Lionel Messi story shows Pep Guardiola change ahead of 72 hours that define Man City season

It is in the story of how Pep Guardiola converted Lionel Messi into a false nine where his inability to switch off from football reveals itself. It's 10pm on April 30, 2009, the day before another Clasico, and the idea comes to Guardiola as he watches videos of previous Real Madrid matches.

The tale is told in Marti Perarnau's book Pep Confidential and reveals that Guardiola immediately summoned Messi to his office at the training ground and the plan was explained at 10.30pm on the eve of the game. The following night, Messi tore Real apart and the position of a false nine entered the football lexicon.

It was typical of Guardiola's intensity in his early years in management that he would be sat alone at the training ground, long after his staff had left, watching videos, looking for clues and ideas. It's why he was burnt out after four years in Barcelona and lasted just three in Munich. Nobody saw a reign of at least eight years coming in Manchester.

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But over time Guardiola has learnt to switch off and in a week like this, it is vital. This is almost always the most dangerous week of City's season. It is where dreams of a double, a treble and a quadruple are tested to the limit and - occasionally - when those dreams die.

For the fourth season in a row, the Blues play a Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday night before an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday. Only once in the previous three occasions have they escaped from the week unscathed. That was last season, and we all know what happened next.

With all due respect to their opponents, that was also a