Will Manchester City’s new hero Pep Guardiola survive in the Premier League?

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Pep Guardiola has officially decided to join Manchester City in the summer, bringing his iconic style of play to the most competitive league in the world. Many simply assume that because of Guardiola’s past achievements at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he will demolish any opponent in England, but is he as dominant as people say he is?

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Guardiola has won a number of trophies in his tenure at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but one major criticism of his is that he has always been blessed with some of the most talented footballers in the world. In his first season at Barcelona, he won the treble and eventually went on to be the first coach to win six major trophies in one year. It’s an achievement that shouldn’t be overlooked, but one must keep in mind that in recent years, most teams that have won the treble go on to win the six trophies. The European Super Cup is the only trophy after the main three that poses any threat to taking home less than six. The club world cup is usually won with relative ease, as the continental winners from other parts of the world are simply miles behind the European sides in terms of quality.

Nonetheless, Guardiola developed and perfected the ‘tiki taka’ style of football, a system responsible for absolutely demolishing and dismantling the majority of teams that came across it. To his credit, he did what some managers fail to recognize is part of the their job. He ingrained a philosophy and style of play that matched the strengths of the players at his disposal. He possessed some of the most talented midfielders and forwards in the world. Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, and last but not least Lionel Messi are all players that enjoyed a great deal of success under the homegrown coach. The possession-centred approach catered to the talent La Masia had worked so hard to develop.

In total he won a staggering three out of four La Liga titles, two Champion Leagues, two Club World Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups, and two Copa Del Reys in his four years in Catalonia. However, one must mention the rise of Lionel Messi as a main contributing factor to Guardiola’s success. His rise to super-stardom allowed others to flourish, and in turn Guardiola himself. Though he missed out on very few trophies in his tenure at the club in which he developed his iconic style of football, it might not be too outlandish to say that it isn’t the most difficult thing in the world to win trophies with the greatest player of all time in the squad. Not only that, but the Spaniard was also able to boast one of the best teams of all time at your disposal from the first day. Pep Guardiola’s genius cannot be denied, but before you write me off as a madman for suggesting that some of his success is largely because of Messi and other greats, look at his time at Bayern Munich.

After Guardiola’s sabbatical, he returned to the world of football at another world super power, Bayern Munich. Bayern were unhappy with Jupp Heynckes and before the Bavarian giants even saw the result of the 12/13 season, they announced that Guardiola would be taking the helm from the summer onward. Bayern went on to win the treble with what is considered to be one of the greatest teams in the modern Champions League era. They smashed a strong Barcelona side over the course of two legs, exposing every weakness that the coaching staff at Bayern Munich could analyze. The Catalan club was utterly embarrassed on one of the largest stages in club football. Despite the perfect year under Heynckes, Munich still looked to Pep to continue their dominance. Though many agree that it was an impossible task, Guardiola took on the challenge. In his first year with the German club, he was booted out of the Champions league by a rampant Real Madrid side that utterly decimated Bayern at home. They lost 4-0 in front of a packed red stadium. This is when Guardiola started to garner some criticism, and events that didn’t necessarily involve him contributed to unrest in Germany.

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The world of football was not as he had left it. With the success of counter-attacking teams like Liverpool, Manchester City, and the Netherlands, Pep’s second year at Bayern wasn’t a cake walk. Footballing tactics were changing, and many started to draw parallels between some of his failures at the club level and the failure of the Spanish national team in Brazil. La Roja featured many of the same players and ultimately played a very similar style of football; possession-based breakdown of the opponent. Club legend and german football icon Franz Beckenbauer publicly slammed Pep for making his beloved club boring. Beckenbauer told Sky: “In the end, we [Bayern Munich] will be unwatchable like Barca. They’ll be passing it backwards on the goal-line.”. Though they would go on to win the Bundesliga for the second time in a row with relative ease, it must be noted that in his three year tenure at Bayern he has only won two Bundesliga titles, one German Cup, one European Super Cup, and one Club World Cup, the last two trophies were with a team that was essentially still Jupp Heynckes’. Bayern Munich are miles ahead of any other team in the Bundesliga both politically and financially, so for Pep to have only achieved relative success domestically and almost no success in Europe with the assets available to him is a massive underachievement.

In the famous words of Jurgen Klopp: “We have a bow and arrow and if we aim well, we can hit the target. The problem is that Bayern has a bazooka”. So with one of the most talented squads in Europe and a relatively easy league he’s only won four major trophies at Bayern Munich. The difference then, is seemingly a lack of the Lionel Messi factor. Throughout a season, with a talented enough roster and an ingrained system focused on stifling an oppositions creativity, Pep excels. However, cup competitions are centred on being the better team on that day and in this regard, he has failed. Guardiola’s dominance in Germany is something to be admired, the exposure of his possession based tactics in Europe is indicative of his tactical inadequacies during a cup competition. His legacy at the Bavarian club is reliant on his success in Europe this season. Winning the Champions League at Bayern Munich will decide whether his time in Germany was a success or not.

Although his time in Germany will be decided by his success this year, his legacy as a coach overall will most likely be decided by the result of his time in England. It will be the greatest test, not only because of the competitiveness of the league, but also because of the media. The English media is renowned for making mountains out of molehills and causing unrest within a club by over exaggerating the sincerity of situations surrounding a player, manager, or club. Guardiola hasn’t dealt with the monster that is the English media very much in his career, if he is to succeed in England he’ll need to prepare. Club legends and other influential figures in the specific cultures of a nations footballing history speaking out against a manager’s style of play is something that can unravel a team and a season. Louie Van Gaal’s current situation is perfect example of how the media can so greatly affect a club.

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Whether he is to elevate City to the level they’ve aspired to be at since the takeover in 2008, or falls short of the mark, Pep Guardiola’s managerial journey will be one to watch with great intrigue.

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