Last week, when Manchester City won the Premier League for the second consecutive time with a score of 98, the defeat to Tottenham in the Champions League was somewhat sluggish because after all, The Citizens still dominated the foggy country and showed a different level.
When boarding a plane to go to the headquarters for a celebration, the reporter group following Man City caught Pep Guardiola still enthusiastically discussing tactics with his assistant and next to him was the prestigious silver cup.
As Mourinho once said about Pep, the Man City coach never takes time to enjoy it, always works, so much so that... he loses his hair.
Back to the FA Cup final in the early morning of May 19, Man City easily defeated Watford 6-0 to win 3 domestic titles.
Of those 6 goals, striker Sterling scored a double in the 81st and 87th minutes, ending a perfect season.
However, while celebrating with his teammates on the field, Sterling was still taken to the spot by Pep to " North-head" after a few losses and failed attacks. In the post-match interview, the Spanish coach himself publicly criticized Sterling's somewhat poor playing style in the first half, before he shined in the second half.
Few people know that, from a player who likes to make and dance in Liverpool's shirt, Sterling has "transformed" completely under Pep's hands to now become a striker model that many big clubs are eager for.
Back to the 2017-2019 season, in the West Brom - Man City match on October 28, 2017, in the goal to increase the score to 3-1, Sterling was the one who finished after a series of confused situations of the home team. West Brom could not touch the ball and was helpless against the smoothness of the " machines" Man City.
A few days later, in the match against Leicester City, Sterling was the one who voted for David Silva and Gabriel Jesus to make the Foxes' defense suffer. No one thought that, from a player without the instinct to score and only likes to dribble, Sterling would be so comprehensive under Pep Guardiola.
It is not an exaggeration to consider Manchester City as a "scoring machine" and Pep Guardiola as an outdated inventor. From a group of players who play instinctively and are used to showing off, Pep has disciplined each of them, such as Sterling, De Bruyne and sometimes David Silva. Everyone must become a fixed link, have their own task and must do their best in the Etihad Stadium machine.
Sterling is probably the leader who has learned the most of what Pep has taught. The English striker once had a difficulty in correcting it, which was when he passed the ball, unable to know the next direction to turn so he could continue the ball.
Pep was once angry and shouted loudly at Sterling on the training ground. He taught him how to turn around, looking at the running direction like a broken player. Sterling was a moderate at one point and in the final, and a few days later, in the Champions League group stage, he scored just as Pep taught. Man City won 1-0 in that match.
If he had returned to the opponent's goal with his old instinct, Sterling would never have scored such goals.
That is the story of Sterling, but for Man City to turn into a championship machine, Pep needs to do more than that.
Remembering the moment he was crowned Premier League this season, De Bruyne once told Pep right on the pitch: "You are a terrible coach, you can only win". As for Sterling, he himself admitted after the match that he still has a lot to learn to look forward to the next seasons.
At the Etihad, in addition to the splendor and monetary value, it is also a place that true champions will never forget. Even if they win, they still find a lesson to continue to win many more times.
