A career spanning 7 and a half seasons adorned with 6 league titles, 2 Champions league titles and numerous other trophies, Pep Guardiola has already won as many trophies as most managers would dream of winning in their whole career. It’s not just about the trophies, Pep boasts of an unmatched win percentage and the style of football that’s often considered as football at it’s purest.
Like any manager, Pep has made mistakes throughout his career. Although fewer than most, his mistakes have had far-reaching effects in the footballing fraternity. His man management skills have often been questioned and his failure to win a Champions League with Bayern Munich meant even after winning the league title every year, his tenure at Bayern wasn’t really a success.
Also read: 5 big name players who were axed by Pep Guardiola
Here, we look at the top 5 mistakes Pep Guardiola has made throughout his career:
#5 Selling Joe Hart and signing Claudio Bravo
Joe Hart was termed as the next captain of Man City as well as England. Having already captained Man City before, he was one of the few players in the club whose position was unchallenged for the last half a decade. Often the only English player in the side, Hart was one of the few leaders in the team who was also responsible for vocally commanding the often error prone City backline.
A few weeks in and without really giving the 29-year-old a chance to prove himself, Pep Guardiola had decided that he wasn’t good enough. With Valdes at Barcelona and Neuer at Bayern, Pep was used to having a sweeper keeper who was also a great distributor. This rigidness in his system left no place for Hart and he was replaced with Willy Caballero.
Within a few weeks, Pep realised Caballero was not good enough to be the first choice. Pep decided that Claudio Bravo from Barcelona was his man. By the end of the transfer window, Hart had made a shocking loan move to Torino FC and Bravo was the new first choice goalkeeper for Man City having arrived for €18 million.
This move has backfired sensationally as Bravo has been Man City’s worst performer this season. Beginning with an incredibly shaky performance against Manchester United in his debut match when he almost let the opposition score more than a couple of times all by himself, his performances have only gone downhill. He has been the biggest reason why City are part of the chasing pack instead of leading the League themselves.
Another couple of mistakes against Chelsea at Etihad last week has just gone on to show that Guardiola’s adamance and his persistent faith in Bravo may lead to his downfall at Man City.
#4 Three man defence and team selection against Barcelona.
Bayern Munich, managed by Pep Guardiola, were facing the high-flying Catalans in the semi-finals of the Champions League 2014-15. The first leg was at the Nou Camp and although Barcelona were the favourites, Bayern would have hoped to remain in the contention by having a solid game.
In a shocking tactical move, Bayern played with a 3 man defence of Boateng, Benatia and Rafinha. Rafinha being a right footed player was played on the left side of the defence to man-mark Messi. Bayern played a total man marking system with each and every player marking one opposition player.
This turned out to be a total disaster as Barcelona got chance after chance and Bayern struggled to keep up. Within 15 minutes of the first half, Pep had to change back to a 4 man defence. It seemed like the trick had worked and Bayern could hold on to a 0-0 draw with this system.
But the biggest mistake as it turned out to be was playing three veterans in the midfield in such a high-intensity match. Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso and Bastian Schweinsteiger were playing in the midfield and with all of them on the wrong side of 30, the tiring legs cost them in the final 15 minutes of the match. They struggled to keep up with the Barcelona midfield and attack and ended up conceding 3 goals in the last 15 minutes with no reply.
The match was to be remembered for Messi’s masterclass and his dribble against Boateng that led to the second goal, but Pep knew his mistakes had cost them the match and subsequently the Champions League.
#3 Fabregas’ signing and his use
After years of pursuit and tapping up which was often bordering on illegal, Cesc Fabregas was signed by Barcelona in 2011 for close to £30 million.
It was a summer of celebration for the Catalan club. Their youth academy product had joined them after developing into one of the best midfielders in the world under Wenger’s guidance. He was added to the plethora of world class players in their midfield line.
However, the reality wasn’t so hunky dory. Fabregas’ best position was as a central midfielder not as an attacking one. But he was a defensive liability when played deeper. To get the best out of him, he needed to be paired with a traditional defensive midfielder. His best seasons have always been when he was paired with someone like Flamini at Arsenal or Matic at Chelsea.
At Barcelona, the defensive midfielder position was unchallenged for and for very good reasons, held by Busquets. This meant Fabregas was a liability whenever played deeper. Pep played him all over the pitch including wide positions as well as, as a false nine. This unsettled him and it reflected in his inconsistent performances.
While Fabregas was struggling, another La Masia future superstar, Thiago Alcantara, was benched more often than required to accommodate the struggling former Arsenal player. This sowed the seeds for the departure of the “Next Xavi”. Although he was signed by Pep Guardiola himself at Bayern, Barcelona were surely unhappy to lose out on their prodigal talent.
#2 Zlatan ordeal
Considered the best striker in the world during that time, Zlatan was signed for £66m with Eto’o and Hleb moving to Inter. Eto’o had just finished the season scoring 36 goals and was only a year older than Zlatan.
A self-proclaimed superstar, the, then 27-year-old, Swedish striker struggled to settle into the team with Pep’s mismanagement doing him no favour. In his own words about Pep, Zlatan said, “You bought a Ferrari & drove it like a Fiat.” The big Swede was not fond of the school like structure at Barcelona where the manager was a headmaster and even the superstars were treated like students.
Most managers often make exceptions to their system to fit in world class players and make the most out of them. Pep did not. Zlatan did not like that Pep was never straight with him regarding any problems and instead of talking to him, would simply bench him. Despite all these problems, the Swedish international scored 22 goals that season which showed how lethal he could have been with manager’s support.
Zlatan was sold within a season with both the player and the manager happy to see the back of each other. The relationship between both of them was irrevocably damaged.
To add salt to the wounds, Eto’o had a brilliant season at Inter under Mourinho. They knocked out Barcelona from the Champions League in the semi-final and went on to win the treble.
#1 The debacle against Real Madrid
“I got it wrong man. I got it totally wrong. It’s a monumental f***-up. A total mess. The biggest f***-up of my life as a coach.”
In the 2013-14 season, Bayern Munich were nearly unbeaten in the league right up until the tail end of the campaign and were facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals. Pep’s first season in charge was already termed as successful with an impressive league campaign but Bayern were also the favourites to win the Champions League. They were the defending Champions and ready to defend their title.
The 180 minutes of football between Bayern and Real Madrid in that semi-final tie are still considered to be some of the most shocking moments in club football.
The first leg at Santiago Bernabeu was completely dominated by Bayern Munich in terms of possession and chances created. But poor finishing let them down as they couldn’t score a goal. Meanwhile, Karim Benzema scored an easy tap in, in the 19th minute to hand the hosts a much-needed advantage for the second leg. Bayern were termed unlucky but they knew they needed to do much better at Allianz Arena to proceed to the final.
Before the return leg, Pep’s overthinking wreaked havoc. He had devised a three-man defence system to play in the second leg to make sure they thwart Real’s counter attacks. However, a few days before the match, he thought a 4-2-3-1 would be more successful. Hours before the match, he changed his mind again and put forward a 4-4-2 extremely attacking system trying to get the best out of the Bayern players’ natural instincts.
This turned out be a complete disaster as the Bayern players seemed as unsure as their coach. They were hapless during counters and set pieces as the midfield of Kroos and Schweinsteiger fell apart spectacularly. They could not hold on to possession at all in the final third and Real Madrid romped to a whopping 0-4 victory with braces from both Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Pep won numerous trophies at Bayern, his tenure would most certainly be known for his failure to win the Champions League and most importantly, this debacle against Real Madrid.
