Hello, Tuesday!
And hello September! If you’re Stateside, I hope you were able to enjoy the long weekend, and if you’re anywhere else in the world, I hope your week is off to a kind start. How are you doing? It feels like we’re swimming in sports news these days. There’s everything from track & field championships to the fast-approaching end of the WNBA season, from football’s return to the ongoing US Open. Two sports news highlights from this past week for me included the record-breaking 92,000–plus (!!!) fans in attendance for the University of Nebraska’s women’s volleyball opening match and Coco Gauff making her way to the semis of the US Open while thinking about Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour. Someone start playing “CUFF IT” because Coco’s in the mood to win something, I think.
Today, however, I wanted to celebrate a sporting event I missed a while ago: the start of the Premier League season! Over in England, football is in full swing with Matchweek 4 already in the books. I’m so excited to see what sort of drama unfolds — who will win, who will lose, and who will be the first team to be upset by Luton Town. Even with all the surprises this season might have in store, there’s usually one result I can count on being true: Manchester City will still be good. Will they defend their title? Chances are very high! But in the non-zero chance they don’t, will they come awfully close? Yes. Yes, they (probably) will. So in celebration of this new Premier League season, today’s story is on Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his…crush?
Watching Manchester City play is a bit like watching Molly Yeh decorate a cake. There’s technique and precision and just enough playfulness to make even the ruffles look a bit artistic, and at the end you’re left with a delicious dessert with some tastefully added sprinkles. And just like a Molly Yeh cake, the end product looks deceptively attainable until you actually look at the recipe and realize you cannot make this product, only someone with a Norwegian connection can.1 All of this is not to say Manchester City is perfect, but winning the league five times over the past six seasons is undeniable. At the center of this team’s dominance is Pep Guardiola, the Spanish soccer savant, already heralded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
The legend of Guardiola the manager — and also Guardiola the player — starts at FC Barcelona, his hometown club. At just 37, he became head of Barcelona’s first team, with legendary stars like Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, and current Barça manager Xavi, to name just a few. In that historic 2008-09 season, Guardiola led Barcelona to their first-ever treble, winning the domestic cup, domestic league, and the European cup. He’d eventually leave Barcelona after four seasons, take a sabbatical, then land in Germany to head Bayern Münich, collecting some more hardware. In 2016, he arrived in Manchester, and has one five titles with City since. Just last season, he accomplished the treble again.
But enough with this sycophantic introduction! What I am really here to write about is not Guardiola’s success, but rather his disappointment. Right after Manchester City qualified for the Champions League quarter-final last season after a 7–0 thrashing of RB Leipzig, Guardiola suddenly admitted that he was a Champions League failure regardless. It’s a quote that must be read to be believed, so here it is:
“I’m a failure in the Champions League. So don’t worry. Listen, I’m going to explain a secret. So whatever happens in the Champions League this year, winning…Even if I win this Champions League, we win this Champions League, three Champions Leagues in a row, I will be a failure. I’m going to tell you something. I have three idols in my life: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts. OK? These are my three idols…So Julia Roberts years ago came to Manchester. Not in the 80’s and 90’s with Sir Alex Ferguson [when he] wins the titles, titles, and titles and titles. She came in the period we were better than United, those four or five years. [She] went to visit Man United! She didn’t come to see us. So that’s why, this is — even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manachester and don’t come to see us.”
I have so many questions.
First, where did this come from? This is from a press conference in 2023; Pep was talking about when Julia Roberts went to visit Manchester United in 2016. She had visited Old Trafford and met players and staff before watching a game, a 1–1 draw no less! My favorite part is all the bits that made it to the papers after this comment, like The Independent writing, “Roberts is a United fan who attended their 2016 game against West Ham and wished Jesse Lingard a happy birthday on Instagram.” Just imagining this reporter combing through Jesse Lingard’s Instagram comments…iconic!
Also, where exactly does this fandom come from? Is Pep a Notting Hill fan? Wait, is he randomly an August: Osage County supporter? Does he also think Ticket to Paradise was mid? According to Julia Roberts, her kids play soccer and Manchester United is “such a part of our family’s history as avid sports lovers.” Also interesting tidbit — per The Athletic, Julia Roberts is represented by the same agents as former United manager Jose Mourinho, a connection that led to an introduction to the team. (I am hearing now from #pepteam that Guardiola would like to remind everyone that he has only lost to Mourinho seven times out of 25 matches!)
Regardless of Pep’s feelings, Roberts met the United squad again, visiting them in July during their preseason U.S. tour. For every photo I saw of her taken with Erik ten Hag or Marcus Rashford, I couldn’t help but wonder if Pep Guardiola was seething somewhere. After all, he’s just a manager, standing in front of a movie star, asking her to love him.
Conjecture aside, I’m happy to report that this crush isn’t all unrequited. When Pep Guardiola completed the treble with Manchester City in June, Julia Roberts posted a congratulatory message on Instagram: “Congratulations @pepteam ⚽️🏆for leading your team to be UCL champions. #pep #soccermom.” No notes!
So here’s to you and your crush finally noticing you on social media. If it can happen to Pep, it can happen to us.
Have a lovely week!
Courtney
Molly Yeh’s husband is Norwegian, just like Erling Haaland, which is a very important connection to me.