During those two seasons in the mid-90s, when Michael Jordan decided to retire from basketball and pursue his baseball career, the Houston Rockets took the NBA league throne from the Chicago Bulls.After clinching the first title in 1994, the Rockets unexpectedly crumbled during the next regular season, reaching the playoffs as the sixth-seeded team of eight. They lost 35 out of 82 games, and it seemed like Hakeem Olajuwon’s team was about to say goodbye to their back-to-back title.##NAJAVA_MECA_8519610##But then, in the playoffs, despite not having a home-court advantage at any stage, the Rockets resurrected magnificently, eliminating the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs before sweeping off the Orlando Magic 4-0 in the NBA finals.After the title-winning game, during the post-match celebration, the Rockets’ coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, took the mic and said one of the most iconic sports quotes ever.”I have one thing to say to those non-believers… Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!”Thirty years have almost passed since that moment, but Tomjanovich’s words still resonate and should remind us never to prematurely write off those special teams and coaches that are built differently and have the winning mentality in their DNK.And don’t let current form and results fool you – Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City are the living examples of that story.Yesterday’s horrific 4-0 home loss to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur must have been the hardest pill to swallow in Guardiola’s managerial career so far. Instead of bouncing back from a severe crisis, embellished with four losses in a row across all competitions, the Citizens were literally torn apart in front of their crowd in their own house. It doesn’t get much worse than that, does it?Forget about Cityzens! From now on, CitySons rule!However, just one look at the calendar will show you that it’s only November and still two-thirds of the season yet to be played, in both the Premier League and the Champions League.This has been the worst start of the season for the Spaniard since his arrival at Etihad in 2016, and various issues on and off the pitch keep pressing Pep much stronger than his players do to rivals’ back line. Rodri’s terrible, season-ending injury seems to be the biggest problem, as City have lost their smooth operator, playmaker and mastermind, whose brilliance is so visible now that he’s no longer there. Without Rodri, the Skyblues’ attacking lines seem disrupted, and Kevin de Bruyne – also affected by a recent injury – doesn’t seem capable of stepping into Rodri’s shoes, nor even his own from previous seasons.Without Rodri and KDB, Cityzens are only ‘human’: Pep’s fourth defeat in a row!Moreover, 14 goals conceded in the last five games (lost all five, of course) would be disastrous even for some mid-table side, let alone for the team of Manchester City’s relevance and quality. Something is extremely rotten in that defensive line, which went from solid and concrete to deplorable in less than a month.(©Sofascore/Screenshot)Last but not least, Pep Guardiola had gotten rid of Julian Alvarez, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer in recent years, and now all is left within the attack is Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker is a one-of-a-kind, a genuine beast inside the area, but he tends to ‘disappear’ from time to time – especially in those ‘big’ games – and it makes City’s offence predictable and somewhat harmless.Versatile defender John Stones has stepped in more than once to save his side from embarrasment this season, but Stones’ magic tricks are not permanent solution, nor can work week after week.Pep’s stoppage-time heroTo make things worse (if its even possible to succumb that low), the next Premier League game for the Cityzens will see them face none else than Liverpool at Anfield next weekend.Before that, Pep’s army, deprived of joy and hope, will take on Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday night.Those two games – especially the latter – will show us what kind of the heart beats underneath that sky-blue shirt. If it’s of the champion’s ilk – and we’re pretty sure it is the case here – the world will find out that Pep has bounced back from ropes. Then he definitely won’t be the one to worry about the rest of the season.By: BOJAN BABIC
