Pique talks about his rocky relationship with Pep

Gerard Pique enjoyed a successful period under the management of Pep Guardiola during his early years at Barcelona. The Spanish defender won a treble in his first season with Pep and saw the birth of a new era which was dominated by the Catalans both domestically and in Europe. The defender, however, fell out of favor from Guardiola because he lost his obsession of football. The 31-year old could not understand why their coach wanted the players to be obsessed with football 24/7 even after being with the players for so many years and knowing that they already understand his concepts. The defender was eventually benched in the El Clasico (Barcelona vs Real Madrid) match that followed and he was angry. He started thinking if it was the end of his playing career and these thoughts crushed him.

The player returned to scene in a big match against Chelsea in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League only to be replaced on the 20th minute after suffering an injury. Barcelona was eliminated and Guardiola announced his departure shortly after that. What he cannot process to this day is how things would have turned out if he had stayed at Barcelona. Pique was given a wakeup call by that experience and has not looked back. He has proved to be reliable whenever he is called upon since then and does not look like he will be replaced anytime soon. Do you think Pique’s attitude was justified? Tell us why in the comments below?