Guardiola's approach 'completely different' - Fabregas
Guardiola's approach 'completely different' - Fabregas
Former Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes the way Pep Guardiola manages the workload of his players helps his Manchester City side peak during the season's crucial moments.
City won their final eight - and 19 of 23 - Premier League games to secure an unprecedented fourth title in a row. They will also become the first English team to complete back-to-back doubles with victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
"He [Guardiola] is completely different," Fabregas told the Planet Premier League podcast.
"He knows that 80%, 90% of his teams will be playing Copa America, the Euros or World Cup. They arrived to the Champions League final the last year and finished that exhausted, so he gives his team time.
"The training [sessions] are not super hard. It's like there's no highs or lows. They try to get this consistency throughout the season.
"They have so much experience and they play so many games and this is what you need for you to get through the season. Remember, they didn't have [Kevin] De Bruyne for six, seven months and they have to compete and they still win games."
Fabregas played under Guardiola at Barcelona during his first job in senior management from 2008 and recalls a conversation he had with his team-mates when they realised his approach would set him apart.
Fabregas added: "Pep got appointed for Barcelona for the first time and I remember Xavi and [Carlos] Puyol talking on our table and saying, ‘Oh my God I spoke with Pep. We asked for three or four weeks' holiday. He is only giving us two weeks because he says he wants to do this, that.’
"So as a young manager in his first year in Barcelona, he was completely different. I'm sure over the years his understanding of what the players are going through and understanding himself of what parts of the season he wants his team to be at his best has increased.
"He got it right and now he's a master of it."
Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds