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Josep or “Pep” Guardiola: The lone member of Barcelona‘s “Dream Team” of the 90s that people remember today. The same Pep Guardiola – head coach of FC Barcelona – is now a name synonymous with success in footballing households. This is largely due to the enormous success he has had during a short – but highly successful – three year period that has seen the club win a remarkable 12 out of 15 possible trophies. But, Guardiola has a lot more to him than his placid expression would suggest.
The early years
Before his backroom role, he was the fulcrum of Barcelona’s “Dream Team”, coached by the marvelous Johann Cruyff. It was under the Dutch master – pioneer of the Total Football concept – that he first built his ideals on how the game should be played. Cruyff introduced Guardiola to the onomatopoeic tiki-taka, a style of football that would go on to change the football scenario as we know it today. Tiki-taka focused on short, ground passes and ball retention. Under tiki-taka, teams pressed high up the field in numbers to win the ball back. Barcelona’s playing style is firmly entrenched in these principles, especially today, with excellent technical players like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta being mentored by Guardiola.
Transition into coaching
After leaving Barcelona, Guardiola had, for the most part, an uneventful career with short spells at Brescia and Roma. He returned to Barca to coach the second team, Barcelona B. Here, the first seeds, of what was to become Barcelona’s garden, were planted. An anecdote that will be familiar to Barcelona fans recalls how he discovered Pedro from anonymity, while the Barcelona scouts were at Tenerife to watch (and sign) Jeffren. Guardiola’s assumption that they were there to get Pedro’s signature got them to stay back to watch him play. By the time the scouts returned, they had signed both to Barcelona.
With the Barcelona B team playing in the fourth division, Guardiola put his principles into action, showing how successful tiki-taka could be when the team gained promotion. When Rijkaard was finally let go as head coach of Barcelona, in 2008, Guardiola was appointed his successor and he set about rebuilding the team, just like Rijkaard had done years earlier.
First-team coach Guardiola
Guardiola reshaped the Barcelona team, eschewing famous players like Ronaldinho, Thuram and Deco to focus on home-grown talent from the cantera (youth academy). He centered the team around Xavi, Iniesta and Messi who reciprocated his belief and grew immensely in terms of confidence and skill. Pique was brought back from Manchester to partner Puyol, and with Pedro and Bojan from the cantera upfront, the team that would conquer the world was set.
Pep stressed on the importance of bringing order to the dressing room and would not shy away from disciplining his players. His efforts to improve La Masia (Barcelona’s youth academy) and his encouragement of young players saw him lead a youthful team with eight home-grown players to the Champions League title in 2009. The way he has allowed his players to handle the pressure has to be commended, and the courage to offload players like Eto’o and Ronaldinho when they were so fundamental to the team betrays an inspired confidence in his footballing philosophy.
Criticisms
Every great person has his shortcomings, though, and Guardiola is no different. Eto’o was disappointed with being jettisoned out of the team despite being a part of the star-studded attack that Barcelona boasted. Bojan was visibly disappointed with a lack of first team opportunities and left Barcelona on sour terms, refusing to return while Guardiola was in charge. The most recent dash of fuel to the fire comes from Ibrahimovic’s autobiography that highlights violent tensions in Guardiola’s dressing room.
“If Guardiola calls me now I would not go back to Barcelona.”- Bojan to TV3.
A lot of people counter Guardiola’s dominance with the argument that he boasts a team that contains the best players in the world. He will have to endure these comments until he manages to win trophies elsewhere, but for now he is sitting pretty.
Guardiola’s time at Barcelona has also been plagued with accusations that referees have been unusually lenient on his team, with a lot of 50-50 decisions going Barcelona’s way. From the semi-final clash against Chelsea, to the quarter-finals against Arsenal last year, the team seems to be heavily favoured in the Champions League, with handball decisions and sending offs that usually wouldn’t be given, being called in Barcelona’s favour.
“And now, with the declaration of Pep the other day, we are entering a new era with a third group, which for the moment includes only him, who criticise the correct decision of the referee.”- Mourinho on Pep
From here to where
It remains to be seen how long Guardiola will be able to successfully lead Barcelona. With two of his three main players – Xavi and Iniesta – aging quickly, Barcelona will have to restructure and reorganize for another era. If Guardiola’s contract decides not to pen a new contract at Barcelona, he would do well to try for the impossible task of emulating his success at other clubs. Only then can he silence his doubters and stake a true claim to being one of the best managers the world has ever seen.
“I have one more year left on my contract and it is my intention to quit after that… I will take a rest for a bit, maybe for one year, then find the passion to get back into football.”- Guardiola, after beating Manchester United to win the Champions League for a second time (May 2011)
