SPIELFELD
12/10/2018

Pep Guardiola: The purist

Pep Guardiola is regarded as a managerial icon. The Catalan coach has already introduced a new style of uncompromising possession-based football at Manchester City. But the club owner is now expecting him to follow up his record-breaking Premier League triumph with a UEFA Champions League title.

"Success without the style that I want to see has no value for me," explained Manchester City tactician Pep Guardiola last summer. The 47-year-old could often be heard saying similar things at his previous clubs Bayern Munich and Barcelona. None of the top coaches have such purist ideologies and or demanding expectations when it comes to their teams' performances. He not only wants to win, he also wants to relentlessly dominate the ball and his opponents, and to break them down with flowing link-up play. Anything less than total perfection simply does not cut it for the Santpedor native.

Based on those expectations, Guardiola was always going to have his work cut out when he arrived at Etihad Stadium two years ago. The tradition-steeped club controlled by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi was hoping the 2011 FIFA Coach of the Year would bring them many titles, an attractive short passing game and international recognition, yet the tactical transformation of a team that had previously been known for its power and dynamism was tougher than first anticipated. City were extremely vulnerable to counter-attacks in his first season in the dugout – much to the delight of many experts and pundits in England, who felt Guardiola's teething problems only served to confirm the Premier League's self-conferred status as "the most difficult championship in the world".

"Guardiola is crazy if he thinks he can come here, play everyone off the park, have 90 percent possession against teams like Watford or Bournemouth and beat them with pretty passing patterns," chimed the former Liverpool forward Stan Colleymore on behalf of traditionalists across England. "And if he thinks that he doesn't need to teach his team to slide-tackle or challenge for the ball, he's even crazier. He'll return to Spain with his tail between his legs." For Guardiola  who himself admitted "I'm usually at the top"  it was a doubly painful experience. City's third-place finish at the end of the 2016/17 season, 15 points behind champions Chelsea, tarnished his reputation as a tactical genius and seemed to put his ground-breaking accomplishments with Barca and Bayern Munich into perspective. 

A brand of football never seen before in England

But anyone who expected Guardiola to make tactical concessions to suit the conditions in English football − wind and weather, lenient interpretation of the rules, lack of a winter break and fixture congestion to name but a few  was sorely mistaken. Guardiola pledged that he would always stay true to his footballing principles and reshaped his squad in even more uncompromising fashion ahead of the 2017/18 season. City went on to play a brand of football that had never been seen before in England. Aggressive pressing, brilliant use of space, constant movement, quick ball circulation and clear purpose all combined to create a sporting masterpiece that left the opposition reeling in shock. The British broadcaster Sky compared City's beauty with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, while ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown − a man not known for placing an excessive emphasis on aesthetic aspects of the game − lauded the players as being "like artists painting a beautiful footballing picture on the pitch each week to which the finishing touches were added each time by strikers Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Agüero".

The "Citizens" ended the campaign as champions with more than 100 points on the board and were crowned the "best team in Premier League history" by the Times newspaper. Guardiola had successfully implemented his ideas and silenced the traditionalists. "We can't improve in terms of the points tally, but we can play even better football," he announced ahead of the current season, adding: "We're still hungry because none of us likes the feeling of losing." Above all, he will be yearning for success in the UEFA Champions League at the third attempt.

Without standout performer Kevin De Bruyne, who is currently out injured, the "Citizens" are lacking an element of precision and physicality in midfield. There are still one or two critics who come crawling out of the woodwork every so often, one example being the Guardian newspaper recommending Guardiola give his teams, who are given instructions for the smallest of details, a little more freedom. But knowing Guardiola, he won't diverge from his path. Doubts from others only serve to reinforce his belief in his highly complicated concept.

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