Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti is not a fan of the Pep Guardiola way. The Frenchman said he did not think much of his style of play and found it very tiresome to watch and play. The Spaniard won several trophies at Barcelona and also won over several critics with his brand of football.
But Umtiti feels the style of play Barcelona have now is better than the tiki-taka style introduced by Pep. As reported by DailyMail he spoke to France Football about the current Manchester Cty coach and his principles.
“It was less passionate, I said to my friends, ‘I adore Barca but when they keep possession for 10 years, it’s boring’.” Umtiti is not the first player to criticize the style of play. There have been many before him.
Legendary Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni also expressed his displeasure at Pep’s methodology. He said about Pep when he was at Bayern, “ What I see in world football at the moment is true particularly for Bayern. For me there's too much possession. Tick, tack, tick, tack. Tuck, tuck, tuck. To and fro. With too little return. And after 27 minutes they shoot on the goal for the first time - that's inefficient.”
There might be many who dislike Guardiola for his playing style but it has brought him success wherever he has gone. He won three successive titles with Bayern Munich during his time in the Bundesliga and his successor Carlo Ancelotti seems to be struggling.
At Manchester City, Pep’s style has definitely changed. He seems to have adapted to the Premier League and doesn’t always focus on keeping possession of the ball. In recent away games City have scraped through wins without controlling the game like they normally do.
Pep will face his biggest test of the season when CIty host league leaders Chelsea this weekend.
‘Messi treats us like cones’
Umtiti is the latest Barcelona player to heap praise on the phenomenal ability of Lionel Messi. Not many players have had the chance or will have the chance to play with the Argentine and the Frenchman is one of the lucky few.
“His talent is innate although he works a lot. In training, he does things that are out of the norm. Sometimes he dribbles past everyone as if we were nothing more than cones, including me.”
Barcelona have relied on Lionel Messi many times this season to bail them out of tough situations. The gap between themselves and Real Madrid could have been much bigger had the Argentine not done his thing and scored the all important goals.
The El Clasico is a chance for Barcelona to close the gap on their rivals but at the same time Madrid could pull away and take control of the La Liga title race.
