ORANGEBURG, N.Y.—On a muggy late July morning, the old friends reunited. After 11 years of sharing ideas together on the same staff, Dome Torrent and Pep Guardiola spent a few minutes reminiscing as New York City FC trained before Manchester City on Monday.
They planned to take in MLB's Subway Series on Sunday, even taking a picture together inside Yankee Stadium, but the Mets-Yankees game was postponed. Last month Torrent joked he’d have to scout out a good Japanese restaurant when Guardiola arrives and, as of Monday, that mission wasn’t complete.
“Maybe tomorrow, we have a day off,” Torrent said. “But don’t forget Pep lived here one year and right now Pep knows more restaurants than me.”
Together, Guardiola and Torrent amassed 24 trophies in their time together, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich and finally at Manchester City. When approached by City Football Group brass about the possibility of once again becoming a manager, and in what Guardiola calls a “top, top city,” Torrent couldn’t refuse.
At a press conference in midtown Manhattan ahead of Manchester City’s friendly against Liverpool at MetLife Stadium Wednesday night, Guardiola said he’s been impressed with how quickly Torrent has been able to assimilate to a new country and a new league.
“He’s going to do well because he’s a smart guy, he understands really well the game,” Guardiola said. “So far, they played five games — four victories, one defeat. It’s not easy to come in the middle of the season to go with the team and in five games, win four. It’s not easy.”
Although implementing ideas in the middle of the season is difficult, Guardiola said the key for Torrent is to “arrive in the best moment as possible in the playoffs.”
Guardiola said the playoff format reminds him of continental competition in Europe.
“A little bit like the Champions League, no? You have a good season, arrive in the Champions League and one bad moment, and you are out,” Guardiola said. “In the playoffs it's the same. It could be a good, good season [and in] the playoffs have one bad game, one or both and you are out. So arrive in the best condition [for the] playoffs and prepare for the next season.”
Guardiola said the coaches on his staff have the liberty to make their own decisions, telling them to “react like a manager.” That was true with Torrent on the staff, and will remain the case without him.
“I’m not a guy who says, ‘You’re the second, you’re the third, you’re the fourth.’ No, they are free to take a decision like a manager,” Guardiola said. “Always I tell them, ‘So react like you are a manager.’ Of course, the last decision is mine, but they can do what they feel. We are not going to change. Just Dome will not be with us, but what they do, they did it last season.”
Manchester City players also complimented Torrent as a coach, with 18-year-old English midfielder Phil Foden, who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot award last year, saying Torrent “gave me a lot of confidence and praise.”
Portuguese international Bernardo Silva spent just one year working with Torrent, but knows well that NYCFC are in good hands.
“For New York City, you’re lucky to have him here.” Silva said, “because of the way he looks at football, the way he understands the game and his passion and ambition to always win more.”
