Piqué On Barça, Guardiola And The English Diet

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Gerard Pique - Barcelona (PA)

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The Catalan defender was bought back by the Blaugrana in the summer, four years after he chose to leave the club's youth ranks and try his luck at Old Trafford.

Despite always claiming that he wanted to succeed in England, Piqué has now stated that being a Barceona supporter all his life meant that he dreamt playing for the club at the highest level.

"Playing here makes me proud. It is what I have always wanted. Few people are such big Barça fans as me and this is my childhood dream," he told Sport.

"But in the team there are many fans of the club, including Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Víctor Valdés and Sergio Busquets.

"I am just the like the people in the stand. I have been a Barça fan ever since I can remember and I understand everything that they are feeling."

Barcelona may have allegedly based much of their commercial side on Manchester United, they have not copied the English champions dietary habits, according to Piqué.

"At United there were some incredible things happening. Everyone was allowed to eat what they wanted and one must remember that the English diet is just like people say," he continued.

"Every two weeks we had to be checked out on a machine that measured the amount of fat we had in our bodies. It would be a surprise that none of the players broke the machine because of the amount of hamburgers and beer they had.

Piqué rates Ferguson highly, but explained that Guardiola is the coach that he now rates as the best because of a number of different factors.

"The gaffer, as he Ferguson is known in Manchester, spoke in English with a Scottish accent and sounded like Chinese to me. But I was not the worst and there are players still there who do not understand him yet," he explained.

"Guardiola is the most modern coach I have worked under. He is also the most precise and the most obsessed about the game. It is a pleasure to be in his squad.

"There are thousands of examples of why he is so good. The detail he puts into practice sessions, the information he has on the opposition, the constant motivation..."

Moving to Manchester was a good thing to do, the 21-year-old then said, as he was able to experience a new culture and it was where he really grew as a player and as a person.

"I had always lived with my parents in Barcelona. I had my friends from school and from Barça. I was from a generation of players that had won everything at youth level and the change was difficult," he said.

"It was not bad though, because in Manchester I became a player. I arrived without knowing any English, so the banter was lost on me though.

"Now I prefer the peace and quiet of Cambrils (a town north of Barcelona), the views and the calm way of living. It is great to be able to walk along the seafront and disconnect. I bought this house while I was in Manchester, probably to have a place to escape to."

Lucas Brown, Goal.com