Pep Guardiola introduced a 'no bad faces' policy to improve standards around the squad when he first arrived at Manchester City – and he hasn't looked back.
City have become a dominant force since their appointment of Guardiola in 2016. He's guided the Citizens to five Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups and a Champions League.
But when he first arrived at City, things were far from perfect.
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In fact, according to Marti Perarnau’s biography 'Pep Guardiola: The Evolution', motivation, enthusiasm and the general mood around the squad was starting to drift.
The Spaniard was tasked to fix this, so he enforced a number of policies, including a so-called “no bad faces” rule.
To put it simply, every player must live up to Guardiola's standards in regards to attitude and behaviours – even if they don't feature week-in, week-out.
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“You cannot create something when people who are not playing regularly are creating problems,” he said in December 2017.
“Bad faces, bad behaviour from those guys; when that happens, forget about it. You cannot stay if it happens. But the guys who didn’t play regularly here and are now playing more, they are exceptional. Without that, you cannot do it.”
A fascinating report from The Athletic also details the importance of body language to Guardiola after he brought up Erling Haaland's mannerisms throughout the first-half against Everton.
“He has to learn that if he doesn’t score, he has to have this right body language," Guardiola said.
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"He has to have this mood where he’s positive and he’s saying, ‘OK. It will come, it will come’.”
As well as maintaining those values and behaviours mentioned above, Guardiola recently opened up about the need to improve and develop, with body language being key.
“Body language is everything in life,” the 53-year-old said in Monday's press conference. “If you cannot be happy doing your job, you cannot improve.
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“If you are not positive in your mind and you cannot accept that you can make mistakes, and how you react to that, and how you can help when your mate makes a mistake, this kind of thing is far beyond the tactics. That is everything in life.
“If you cannot train with a big smile and say you want to do it better, (that) you want to help, you cannot improve. But during the season, there are moments when it’s like that (on Saturday); there is frustration when things aren’t going well.
"Players understand that sometimes the game doesn’t work, but it’s not a big problem. It’s how you face that problem to overcome it before the game ends. Of course there are always gaps to improve.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty ImagesTopics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Premier League, Erling Haaland