The social networks of Manchester City entered the rag: the English soccer team was going to appear in Ted Lasso, the series with which Apple TV has won the Emmy for best television comedy on two occasions. As the promotional material hinted, this was going to place the fictitious coach ahead of Pep Guardiola. And, complying with the forecasts, the Catalan coach has scored a cameo in the series playing himself and demonstrating sportsmanship.
“Winning or losing doesn't matter. I help the boys to be the best possible version of themselves both on and off the pitch," Guardiola explains after the match against AFC Richmond, the London team led by Ted Lasso played by Jason Sudeikis, also co-creator, screenwriter and executive producer of the production. It happens in the twelfth episode of the third season, which was broadcast this Wednesday after the joint promotion of Apple and Manchester City.
Guardiola's existence in the fictional universe of Ted Lasso had already been shown. Beard, the assistant coach played by Brendan Hunt, had mentioned him as one of the best executors in total football, the game system perfected by Rinus Michels at Ajax when Johan Cruyff was on the team. In fact, the character interpreted "Josep Guardiola" with an impeccable pronunciation that a large part of the Spanish press would like.
For those who don't know what Ted Lasso is, it is an American sports comedy but shot in the United Kingdom about a coach who, despite having no experience in European soccer, is signed by Richmond, a club in crisis. It soon becomes clear why Rebecca Welton, the owner of the club, is betting on him: she wants to destroy the team that her ex-husband loved so much. What she doesn't expect is that Ted, with an optimistic, proactive attitude and trying to see the best in others, will change both the behavior of the locker room and the lives of all those who come in contact with him.
It is speculated that the third season could be the last due to Sudeikis's decision to leave the series: he is divorced from the director Olivia Wilde and does not want to spend so many months away from his children, a situation that Ted Lasso also experiences in fiction. It is also expected that, once this season ends, Apple will announce a sequel or spin-off while maintaining part of the cast.
Ted Lasso, at the moment, accumulates 11 Emmy Awards for its first two seasons, including two for the best comedy on television, two for Jason Sudeikis as the best comedy actor, two more for Brett Golstein as a secondary and the one for best secondary for Hannah Waddingham.
