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Guardiola to Kohli: Playing in empty stadiums is like a friendly game

The international sports calendar literally came to a grinding halt in March since the outbreak of COVID-19 on a global scale.

Pep Guardiola

Bengaluru, October 15: Playing in empty stadiums without fans has been the new norm in the post novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic scenario and the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE is no exception.

The international sports calendar literally came to a grinding halt in March since the outbreak of COVID-19 on a global scale.

European football season slowly resumed in June while the England hosted West Indies and later Pakistan to signal the return of competitive cricket, but all sans fans.

Indian players might take time getting used to playing in empty stadium: Scott StyrisIndian players might take time getting used to playing in empty stadium: Scott Styris

Playing indoors has taken the charm away from most of the games and renowned football coach Pep Guardiola, who is in charge of former Premier League champions Manchester City was candid while telling current Indian and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli that sporting events without fans are more or less like friendly games all the time.

"Without people it's not the same, it''s like a friendly game every time. The show must go on, but we need to get the people back. It's a completely different game, you feel empty. The bad moments are less, the good moments are less," Guardiola told Kohli during a virtual event organised by Puma India.

The Indian skipper was playing host to a star-studded line-up of sports personalities during the interactive programme.

IPL 2020: Virat Kohli says passion, intensity will not come down even without crowdIPL 2020: Virat Kohli says passion, intensity will not come down even without crowd

Guardiola added that it was the character that is more important than skills for a player to make it big. This was in reply to Kohli''s question on what he looks at while signing a player -- skill or character.

"We see the skills (while signing a player) but we should see the character. The character actually makes the difference -- to be competitive and more hungry to be able to put the bad moments aside, when you're able to find this as much as possible in the squad you've a winner team.

"Skill isn't enough to win in higher competitions. But when you buy them you don't know them," Guardiola said.

Kohli echoed Guardiola's sentiments, "A lot of people don't understand this, they look at the players' skill, but behind the scenes work how he's reacting to a certain situation when the camera is not reacting to him, is he putting in the hard yard these are the thing that go unnoticed.

"I feel that people should realise what's the reason behind selecting players who become superstars over a period of time."

(With PTI inputs)

Story first published: Thursday, October 15, 2020, 14:31 [IST]
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