ANALYZING PEP GUARDIOLA’s LATEST PREDICTION

“My feeling today is that we are going to win the Premier League,” he insisted. “If we play the levels like we did against Liverpool and Tottenham, we are going to win it again.

“People don’t believe it already because of the three draws, but we’re going to do it again. Knowing that it is not easy.

“No team has done it yet [win four consecutive Premier League titles], so that’s why the difficulty is there, it was last season, it was this season.

“But if you ask me today what you’re feeling, we’re going to do it again.”

On the 6^th of December 2023, Manchester City FC would lock horns with Aston Villa FC in the EPL week 15 match. They have endured three successive score draws and have dropped to the third position and sit six points away from Arsenal FC, the current league leaders. The first was a 4-4 draw against Chelsea, then a 1-1 draw against Liverpool, and last week’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur FC. Strangely, Guardiola substantiated his prediction using the levels they attained in their matches against Liverpool and Tottenham. Against RB Leipzig, they came from two goals down to win 3-2 and it’s tough to predict if the past three draws have been due to a drop in form or quality resistance from formidable opposition.

THE WISDOM OF GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION

To assert control in the face of obvious danger remains a strong leadership capability targeted to build confidence for his players. Should he have said otherwise or questioned their commitment? Doing that would unsettle the team, putting everyone in disarray. Even with a possible sanction of Manchester City for dissent against the referee whilst protesting against his call that prevented them from a possible winning goal, Guardiola defended his team.

 

WOULD GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION COME TRUE?

Virtually everything is possible in football, more so, in the English Premier League. The league is not yet halfway twists and we expect more drama, twists, and turns among the teams. With the points dropped by all teams at this stage of the League, it’s obvious that the League would end on a tight race and any team currently within the top 6 stands a good chance of winning the league. More points would still be won and lost, injuries to key players would occur, same with bad referee calls. The most consistent team would win the league, and going by the current results, Manchester City has not been very consistent. They have a robust team matched with the hectic load of matches in the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and other local competitions and International commitments by virtually all their players. Their other rivals such as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa have almost the same schedule though none can compare with the resilience of the Manchester City squad.

The match against Aston Villa is an important that would determine the possibility of Guardiola’s dream coming true. Another draw would take City far from the summit and definitely unsettle the confidence of the team. Villa does stand a good chance of having their day, going by their current records. They have won their last 13 Premier League matches at the Villa Park! These permutations make the EPL tick and attractive! A loss at Villa Park could scuttle their title challenge for the 2023/24 EPL Trophy.

 

Pep Guardiola: The Johan Cruyff Disciple Changing Football!

Pep Guardiola, the Catalan-born Manchester City FC Coach and serial trophy winner in Spain, Germany, and England has held the coaching industry spellbound since he took his first senior position. He started as a footballer, who grew from the Barcelona Academy, where he first encountered Johan Cruyff. Cruyff is renowned as probably the best footballer to have emerged from the Netherlands and as coach of Barcelona FC, 1988-96, greatly influenced the tiki-taka possession football that became synonymous with the Catalan side. As one of his players, Guardiola was hugely influenced by Cruyff. Theirs was a chance meeting during a training session whilst Guardiola was still in the academy team but it grew to become a father–son relationship until the passing of Cruyff.

THE FOUNDATIONAL YEARS OF PEP GUARDIOLA

Pep Guardiola started as a deep-playing midfielder with both defending and attacking qualities and could conveniently play whatever this role was assigned to him. He played over 380 matches for Barcelona FC and captained the team for four seasons, 1997-2001. Guardiola also had stints with Brescia and Roma FC in Italy, including a short period in Qatar and Mexico. He also played over 40 matches for the Spanish national team.

PEP GUARDIOLA's FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHY 

He retired in 2003 and shortly after, joined Barcelona FC B, as a coach; was given the senior team job three years later. Guardiola is known for his detail in setting his team for free-flowing football. He is obsessed with recruiting players (including goalkeepers), with good ball-handling skills, with a strong understanding of team cohesion, rather than individualistic tendencies to impress the spectators. This, combined with his high pressing to unsettle the opposition from easily building constructive play, has made the teams he’s managed difficult to beat! Guardiola makes his goalkeepers able to launch attacks from the back, using precision passes to players up front. He detests goalkeepers without good handling of the ball with their feet.

His job as a coach has taken him from Spain to Germany and currently in England and he’s never played second fiddle to any coach or team for more than a season. With Barcelona FC, he virtually took dominance of the Spanish La Liga and maintained Bayern Munich FC’s hold of the German Bundesliga. With the Qatari investments into Manchester City FC, Guardiola has made his club remain the team to beat in England. They have won the EPL 6 from 8 campaigns since he came.

THE GROWING IMPACT OF PEP GUARDIOLA's FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHY 

Pep Guardiola and his football philosophy has immensely impacted other coaches, raising disciples to his style! His former assistant at Manchester City FC, Mikel Arteta makes no secret of the similarities of his football philosophy with that of Pep, same with Roberto de Zerbi at Brighton FC, Ange Postecoglou, a Tottenham FC and so many others. Legendary Manchester United FC goalkeeper was eased out partly because Coach Erik Ten Hag dreamt of having a ball-playing goalkeeper to suit his football philosophy. Making the goalkeeper an integral attacking rather than a defensive asset originates from Pepe Guardiola’s philosophy. This attribute has become an important requirement for goalkeepers of the current decade.

Whilst Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, both renowned coaches of the twentieth century would conveniently set their teams for defensive play for an entire 90 minutes, the same is alien to Guardiola. That is the strength of his football knowledge and artistry. He brings out the real fun that comes with football and arouses inestimable joy whenever you watch any team raised by him.