Guardiola’s puppies prove the influence of the Spaniard – 06/05/2023 – Sport

The expression “guardiolismo”, if it exists, did not fall into popular taste. It should. Spanish coach school tentacles spread in football. If the intellectual influence already existed before, the results of Pep Guardiola’s puppies became more evident this season.

In the next round of the Spanish Championship, on the 14th, Barcelona could be national champion. Command is in the hands of Xavi, perhaps the ultimate expression, after Lionel Messi, of one of the greatest teams in football history: the same Barcelona that, between 2009 and 2011, won every possible title under Guardiola’s aegis.

In a club with limited financial resources, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal led the English Championship and is still fighting for the title with Manchester City, a team in which he was Pep’s number 2.

Also at City, Guardiola’s captain for years was Belgian defender Vincent Kompany. With the style of touching the ball, pressing and acting always in attack, characteristics that are at the heart of “guardiolismo”, he revolutionized Burnley.

Until relegation in the 2021/22 season, the team had been staying in the first division with raw football and long throws, led by Sean Dyche. Under Kompany, it adopted another strategy, won the second division early and secured a return to the elite, the Premier League.

“Guardiola is the guide of what I want to do with my teams,” said the former defender.

“He’s a football teacher. When I played for Barcelona, ​​he came up with different, innovative ideas. Pep lives football and gives himself completely. It’s not by chance that he gets the results”, observed Brazilian winger Adriano, who had worked for the club Catalan between 2010 and 2016.

Guardiola dismisses his work with labels and focuses on what he can achieve in the present. Manchester City is the leader of the Premier League and is close to the third consecutive title, the fifth in six years. Against Real Madrid, he disputes the semifinals of the Champions League, the ultimate dream of the “sportswashing” project of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates, which ultimately owns the English association.

The coach has always rejected the word “obligation” when asked about winning the continental cup. She usually responds that people have no idea how hard it is to beat her. He did it once as an athlete (1992) and twice as a coach (2009 and 2011). All for Barcelona.

The Spanish influence appears even in those who still haven’t achieved the results they plan. Erik ten Hag left Ajax for Manchester United on a mission to wake up a sleeping giant. He won the League Cup this season and will face City in the FA Cup final.

He has no qualms about admitting that he is inspired by the philosophy of Guardiola, with whom he worked at Bayern. So much so that he earned the nickname, in the Netherlands, “mini Pep”.

“Talking about tactics with Guardiola is like winning the lottery,” he declared.

“His secret is simplicity. It’s simple how he plans things, how they are executed and how they are transmitted to the players”, explained Sylvinho, who worked under Pep’s command at Barcelona and, as a coach, passed through Corinthians before reach the Albanian national team.

Catalan people reject definitive expressions or ideas because they are always looking for something new. The most classic case was when he had the idea of ​​casting Messi as a fake 9 in a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, in 2009. The Catalans won 6-2, a journey treated as one of the transforming moments of football in this century.

It’s the same spirit with which he rejects (hates, in fact) the expression “tiki taka” to define the style of constant touching that has also become a hallmark of the Spanish national team. The term originally designates a way of exchanging passes fruitlessly. It’s the opposite of what Guardiola wants.

“I take things from the great coaches I’ve worked with, but I don’t think I’m copying anyone. I want to control the game. I played in midfield,” said Xabi Alonso, now at Bayer Leverkusen.

Guardiola wasn’t fast, he didn’t usually score goals or go on the attack, but he was a central part of what became eternal as the “Dream Team” (dream team, in English), the 1992 European champions Barcelona under the command of Johan Cruyff, this, yes, Pep’s greatest inspiration. One of the best-known phrases of his career is: “Before [conhecer] Cruyff, I didn’t understand anything about football.”

There are also disciples of Spanish in South America, such as Gabriel Milito, today in charge of Argentinos Juniors, Corinthians’ opponent in the Copa Libertadores. Javier Mascherano took over the Argentina under-20 team but was short-lived in the role.

“My ego is happy,” Guardiola said of his influence.

“But football has been football since it was created. The lines are the same, the field is the same. It’s not 14 against 14, it’s 11 against 11. It’s about how well you read situations during the match. It’s always possible to give a pass, all the time. That’s 100% sure. After that, it’s the quality of the players you have that will solve everything. Today it’s still possible to play like Brazil in the 1970s or like the teams from the 1980s and 1990s . Course is.”