Barcelona’s coach Josep Guardiola is thrown into the air by his staff, after successful the Champions League last in opposition to Manchester United, on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, at the Olympic Stadium, in Rome, Italy.
| Photo Credit: AP
Barcelona had misplaced the LaLiga crown to bitter rival Real Madrid for 2 successive seasons in 2008 and 2009 beneath head coach Frank Rijkaard, and membership president Joan Laporta’s subsequent step to take the staff again to the prime was to gamble on an untested Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola.
Guardiola, who got here by way of the fabled La Masia (Barca’s academy) and went on to play after which captain the first staff, had simply led the Barcelona B staff again to the Segunda Division B (Spain’s third tier) by successful the Catalonia division in his first season as a coach.
According to Laporta, when he approached him about the job, Guardiola responded saying that he hadn’t the braveness to rent him.” Laporta, although, was satisfied that Guardiola can be the man to revive Barcelona whereas taking part in the Barca means. His determination was justified when the membership gained a historic treble in his maiden season and would go on to win LaLiga two extra instances and the Champions League once more in his 4 years among different trophies there. “We chose a philosophy, not a brand,” Laporta would later say.
The philosophy which Guardiola has applied, over the course of the final 15 years with success, is now a sought-after ‘brand’ among the best clubs in Europe. Since Guardiola’s departure in 2012, Barcelona has been desperately in search of to recreate his model of soccer.
Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola with Thiago Alcantara, in Munich, Germany on Tuesday, July 16, 2013.
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AP
Years after his exit from Bayern Munich, Thiago Alcantara mentioned the membership nonetheless employed his concepts throughout matches. Manchester City and the City Football Group (CFG), Guardiola’s employers since 2016, have recreated the ‘Guardiola Blueprint’ throughout their varied affiliated clubs. His affect was additionally stamped in Spain’s nationwide staff’s golden era when it gained the World Cup and the European Cup between 2010 and 2012.
Guardiola, who modelled his philosophy on Johan Cruyff, revolutionised one-touch soccer to a different stage with the pace at which his groups handed by way of groups and suffocated groups off the ball. While those that believed in his concepts would name him a ‘perfectionist’ (Xavi Hernandez), those that fell foul of his strategies labelled him a ‘philosopher’ (Zlatan Ibrahimovic).
Barcelona supervisor Josep Guardiola subs off Zlatan Ibrahimovic throughout the UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg in opposition to Inter Milan at Camp Nou on April 28, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.
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Getty Images
In considered one of his early press conferences from his days as Barcelona coach, Guardiola was requested to elucidate his philosophy. He merely put it as, “I get the ball, I pass the ball. I get the ball, I pass the ball. I get the ball, I pass the ball…”
The monetary backing in the switch market and the best services at his clubs have allowed Guardiola to carry out varied iterations of possession-based soccer, producing some spell-binding attacking soccer and improvements seen in the trendy period.
From his early days in Barcelona, the place the staff was sprinkled with diminutive technically gifted footballers to the bodily overpowering, but skilful ball-players in the present Manchester City staff, Guardiola has pursued perfection by way of evolution.
While the ethos of stifling opposition excessive up the pitch was a constant characteristic in his groups, his latest City staff has been conservative in that division and has been focussed on not getting caught on counter-attacks.
FC Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets applauds followers as he’s substituted throughout his final match for FC Barcelona at Camp Nou.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
While he has undoubtedly upskilled high quality gamers to a different stage, Guardiola, who took his first steps in teaching with the Barcelona B staff, has not often positioned his belief in an academy participant. Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez (each at Barcelona in 2009) and tipped-for-great-things Phil Foden (Manchester City) stay the solely gamers who’ve managed to interrupt by way of beneath Guardiola.
Another blemish in opposition to his identify can be that he has not gained a Champions League — the largest membership competitors prize in Europe — since 2011. Also, he has not gained the continental trophy with out the best participant in the world, Lionel Messi. Guardiola’s groups since Barcelona have been well-rounded groups with exceptionally gifted gamers however have lacked the particular person brilliance of a Messi. In the solely Champions League last he has performed in since 2011, he misplaced the last in opposition to Chelsea with Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola appears dejected following the UEFA Champions League last between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Estadio do Dragao on May 29, 2021 in Porto, Portugal.
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Getty Images
Critics have usually alluded to ‘overthinking’ in massive video games for Guardiola’s failures in the Champions League. The most notorious decision-making was his ploy to not use a designated defensive midfielder in his beginning XI in the last in opposition to Chelsea after having began both Rodri or Fernandinho in all of the membership’s earlier 59 video games that season. City misplaced 0-1 to a counter-attack purpose and managed simply a single shot on track.
It’s onerous to say if the determination had a vital bearing on the end result. In the earlier two conferences in opposition to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea that season, City had performed with Rodri, and each Rodri and Fernandinho, respectively, and nonetheless ended up dropping each instances. Guardiola rationalised his use of Ilkay Gundogan in the single pivot for the Champions League last stating the German would assist pace up the play in opposition to Tuchel’s deep-block defence.
“If I tell you the reason I made the decision, maybe you think I’m right. If I win, I’m right, if we lose I’m wrong. In this business, you have to accept it. It was a tight game and in many ways, we were better but we lost. Would I do differently now? Maybe, yes but that doesn’t count,” Guardiola continued to handle the determination in the build-up to the last in opposition to Inter Milan on Saturday as City goals to win a first Champions League crown.
While Guardiola insists that his gamers and the City staff, which has not gained the Champions League earlier than, should make the ‘definitive step’ and recover from the line, he doesn’t imagine his personal legacy depends on him successful the Champions League once more.
A mixture image exhibits Manchester City supervisor Pep Guardiola celebrating with the Premier League trophy for every time he has gained England’s prime flight home league.
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Reuters
The staggering numbers amassed throughout Guardiola’s 14 seasons in administration converse for themselves. His groups have scored 2048 objectives whereas conceding simply 622 objectives throughout competitions. He additionally has a powerful win share of over 70 in all three clubs. He has gained the league in 11 of his 14 seasons and has reached the Champions League semifinals a report 10 instances – most for any supervisor.
Despite Guardiola’s reluctance to get drawn into his tryst with the competitors, his appointment at City was not a gamble and was finished with the purpose of taking claiming the ‘holy grail’ of the Champions League. A victory would definitely embellish his glowing CV and mark him out as the man to place City in the similar breath as its well-known rival, Manchester United.
