Half a century has passed since he was born on January 18, 1971 in the Catalan town of Sampedor Pep Guardiola, the most internationally successful Spanish coach in history and one of the most important players of his generation. After a brilliant career in the Barcelona, where he achieved all possible successes both as a footballer and as a coach, Guardiola lives one of his best moments as coach of the Manchester City, with which in his fifth season he is once again the great favorite to win the Premier League, according to bookmakers, despite having had a faltering start to the course. In ACE we review his career and his best phrases to celebrate 50 years of one of the most important characters in the history of football in our country.
Cruyff's influence
Guardiola arrived at the Barcelona quarry in 1984 and after triumphing in the lower categories of the Barça club, he made his first team debut in a match against Barcelona. Cadiz, on December 16, 1990. At that time, Johan cruyff He was the Barcelona coach and surely the most influential person in Guardiola's career. The midfielder was the faithful representation of everything that Cruyff was looking for in his teams, an extension of the Dutchman on the pitch, the man who controlled the entire orchestra of an offensive game that reached the top in Wembley in 1992, when Barça were proclaimed European champions for the first time in history against the Sampdoria. “If there is not a good sequence of at least 15 passes, it is impossible to have a good transition between defense and attack. Totally impossible.” That obsession for possession and the exchange of positions between the players that Cruyff promoted with his magnificent Dream team It is still today, 30 years later, one of the great bases of the game of all Guardiola's teams together with the advanced pressure.
“We have improved the results because we run less. Before we ran too much. When you don't have the ball, you have to run. But when you have it, you have to walk. Or run a lot less, keep the position and move the ball until it reaches you, “said the coach just a few days ago after chaining 13 consecutive games without losing after a bad start to the season with Manchester City. Measure cruyffista for all ills.
Contempt of tiki-taka
If something has criticized Guardiola's detractors, it is not winning a Champions with a team other than Barcelona Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. But you can't blame him for that either. However, what he did with them under his tutelage can be applauded. The three players who took the podium of the Ballon d'Or 2010 They understood Guardiola's philosophy to perfection since the coach's arrival in 2008 and none of them ever performed at such a high level as they did under Pep's supervision: together they won the only sextete that a team has achieved in the history of football in 2009 (Champions, League, Cup, European Super Cup, Spain and Club World Cup).
At that time, Barça's successes were on par with that of La Selection Spanish, with Xavi and Iniesta at the head and with the coined 'tika-taka' as a flag, a term that Guardiola wanted to get away from as quickly as he could: “I hate the 'tiki-taka' and I will always hate it. The 'tiki -taka 'is a creation of the press and a term that really sucks. It means passing the ball in the sole sense of passing it and staying in possession, without the intention of attacking the opponent. I will never allow my brilliant players to believe the term and adopt it. “
The admiration for Messi and Iniesta
“I couldn't see playing Pele, but I am convinced that Messi is the best in history. It's unique. There is no defense that can stop him. “Although they had their friction in some moments Guardiola always pampered Messi more than any other of his players and even from a distance, in Munich and Manchester, praised him above the footballers of his own clubs.
Only two players were so close to the praise that Guardiola dedicated to Messi. The first is Iniesta, whom he considers the best midfielder he has had under his command. “He does not dye his hair, he does not wear earrings and he does not have tattoos. Surely, that makes him unattractive to the media, but he is the best,” he said about the manchego in 2012. The other is the German Phillp lahm, whom he praised for his intelligence and quickly adapting to his footballing ideas, so far removed from the classic Bavarian style until a few years ago. “He's super smart, he understands the game brilliantly and he knows when to attack on the inside and when to open the field. He's fucking. Incredible.”
His war with Mourinho
Of course, you cannot analyze Guardiola's career as a coach without taking into account Mourinho, his nemesis. The rivalry of both at the beginning of the previous decade has been one of the greatest that is remembered between two soccer coaches, so different in everything, from the character to the base of their game. The most critical and tense moment between the two (not counting the finger in the eye of the Portuguese Tito Villanova in the 2011 Super Cup) occurred during the Champions League semi-finals of the 2010-11 season, in full storm of Classics (Four were played in a row). In the press conference prior to the first leg, Guardiola exploded at the words of the then coach of the Madrid: “He is the fucking boss and the fucking master in this room. As he has tuteado me, I will also do it. Tomorrow we will face in the field at 20:45; off the field he has already beaten me. I give him his Champions particular “.
Barcelona ended up eliminating Madrid and lifting the Champions League, the last one that Guardiola has conquered, which fell three times in a row in the semi-finals of the Champions League with Bayern and who with City has not yet been able to reach the quarter-finals in four seasons , although with both sets it has swept in terms of local titles.