Guardiola and the Forgotten Era of Football

In 2020, Keanu Reeves was asked about the narrative tension behind the movie "Bill and Ted's Search for Songs". In short, it’s about the theme of facing death: Bill and Ted’s failure to write that song that unites the world, which not only affects themselves, but also affects their families. They must create a song that saves the universe—or else the world will end.

After answering in his usual relaxed and humorous tone of character "Ted", late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert raised a more serious question: "What do you think will happen to us after we die?"

Reeves leaned back, took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and gave an unexpected, profound and moving answer:

"I know those who love us will miss us." This sentence is gentle and sincere, moving.

However, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola does not seem to agree with this view. In an interview before the FA Cup final in May, although he was not asked the same question as Reeves, he also talked about his life and legacy.

"When we die," he said, "our family may cry for us for two or three days, and then it's over - you will be completely forgotten. There are good and bad careers in the coaching career, and it's important that people remember those excellent coaches."

Guardiola's position in football history has long been unshakable. He led the team to the triumphant championship more than once, and was even considered to have changed the face of modern football. During his coaching period, both Spain and Germany won the World Cup, which is enough to illustrate his influence. England hasn't done that yet? Maybe next year?

Regardless of whether England can do it or not, Guardiola's experience at Manchester City over the past eight years has undoubtedly reshape the football landscape in the UK and even the entire Europe. However, his pessimistic view of memory is clearly influenced by some football circles' rapid forgetting of the "Istanbul Miracle" and the 2023 Triple Champions feat.

Of course, how many of these are the relief from Manchester City fans about the club's final victory? How much is due to our ever-shortening attention cycle? As the schedule becomes increasingly dense, the number of games continues to increase, and the intervals between seasons are getting shorter and shorter. Football may be entering its own "digital amnesia era" - an era where information overload weakens human memory capabilities.

The risk of each game is becoming a dynamic on the wall of photos or a short video on social media: we slide the screen, smile it, forward and like it, forget it, and continue to the next one. Wendard, Ain, Juventus... made another appearance.

They fought in December, didn't they? That’s right, is it in the "league stage" of the Champions League after the expansion? It feels like another season, doesn't it? Duchamp Frahovic scored, Weston McKenny scored. Do you still remember this?

Before Manchester City met with Juventus in Orlando, a reporter from Italian Le Republic asked Guardiola's opinion on the Club World Cup and how much he valued winning the event.

"Well, now that we're here, we want to play the game well. But I'm not sure," he said in Italian during the interview.

"Maybe two or three days after the game ends, it will be forgotten." It will be buried by the quicksand of time, blown away by the hot wind of the new season, leaving only a corner of the trophy symbolizing glory, poking its head out of the dunes, and the new season of the Premier League is approaching quietly. After all, the away game against Wolves on August 16 is imminent.

If Manchester City eventually wins the Club World Cup, it will undoubtedly become one of the club's prides. But Guardiola's judgment is likely to be accurate. The event itself is still emerging, and in the UK, people have long been frigid about it - even in the smaller scale of the old system, English clubs never really seemed to value the title of "world champion".

This stems to a certain extent from the mentality of the British island country: they firmly believe that their league is the number one in the world, and the only one that can match it is the Champions League, not the Club World Cup - at least not yet.

"I don't think we should live in the anxiety of whether we will be remembered." Guardiola said in that interview in May this year.

So, what is the meaning? Why do you have to renew your contract for two years? Is it because Guardiola has no idea except football? Or is there something more important than being "remembered"?

After Manchester City beat Juventus 5-2, Guardiola said his players were proving something to themselves. He said the challenge for the upcoming new season is that they have to redefine themselves, too. As for whether fans will remember this season, he can't control it; but games like the 6-0 defeat of Windard and 2-0 against Ain will eventually be forgotten, they are part of the process he dominated.

The bigger problem is actually left to us - and the entire football calendar:

The fewer and fewer games, but instead make people feel more. The real meaning is not quantity, but quality. We miss that era more than forgetting: the World Cup is smaller in scale and shorter seasons, and the champions of each continent truly represent the peak of their respective continents’ competitive athletics.

What if football really declines? It won't perish, of course it won't. Football never dies. But if it really dies, those who love it will probably remember those glorious years - memories from that time are truly able to stand the test of time.