The Domino Theory of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s Lost Season

Manchester City has no chance at winning their third straight Premier League title. Many have questioned why things have gone so sideways for Pep Guardiola‘s men. It’s not one thing. It’s a series of falling dominoes.

Last Sunday, the manager of the defending Premier League champions, Pep Guardiola, strolled to his seat at the table for his post-match press conference. His team, Manchester City, had just suffered another shocking loss, this time it was to his rival of a decade, Jose Mourinho and his newfound club, Spurs.

Pep took his seat and tried to get comfortable as a phalanx of reporters, cameras, phones, and recording devices were all aimed at him. He remained noticeably uncomfortable as the questions started firing in at him. All questions asking in some form or another…

What went wrong?

As a mental health professional, I have learned to observe human behavior, especially when under stress. I have taken a keen interest in football managers and their personalities.

City’s manager holds a special interest to me because it is not about what he says in these conferences, it’s how he says them, and his accompanying body language. Though it is inappropriate for me to try to diagnosis anyone I have never actually met, let alone examined, I will attempt to provide some insights.

It appears based on what I have read and seen in a significantly large catalog of videos of interviews, press conferences, and locker room talks about Pep (thanks Amazon!), he is closer to the introvert end of the introvert-extrovert continuum. He also presents as being quite uncomfortable (almost in pain) with required press conferences.