Former Manchester City assistants have provided rare insights into Pep Guardiola's coaching methods, revealing his relentless work ethic and tactical innovations that have made him one of football's greatest managers. The Athletic spoke with several of Guardiola's assistants throughout his career about life in his inner circle.

Piet Cremers, City's former head of analysis, recalled October 2020 when Guardiola cut short his vacation to unveil a revolutionary 3-2-5 structure. The manager called Cremers from holiday demanding immediate implementation of his new tactical vision featuring Joao Cancelo as an inverted full-back.

Guardiola and Cremers worked late into the night packaging the concept to present to players the next morning. The manager insisted on driving Cremers home, turning a 10-minute journey into 70 minutes of tactical discussion through heavy traffic.

"A journey that could have been 10 minutes ended up an hour and 10 minutes long. It was probably the best hour and 10 minutes of my life," Cremers told The Athletic. "We talked about tactics, national teams, family, everything."

Carles Planchart, Guardiola's longest-serving assistant who worked with him for over 900 games from Barcelona B through City's historic four consecutive Premier League titles, described the manager's approach to preparation.

"Working with Pep means discipline, total commitment and full involvement in preparing matches around the clock," Planchart said. "The only times he truly switches off a little bit is after a match — and only when we win."

Even after winning the 2023 Champions League final 1-0 against Inter, Guardiola continued analyzing the match. Carlos Vicens, who spent four years as Guardiola's assistant, revealed the manager's mindset.

"For months after that, he was still thinking about how we could have attacked better in that game and been more efficient to break the pressing of Inter," Vicens said.

Guardiola's openness to tactical innovations from any source sets him apart from other elite coaches. Cremers noted the manager became fascinated by Roberto De Zerbi's build-up style at Shakhtar Donetsk and demanded exhaustive analysis.

"If he saw something he thought would help him he would buy into it," Cremers said. "When you have won so much you could easily believe you know it all, but to stay ahead and be open to everyone is why he is the best."