While Pep Guardiola has struggled in the Champions League – despite having won three – more than might have been expected, he has dominated domestic championships with an iron fist at the helm of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
He has never gone two consecutive seasons without winning a league title. Therefore, after a really delicate last season, he has been forced to put into practice a new adjustment to avoid what has never been seen before in his career.League titles won by Pep Guardiola:
- 08-09: Barcelona > Champion
- 09-10: Barcelona > Champion
- 10-11: Barcelona > Champion
- 11-12: Barcelona > Runner-up
- 12-13:
- 13-14: Bayern Munich > Champion
- 14-15: Bayern Munich > Champion
- 15-16: Bayern Munich > Champion
- 16-17: Manchester City > Third
- 17-18: Manchester City > Champion
- 18-19: Manchester City > Champion
- 19-20: Manchester City > Runner-up
- 20-21: Manchester City > Champion
- 21-22: Manchester City > Champion
- 2022-23: Manchester City > Winner
- 23-24: Manchester City > Champion
- 24-25: Manchester City > Third
It will not be necessary for him to retire to ensure that Pep Guardiola is one of the great tactical geniuses that this sport has produced. It is clear that every time he has patented an invention, the rest have tried to copy it. He has always set trends: he did it with Messi as a false ‘9’ at Barcelona, the ‘full-backs’ at Bayern and the recovery of the famous ‘WM’ of Herbert Champman that led him to win the treble with Manchester City in 2023 with John Stones as a pivot.
“If you do the same thing for eight years, you get bored. When something works well, rivals see it and create an antidote. We have to respond again,” Guardiola warned months ago. “Teams have changed tactics and are no longer afraid of us. You have to adapt,” he added.
Teams have changed tactics and are no longer afraid of us. You have to adapt
Immersed in a deep rebuilding process that began last season, Guardiola has taken his idea a step further after suffering a steeper than usual January slump: three consecutive Premier League draws before losing the Manchester derby to United, as well as an embarrassing Champions League defeat to Bodo/Glimt
The signing of Antoine Semenyo has been fundamental to understanding a fit where Manchester City, despite starting with a 1-4-3-3 formation, ends up mutating into a 1-4-4-2 with long full-backs (Nunes and Aït-Nouri), a very mobile diamond in midfield (Rodri, Bernardo, O’Reilly/Reijnders and Cherki/Foden) and a double forward line (Haaland and Semenyo) unprecedented in a team managed by Guardiola. “Never say never,” some would say.
“If we have Doku, Semenyo, Haaland and Marmoush all together, you know we’re going to be more direct and play in transitions. If you have Cherki, Foden, Reijnders, O’Reilly and Rodri, we’re going to have more possession,” explained Pep Guardiola, who, over the years, has learned to adapt not only to his opponents, but also to his own squad. It’s been a long time since he has been afraid to be more reactive.
It was in the match against Wolves that he began to put it into practice and, since then, Manchester City has been growing in terms of balance, order and punch. They are having less possession (56.5%), less presence in the opponent’s area (22), shooting less (12.8), allowing more shots (10.2) and planting the defensive line a few meters further back (62). However, they have increased their scoring average (2.0) and reduced that of their opponents (0.6).
“In a rebuild, sometimes you need to refresh your mind. But unfortunately, we don’t have time. You have to intervene immediately,” Pep Guardiola said a couple of weeks ago. As a result, the results are going their way. Since then, the Cityzens have six wins and just one draw in their last seven games.
In a rebuild, sometimes you need to refresh your mind. But unfortunately, we don’t have time. We have to intervene immediately
They are directly qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, in the final of the Carabao Cup five years later, in the last 16 of the FA Cup… and five points behind Arsenal – with a game in hand – in the race for the Premier League title. “In March the sky will be bluer. At that time, it’s important to be there… and the team will be ready. I know we’ll do well.”
“Renew or die”. That is the maxim that Pep Guardiola has applied once again to avoid what has never been seen before in his career, patenting this new ‘invention’ at the helm of a Manchester City side that is still alive in all competitions.
Read the full article here
