First off, his ‘Life Path’, taken from his birth numbers of 1, 18 and 1971, is the number ‘one’ – which says this about anyone born on this date: “It represents initiative, potential and singularity. You are a born leader. You insist on your right to make up your own mind; you demand freedom of thought and action.”
Pretty accurate!
At the time Pep was born, the No.1 song in the USA was Knock Three Times by Dawn as while in the UK Clive Dunn of Dad’s Army fame was enjoying a third week at the top with his sentimental ditty ‘Grandad’.
Perhaps more pertinent to the Guardiola family would be Nino Bravo’s ‘Te Quiero, Te Quiero’ which topped the Spanish charts. John Lennon released the album ‘Imagine’ and Michael Jackson released his debut solo album ‘Got to be There’ in 1971 as well.
At the cinema, Love Story (pictured below) was the box office smash that was raking in the money in the US.The average house price in the UK was £5,632 and a loaf of bread (always a good measurement of time!) was 10p.
Other notable names who share the 18 January as their birthday are Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy fame, pictured below) and former City players Steve Lomas and Peter Beardsley.
In football, City had drawn 3-3 with Blackpool just two days earlier - Mike Summerbee scoring twice along with one from Colin Bell - and the Blues would go on to finish 11th on Division One with Arsenal recording the fabled League and FA Cup double.
In Spain, Barcelona would finish runners-up to Valencia in La Liga.
Former City manager and World Cup winner Alan Ball moved to Arsenal from Everton for a British record fee of £220,000.
In October Walt Disney World in Florida officially opened, Intel released the world’s first microprocessor and oil production from the North Sea began.
Pep’s progress…
Born in Santpedor, Catalonia, what was life like when Pep took his first steps?
Barcelona was part of everyday life at a young age for . After joining the club at 13, he impressed Johan Cruyff early on and went on to make his first team debut in 1990.
He made good on his early promise as he became a regular in the first team, going on to make 479 appearances in 12 years for the first team, winning a staggering 16 trophies.
After 17 years of service, he headed for pastures new in Italy. He went on to play for Brescia and Roma, before going on trial at City, under the stewardship of Stuart Pearce, but he wasn’t offered a contract. His next move was to Qatar to play for Al-Ahli before finishing his career in Mexico with Dorados de Sinaloa.
After taking charge of the Barcelona B team, Pep was promoted to the first team and achieved phenomenal success. His record of 14 trophies in four years made him the most successful coach in Barcelona history.
After ending his time at Barcelona, Pep took a year out to rest. After living in New York, he became the manager of Bayern Munich. Pep again was a success, winning seven trophies before starting a new chapter with City.
Feliz cumpleaños, Pep!
