October 22nd 2024.
Pep Guardiola, the legendary manager of Manchester City, was not too happy with one of his former players, Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian had the audacity to talk back to him during a training session after being criticized. Zinchenko had played under Guardiola's guidance before joining Arsenal in 2022. Although he wasn't a regular in the starting lineup, he still managed to make 128 appearances for City and even won four Premier League titles with the team. However, his relationship with Guardiola wasn't always smooth sailing.
The incident in question occurred during a training session when Zinchenko made a mistake and was promptly scolded by Guardiola. Feeling a little frustrated, Zinchenko responded by saying, "Mister! Like, I just did one wrong pass, you know?" This didn't sit well with Guardiola, who was taken aback by the player's tone. He immediately ended the training session and told everyone to go back to the changing room. Zinchenko quickly realized his mistake and regretted talking back to his coach.
In his new book, Believe, Zinchenko recalls the incident and adds, "And he went in, walked to the changing room. Training over, all because I talked back. I knew I was in trouble." This incident had consequences for Zinchenko as well, as he found himself on the bench for the next game. Looking back, Zinchenko admits that he was in the wrong and knew he had to apologize. However, he didn't want to disturb Guardiola's focus before an important game, so he waited until after the match to apologize.
Things seemed to have improved between the two after that incident. Zinchenko left Manchester for Arsenal, and in the 2022/23 season, City went on to win the treble - the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup. Guardiola, who had previously called Zinchenko to thank him for his contributions to the team, once again reached out to him after the treble win. "I can only imagine how much they celebrated after the game, and I guess no one was sleeping that night, but to get a call from Pep? I couldn't believe it," Zinchenko said.
Unfortunately, Zinchenko has been dealing with a hamstring injury this season and has only made two appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League. However, he was on the bench for their recent game against Bournemouth. Zinchenko hopes to return to the starting lineup soon and make a positive impact for his team. It's clear that his relationship with Guardiola has vastly improved, and the two have a great amount of respect for each other. Zinchenko is grateful for everything Guardiola has done for him and is glad to see that the manager has a good sense of humor.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
