After almost six months of crying in the shower while listening to Dido, watching rom-coms with tubs of ice cream and eating lonely microwave dinners for one, Pep Guardiola has moved on from his painful breakup with now-Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
It seems that the Spanish coach has finally accepted that some things don't last forever, and having drunkenly tattooed 'Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all' on his bicep (that may only be speculation), he's back on the dating scene.
And the Manchester City boss has seemingly found 'the one' - again. This time, Guardiola will be sharing a bench with fellow Spaniard Juanma Lillo, a man whose name may mean little to those on British shores.
But this one is an old flame. Lillo actually coached Guardiola once upon a time, and he proved to be one of the main influences over the Barcelona legend's decision to go into coaching. But more on that later.
So who is this mysterious new muse, and what dark secrets does his past hold? 90min is here to give you the 411 on Pep's right-hand man.
La Liga Record Breaker
OFFICIAL: Juanma Lillo has become the new #ManCity assistant coach.
— Man City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 9, 2020
[via @ManCity] pic.twitter.com/zUHo6fQ3Gi
The first minor surprise surrounding Lillo's history is that he was never actually a professional footballer. But that didn't stop him from getting his hands dirty within the sport, and at the age of only 16, the Spaniard began cutting his coaching teeth at local side Amaroz KE.
He continued to blossom as a coach, and at 16 years old, he landed a job with Tercera División side Tolosa. In 1995, after lifting unfancied Salamanca from the third division to the top flight, he became the youngest boss in history to have ever coached in La Liga. His career spans over 37 years and across almost 20 different clubs or international sides, including Sevilla, Real Zaragoza and national team Chile.
Travel broadens the mind, so Juanma is just the ticket for Pep.
Poetic Expression
Juanma Lillo on Pep [in 2010]:
— Man City Report (@cityreport_) June 5, 2020
"[He is] one of the most important people in my life, like a son to me."#MCFC | #ManCity pic.twitter.com/oGPs506aPl
In terms of footballing values, Lillo falls right in line with Guardiola's desire for the perfect performance. Man City, like Barcelona and Bayern in the past, are revered for the pretty patterns and devastating attacks they formulate under their meticulous boss, and their new assistant will join them in this endless quest for perfection.
When presented as Atletico Nacional coach back in 2017, Lillo was asked about what approach his team would adapt under his guidance. And sure enough, he gave a real Guardiola-esque response, as cited by Dugout.
"All human interaction has a certain expressiveness. One person observing it could call it poetic. The sight of a group helping each could evoke values and solidarity. To achieve a poetic expression? I hope we can achieve that."
Influencer
? Juanma Lillo x Pep Guardiola:
— Man City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 5, 2020
?? Guardiola coached by Lillo at Dorados in 2006
? Discussed football together in depth after training
? Six-month experience that inspired Pep to manage
? Lillo labelled as a 'genius' and a 'maestro' by Guardiola
? Reunited in Manchester? pic.twitter.com/uLrKdQ7MwE
No, not like the latest set of Love Island failures who sell teeth whitener and fat-burning tablets on instagram. Lillo is well respected among football's greatest products, and despite having never won a trophy in 37 years, many stars attribute their success to the new Man City assistant coach.
One man who was fascinated by the genius of the coach was none other than Guardiola himself. In fact, while Lillo was working at Dorados de Sinaloa in 2005, the Man City boss signed for the club as a player, and often stayed behind to learn about training sessions and the different tactical plans put in place.
Former teammate Sebastian Abreu recalled to ESPN, as cited by Goal, that Guardiola would want to discover 'the objective of every training session' and would pick Lillo's brain over the reasons behind their practices.
“On the day Pep arrived, he watched our training session and ran off to the dressing room to look for a pen and pad. He called over, grabbed Juanma by the arm and sat down with him. He wanted to find out the objective of every training session, if it was to mould the team or to find out about the opponent. He knew it was never just training for the sake of it with Juanma."
Without Juanma, we may never have had Pep.
Not Always a Winning Ticket
Crossbar denies Juanma Lillo's first title on Colombian soil as Junior progresses to the final on pens.
— Pål Ødegård (@paalpot75) May 12, 2014
We learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Well, Lillo must have soaked up plenty of knowledge by that reasoning. The 2000s were not the most successful years for the coach, as he first suffered relegation with Spanish Segunda side Terrassa, before resigning mid-season at Mexican outfit Dorados, who themselves would endure the same fate.
Lillo was offered a chance at redemption with Real Sociedad, who were aiming for promotion back to La Liga, but they finished sixth and - yep, you guessed it - he was sacked.
Finally, he rounded off the decade at Almeria, and after an impressive half-season, in which he kept them in the top flight, he then struggled to replicate those heroics. He received the chop 11 months after his appointment, with the club languishing in the relegation zone.
He must be great in interviews.
Conquered All of China
That's right, despite his flaws, we do have a promotion winner in our midst. Man City's new man did enjoy success in his latest coaching role, banishing the pain of previous years by leading Qingdao Huanghai to promotion glory last season!
Okay, so this achievement did come in China, and okay, it was in the second division, but it is still something worth writing home about. Lillo, accompanied by former Sky Blues midfielder Yaya Toure, guided his side to the dizzying heights of the Chinese Super League for the following campaign, before resigning earlier this month.
He's coming in hot and ready to clean up all of England, Citizens!
Source : 90min