Guardiola Says He Would Rather Holiday Than Coach in Serie A

• Pep Guardiola guided Manchester City to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final last night
• The Citizens thrashed RB Leipzig 7-0 to progress to the last 8 on an aggregate scoreline of 8-1
• The Spaniard has revealed his admiration for Italian football but said he would not coach there

Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest tacticians of all time and one of the most successful managers of this era.

He has coached teams in Spain and Germany and currently manages in England, but has now ruled out taking charge of a club in the Serie A despite spending two years of his playing career there.

After leaving Barcelona in 2001, Guardiola had stints with AS Roma and Brescia during his two-year stay in Italy, before some short spells in Qatar and Mexico prior to his retirement.

His time with Manchester City is the longest period he has spent at a single team, having been in England since 2016 and dominating the division, winning 11 major trophies including four Premier League titles.

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Guardiola rules out Serie A

Pep's current Man City contract runs until the summer of 2025. He signed a contract extension during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup break in December, as reported by Guardian.

There is growing speculation he could leave England if he does not win the UEFA Champions League. Returning to Barcelona, managing Paris Saint-Germain, or even coaching the Spanish national team are options for him although he has now ruled out the Italian league.

“I lived in Italy for two years, and I still have many friends, especially in Brescia. Am I coaching there one day? I think I'll just come there on holiday,” he told Sky Italia.

Guardiola praises De Zerbi

After the departure of Graham Potter to Chelsea, Brighton hired Italian manager, Roberto De Zerbi. Pep is a fan of the former Sassuolo manager because of his teams' style of play.

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“We have an Italian coach here, he’s called Roberto De Zerbi, and he’s changing many things in English football, playing marvellous football. He is doing incredibly well,” he said.

Guardiola advised De Bruyne

Sports Brief earlier reported on Guardiola advising Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian saw his minutes for Manchester City reduced recently.

The midfielder has fallen down the order recently, starting the past three games on the bench including City's rout of RB Leipzig this week.

Guardiola has now reportedly advised de Bruyne to return to the basics of his game if he wants to regain a place on the team's starting XI.