guardiola’s career and he will take up his usual position alongside the City boss in the Etihad Stadium dugout this midweek.
Before his Argentine odyssey to seek out Bielsa’s wisdom, Guardiola concluded his playing days at Mexican club Dorados de Sinaloa, who might know from the Netflix series documenting Diego Maradona’s turbulent stint as their head coach.
In 2005, a different type of maverick was at the helm as Juanma Lillo’s presence persuaded Guardiola to chance his arm in Liga MX.
Lillo, of course, is now on the coaching staff at City and a man whose football intellect Pep holds in regard he reserves for Bielsa and very few others.
“He sees things that I am not able to see. He has a special sense,” the City boss said during last season’s record-breaking winning run, which tore the Premier League title race apart and gave the first clear indication of Lillo’s impact upon life at the City Football Academy.
“Especially in the bad moments. He makes me feel calm and makes me see the real situation of the team apart from the result.
“He always has the vision to see what I cannot see. His help in this period has been so important.”
Perhaps when you feel such affection for someone, it might be hard to go into sporting combat with them. Leeds’ four-point haul from City last season might suggest as much but Lillo would slap this argument down in no uncertain terms.
When he was in the midst of a LaLiga relegation battle in November 2010, his Almeria hosted Guardiola’s Barcelona and lost 8-0. The result led to Lillo being sacked.
Of course, everyone was friends afterwards but it serves as a warning to Bielsa.
If Leeds demonstrate why they are hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone, Guardiola will not want his players to show his old friend any mercy whatsoever.
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