In January 2016, Manchester City had announced that after chasing and flirting for about 3 years, the object of their desire; Pep Guardiola had agreed to join the club as a replacement for Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. In the two and half seasons since he has been in Manchester, Guardiola has completely changed the team from a band of players loosely put together at great cost, to an efficient, entertaining team that looks set to be at the top for a long time. The Spaniard has looked at home at the Etihad Stadium and looks set to stay there for a long time (something he has never done in his career).
The team’s effervescence, attitude and breathtaking football thrilled the Premier League last season and they have started the 2018/2019 season like a house on fire.
Here is a look at how Guardiola has gone about delivering on his remit of making the Citizens a powerhouse:
-His ruthlessness in clearing the deadwood
In his very first season as coach of City, Guardiola noted just how much dross the team had. While football director Txiki Begiristain has done well since the Catalan manager arrived, the former Barcelona director made a lot of questionable buys during the Pellegrini era.
Guardiola tried to work with what he had in his first season while adding a bit of quality. He tried Aleksander Kolarov as a centre-back, gave game time to Fernando and tried to utilize Jesus Navas better as a right back but these players just couldn’t deliver on what he and the team needed.
Showing the same ruthlessness he had when he became Barcelona manager and got rid of the likes of Ronaldinho, Deck, Samuel Eto’o, Guardiola started his 2nd season in Manchester like an avenging fury. Out went Willy Caballero, Bacary Sagna, Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Navas, Fernando among others.
The result was that in one transfer window, he reduced the team’s average age (28.4 the previous season) and added quality young players (average age of 26.8) to the side. The Citizens side that won the league last season was a million years away from the 2016/2017 iteration as they were faster, fitter, more intelligent and executed the coach’s instructions better.
-His man-management has been top-notch
Silva was a beneficiary of Pep’s man-management
This is one of the areas that Guardiola has most improved the Manchester City side and it has shown in the results.
Before he came in, a lot of the current top players were playing way below their capacity and basically going through the motions. His work on the training ground and motivation (examples of which can be seen in the #AllOrNothing documentary) has helped the players and therefore, the team, play better.
A prime example is Raheem Sterling. Thanks to his “bold” decision to leave Liverpool and the manner in which he left, the Jamaican-born England star had been hounded by constant media negativity. His every performance for both club and country was dissected and analyzed to death.
The manager put his arm around the player and gave him the confidence boost needed. This resulted in Sterling delivering his best ever goals tally last season.
-Installing a clearly defined style of play
Perhaps the most important thing that Guardiola has done since he arrived in Manchester was properly defining things.
Like every other human being, players need a structure within which they can perform at their most optimum level. Already renowned for his emphasis on quick passing, intelligence, and control, he has brought his philosophy to bear on the team.
Derided by some rather unintelligent English pundits for his emphasis on a ball-playing goalkeeper, he has been justified. While the Claudio Bravo experiment was an absolute failure, the arrival of Ederson in his second season uplifted the team.
When John Stones came in for severe criticism for his errors at the back which led to lots of goals in the 2016/2017 season, his manager stuck to his guns and encouraged the Englishman to continue what he was doing. The result was a vastly improved 2017/2018 season for the former Everton player.
-He has gotten transfers right
The best thing that he has done since he has been at City, the transfer work under his watch has been largely flawless.
Unlike the mess at Old Trafford, players have been bought with a specific plan in mind. In his first season, John Stones, Nolito, Bravo, Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, and Gabriel Jesus (in January) were brought for £192m in to fix specific needs; Bravo was brought in to be a sweeper-keeper, Gundogan a creative presence, Jesus was supposed to complement Aguero and so on.
Ultimately, Nolito and Bravo proved to be disappointments as the title challenge faltered very early in Guardiola’s first season. In his second season, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Mendy, Danilo, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte (January) were added for £285m and these players have helped in taking the team to its present level.