Former Manchester City star Ferran Torres may have taken the decision to leave the club for Barcelona, but he remains a firm admirer of manager Pep Guardiola.
The ex-Valencia winger revealed that when the offer from Barcelona came in for him, he could not resist taking it, and Guardiola was magmanimous in his acceptance of Torres‘ desires. The 23-year-old was clear that few managers are
“It’s crazy – how he plans training – 27 out of the 24 hours he has in the day, he’s watching football and improving. What impressed me the most is that in the talks before the games he tells you what’s going to happen : you stand here, your teammate will be there, and then you’ll give it to him. And then it happens! The worst thing is that it happens!”
In spite of his strong praise for Guardiola, Torres remained of the opinion that Xavi was the best person for the Barcelona job.
“He likes to push the player to bring out the best version of the footballer because you need it. He follows the philosophy of Pep, Luis Enrique and the Barca school very much… He is a perfect coach for Barca. Little by little he is changing the system, because football is constantly evolving. Above all, his desire to improve, he always thinks what he can do to help the footballer.”
“Now he’s obviously getting pissed off at us because we’re not playing at our best level. But he’s also giving us peace of mind because the season is so long, this is a cross-country race and not a sprint.”
Torres experienced arguably his least productive season last year, as he struggled for form and confidence in front of goal. This campaign he started off the season with a new-found impetus, but along with Barcelona’s form, it has somewhat tailed off in recent weeks. Xavi will be hoping that he can finally inspire consistent offensive production in the coming weeks, something which has not happened since he arrived.
