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Manchester City have had a disappointing year, failing to win any trophies and struggling to qualify for the Champions League. However, Guardiola sees the lacklustre season not as a failure but as an opportunity for growth, stressing the importance of learning from defeats and setbacks.
"I want to suffer when I don't win games. I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want when something doesn't go my way to affect me... I want that. I get angry... my food tastes worse... I don't need to eat a lot because I need to feel it (anger). Because if it doesn't happen, what's the point? To win or to lose... We live in this world to have different experiences, different emotions," Guardiola told Reuters in an interview.
The 54-year-old, who has won the Spanish, German and English top-flight titles 12 times, spoke about the struggles of last season, in which City finished third in the Premier League. It was only the second season in his managerial career without a trophy. Guardiola dismissed the idea that the season was a disaster, instead saying that it was perhaps his most rewarding period at City.
"Happiness is only measured in victory. Success is also victory after victory. And that's the point. I'm not going to measure myself or my team by just one result, good or bad... Maybe if you finish third in a season but never give up, it's a better season than the one when we won the Premier League for the fourth time in a row. We faced a lot of difficulties: injuries, lack of rest, my lack of efficiency... for many reasons. Maybe an analysis of my time at the club will show that last season was better. We qualified for the Champions League, although we were on the verge of not getting there," Pep noted.
Reflecting on the failures, Guardiola quoted former Uruguayan president José Mujica.
"Success is how many times you get up after falling. Falling, getting up. Falling, getting up again... That's true success."
He then added that he always follows with interest the interviews with the losing players and coaches after the game.
"Winners are boring. It's more interesting to watch losers. That's when you really learn."
Despite his illustrious career, Guardiola rejects any notion of his own exclusivity.
"Do you think I feel special because I have won so many titles? No. Forget it. I think special people are the doctors who save lives. The people who invented penicillin. They are geniuses. And me? A genius? Don't make me laugh. And this is not false modesty. Of course, I am a good coach. I have proven that for years. At certain times, working with Lionel Messi and others, creating incredible teams... But other coaches, if they were in the right place at the right time, maybe everything would have worked out well too."
Looking ahead to next season and the Club World Cup, Guardiola stresses the importance of team spirit.
"Stress is always there because you are judged every day. But what can you do? No one threatened me with a gun and forced me to choose this job. I chose it myself... There is no professional in football who always wins. It is simply impossible. So this happened last season... You accept it, you improve, you learn, and it will be a useful lesson for the future."