Why Guardiola is unlikely to ever coach in Spain again

Pep Guardiola was giving very little away ahead of Manchester City's mammoth Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

The City coach has been fairly relaxed in recent weeks despite a constant run of big matches, with each threatening to damage City's European and Premier League challenges.

But going back to the Spanish capital for the second time in four weeks, Guardiola has to be almost as careful with his approach off the pitch as he does on it.

Asked about comments from Luka Modric that if Madrid play their best game then they will progress, Guardiola straight-batted his reply: "That is normal. We think that too."

On whether it was a good time to play Carlo Ancelotti's side after they celebrated winning the Spanish title at the weekend, he answered: "The league is totally separate from the Champions League. I’ve not got an opinion about that."

And after a series of baffling and mischievous questions about City giving a guard of honour to Madrid after they won La Liga, Guardiola said: "As spokesman for this club, which is what I am, we congratulate them, but this is the Champions [League].”

If City's defence is as impenetrable for the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday as his pre-match answers, then Guardiola will be more than happy.

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He has enough to concern himself with, most notably trying to win the European Cup for the first time at City, without getting distracted by any off-field controversy.

There is the complicated issue of juggling a Premier League and Champions League challenge as injuries start to hit his squad, while also devising a tactical plan to beat Madrid and stop the threat of Karim Benzema, as well as silence the Bernabeu crowd that roared Los Blancos to wins over Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in previous rounds.

As Guardiola describes it, there is "more noise" around big games in Spain compared to the relative calm the squad experiences in the Premier League, and he wants to do his best to turn the volume down.

The further City go in Europe each season, the greater chance of a trip to Madrid and the increased scrutiny of the former Barcelona coach that comes with it.

This time, fate has thrown up a second successive visit to the Spanish capital.

From the television talk shows to provocative sports coverage, the interest in football from withing Guardiola's homeland can be distracting, as well as deafening.

It is a far cry from the secure surroundings of the Etihad Campus, where he and his coaches are insulated and can carry out their work knowing that photographers and cameras are firmly locked out.

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Ahead of the first leg, Guardiola was able to keep John Stones away from the his side's training session that was open to the media, before bringing out the defender when the press had all departed.

He can even make the short bicycle ride through Manchester city centre to the training ground without being pestered by onlookers.

It is a huge contrast to his time at Camp Nou, where the stress and pressure of the job forced him to leave behind the club he supported as a boy and take a year away from the game to recover.

And it is another reason why he is unlikely to return to Spain as a coach, making it not inconceivable that his stay at the Etihad Stadium could go beyond the summer of 2023, when his current contract expires.

In the quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid, Guardiola did his best to avoid anything that might be considered controversial, despite a clear clash of cultures between the two clubs.

He talked up Atleti's qualities - after an ultra-defensive performance at the Etihad where the Rojiblancos failed to have a single shot off or on target - but one slip was picked up and used as a lightning rod for criticism.

"In prehistory, today and in 100,000 years, attacking a 5-5-0 is very difficult," he said after the first leg victory. "It is that there is no space. Apart from the fact that they are very competitive and defend very well, there is no space."

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The use of the word 'prehistory' caused offence, and Atleti captain Koke responded with Instagram message stating: "In love with your story since prehistory. Proud to be from Atletico."

After an ill-tempered and tense second leg where the Spanish side were the more threatening, Diego Simeone was clearly irritated.

“Often those who have a big vocabulary are very intelligent and manage to treat you with contempt,” the Argentine said. “But those of us who may have less vocabulary are not so stupid."

It was a frustrating sideshow from what had been an enthralling second leg, as City used their increasing amount of European experience to survive an uncomfortable clash at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Even for Atleti and Simeone it was unfortunate that their huge efforts were unappreciated, as the criticism from the Spanish media quickly focused on the City boss and his tactics.

Guardiola is certainly not beyond criticism at Cit, but in England, the analysis of him is far less toxic and the fans less demanding.

And it is for those reasons that he is unlikely to ever manage in Spain again.