The blissful New York life that Pep Guardiola will struggle to give up On Wednesday Guardiola arrived at his apartment alone shortly after 3.30pm. Dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, jeans and trainers, he dashed from a car into the building. The building's doorman said he was under strict instructions to protect the privacy of the resident he called 'Mr Gardomi'. "I'm sorry," the doorman said. He has informed us only to advise him of visitors he is expecting in advance. Guardiola shares the four-bedroom apartment, which has a private elevator and access to a gym, with his wife Cristina, their son and two daughters. His children are enrolled at a nearby school and are learning English. Guardiola, who plans to take a year out living in New York, spends his time simply "getting to know the city." His home is on the same street and less than a mile from the Dakota building, where John Lennon was shot. The area isalmost completely residential and a few miles from the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan. Yet he has been spotted walking with his family around SoHo, mingling unnoticed among tourists, and doing the school run. While he appears to be taking a break from football, Guardiola has taken an interest in other sports while in the US. He was spotted at the US Open tennis in New York and was inside the ropes at the recent Ryder Cup in Chicago after being invited as a guest by his countryman and Europe captain, José María Olazábal. But in New York, a vast city with little interest in football, Guardiola can go about his days in complete anonymity. The doorman of the building is had no idea who he was. Other neighbours in the huge apartment block were also unable to place Guardiola. One resident who declined to give his name said: "You get lots of famous people living in the buildings around here. But New York is so big that they can almost be anonymous. I don't think anyone would recognise that guy [Guardiola]. I'm in and out of the building all the time and I don't remember seeing him, but I'm not a soccer fan. New York has a lot of soccer fans, but not enough that he would be recognised often. Such a quiet life is a priceless luxury for a man who faced unimaginable pressure during his time in charge of Barcelona. So priceless, in fact, that even Abramovich's million's could not yet prise the Spaniard from his new American life. But when Rafa Benítez's period as interim manager at Chelsea comes to an end, it may finally be time for Guardiola to leave the city he has come to love.