“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” These immortal words by American poet Maya Angelou, will reverberate around the Etihad long after a certain Pep Guardiola has left its hallowed grounds.
After guiding City to their 5th Premier League title in 6 years, Guardiola stands on the precipice of history. With a Champions League final and a FA Cup final still to go, the Catalan tactician could take City to a treble, a first for any English team since the heady days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 1998/99.
When you talk about English football managers in general, the name that inevitably pops up is Ferguson’s whose time with United is the stuff of legends. After his retirement, City under Guardiola have slowly and steadily taken the torch from United, becoming not only the most dominant team of Manchester but also the world.
If City do win the treble, Guardiola will be putting a bow on another glorious era for English football while simultaneously growing in stature, on the road to matching the legend of Ferguson. It will also put a rubber stamp on the powershift in Manchester as the noisy neighbours will finally come out from underneath United’s shadow.
But can they do it this time is the only question. Two years ago, City reached the final but were outdone by Chelsea. Last year, they had lost to Real Madrid in the semis after going 4-3 up at home and then losing 3-1 away as they unravelled in the last few minutes.
Guardiola has always been accused of overthinking when it comes to big clashes and sometimes that might have cost his team, especially in his City tenure. But that trait in itself has helped him not be caged in any particular set formation. His tactics are as fluid as City’s gameplay on the pitch, evolving and changing whenever necessary.
Not reliant on individuals
As a coach, Guardiola has never relied on a certain individual. Yes, he had Lionel Messi in Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski in Bayern but he built a team around them which could aptly support them without putting too much pressure on just one player. That enabled the so-called one man shows to play with more freedom as Guardiola’s machine worked silently behind them in order to magnify their outputs.
This has never been more apparent than the 2021-22 season with Manchester City where they played without a recognized striker but still ended up winning the league. Their talismanic striker Sergio Aguero had left for Barcelona at the beginning of the season and City had failed to land Tottenham’s Harry Kane, their number 1 target. With Liverpool in the form of their lives, a lot of people had written off City’s title charge at the start of the season. But Guardiola did what Guardiola does: he adapted. Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva changed positions rapidly in between matches, floating around in or near the opponent’s penalty box, each capable of putting the ball into the net or slipping in a defense splitting pass. There was a method to this madness as opposing managers rarely could figure out the roles of the City players before the matches to effectively draw a plan to neutralize them.
This season too, Guardiola has changed his tactics to fit in Erling Haaland in his squad while the departure of Sterling to Chelsea has afforded Jack Grealish, who was coming off a underwhelming 2021-22 season, a free hand. Guardiola even let one of the stars of his previous campaign, Cancelo, leave the club for Bayern Munich after a bust up. In his absence, John Stones has slotted seamlessly into that position, as the English defender regularly moves into central midfield when in possession.
In Guardiola’s world, change is the only constant. He knew when he signed Haaland that he had one of the most lethal young strikers of his generation. So, he opted to mold the team around him without forcing the Norwegian to abandon his own game. He is their target man, someone who is always present inside the box as players like de Bruyne ping passes to him. His physicality around the box is another added plus as the Belgian-Norwegian combo wreaks havoc on defenders. Will they be able to satiate City’s longstanding ambition for a Champions League title and add to Pep’s ever-growing legend? Only time will tell.
