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The Job Pep Guardiola Wants When He's 72 - Already Has His Assistant In Mind

The Job Pep Guardiola Wants When He's 72 - Already Has His Assistant In Mind

Guardiola is apparently eyeing an international job at 72.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Pep Guardiola wants to transition to international football when he's - wait for it - 72, apparently lining up the Italy job and he already has his assistant in mind.

Guardiola, who played a portion of his playing career in Serie A, jokingly says he'll return to Italy, aged 72.

And he has his eyes on legendary Italian forward Roberto Baggio as his assistant, having played with each other during their Brescia days.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The Manchester City boss told Corriere dello Sport via Football Italia: "Johan Cruijff always spoke highly of Baggio.

"He wanted to see him in a technical league such as La Liga and he wondered whether he would adapt to Spanish football.

"Baggio could have played everywhere, but in those years, it was impossible to convince him to leave Serie A. The best players were in Italy, and everyone wanted to play there."

Image: PA
Image: PA

He added: "I wanted to play abroad, and when Brescia directors Mauro Pederzoli and Gianluca Nanni came to meet me in Barcelona, it didn't take long for me to accept.

"They spoke to me about Baggio, Toni, Calori, Petruzzi and the twins Filippini. I thought: 'If Baggio is there, it means they want to do things seriously.' And I was right.

"Baggio was the best footballer and treated everybody in the same way, from the President to the warehouse workers.

"We are living in a society where everybody expects to receive recognition from people who are far away from us, rather than love from the ones who are close.

"Baggio is the opposite, he prefers the love of his relatives than to take centre stage. All us humans live for what happens outside, forgetting about ourselves. He prefers his interior life, his family, Buddhism and enjoying little things.

"When I'll be 72 years old and come to Italy to coach, I'll ask him to become my assistant. I'll try to bring him back into the world of football. But you can't convince Baggio, he decides."

Guardiola has, so far, enjoyed his managerial career at club level, managing Barcelona, Bayern Munich and, of course, Man City.

Could he one day take charge of an international team? Watch this space.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Football, Pep Guardiola, Italy

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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