Man City Director Claims 'Hard Working' Pep Guardiola Is Not a Genius by Nature

Manchester City's sporting director Ferran Soriano has claimed that Pep Guardiola is only considered a genius because of all the hard work he puts in behind the scenes.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager is rightly lauded for the outstanding work he is doing at the Etihad this season - just as he was in Catalonia and Bavaria.

However, Soriano believes that it is Guardiola's flawless work rate, that often goes under the radar, is what sets him apart from other head coaches across Europe, rather than a natural aptitude.

"The main characteristic of Guardiola is his work rate. He works more than anyone and sometimes people think that he is a genius, but it is because he works a lot," Soriano said, quoted by the Daily Star. 

"He knows that football is very cruel and when you relax, you [can] concede four goals.

"Patience is essential and one way to understand it is to see that the teams that have won consistently are not the ones that change a coach every two months or every year.

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"The key is long-term planning and managers must have the strength to make the decisions they think are right, even though fans ask for something else."

Guardiola is on course to win his first Premier League title with Manchester City this season, a second honour to add to his collection with the Citizens following their Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal in February.