The death of César Luis Menotti at the age of 85, a victim of stomach cancer, has provoked countless reactions in the world of football, including that of Pep Guardiola, a renowned admirer of the former Argentine coach, who wanted to say goodbye to him with a heartfelt message sent to the newspaper Olé.
The now Manchester City coach has always developed the “non-negotiable” football style preached by the skinny man from Rosario, who always put the emphasis on good treatment of the ball and how to win. The one from Santpedor, a disciple in a certain way of that idea, also developed by Cruyff, defines Menotti as a “genius” in his writing.
The Argentine, coach of the Argentine team that won the world championship in 1978 and coach of Barça between 1983 and 1984, was an admirer of the game that Guardiola’s Barça played. The coach met with Menotti on several occasions, in search of reflection, and the last time they saw each other, according to the Catalan, was “in Buenos Aires, in March 2018.”
The former Blaugrana coach visited Menotti for the first time in his country when he was taking his first steps on the bench, in search of answers. “Many young coaches came to see me during all these years to talk about football, to listen to some advice… But no one asked me as many questions as Guardiola. It was a machine gun. But he didn’t need to learn anything. He already knew everything,” Menotti explained years later, according to the newspaper Olé.
Guardiola claims that he shared “no less than 30 hours of wonderful conversations in the four times” he visited Argentina. “He was the greatest seducer of Argentine football… Listening to him was a lesson. César was everything… Wit, education, intelligence”, concludes the city technician in his writing about Menotti.
The entire writing by Pep Guardiola dedicated to César Luis Menotti:
“I feel great sadness because someone with whom I have shared no less than 30 hours of wonderful conversation in the four times I visited Argentina has left. For me he was a genius for his idea. He was the greatest seducer of Argentine football… Listen to him It was a professorship. César was everything… Wit, education, intelligence. He made his words poetry and was always faithful to his convictions, he always said.
The last time I visited Buenos Aires, in March 2018, we had another wonderful, long, fun dinner… with all the football nuances that I am passionate about. I just wanted to hear it.
There are very few who give you so much in life that they never leave…”
