Manchester City lose fourth game in a row for first time under Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola later declared that everything happens for the first time. For the all-conquering Catalan coach, this was one of those nights, as it was the occasion of his fourth consecutive loss as manager.

After a stutter in December, English football now awaits whether Guardiola and his team can turn the season around with the same roaring response his club displayed the last time. Regarding the current City’s firm hold on English football, Guardiola said, “It’s not eternal,” but with this man and this squad, one can never be sure. First of all, there were many injuries, even if some of the team’s important players and leaders are getting older.

Pep Guardiola

Josep Guardiola Sala (born January 18, 1971), also referred to as Pep Guardiola (pronounced in Catalan), is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who currently manages Manchester City in the Premier League. In addition to holding the record for the most straight league victories in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League, Guardiola is the only manager to have won the continental treble twice. He is regarded as one of the all-time great managers.

Guardiola was typically a deep-lying playmaker, but he was also a defensive midfielder. He played most of his career with Barcelona, where he was a member of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team, which won four straight Spanish league titles from 1991 to 1994 and the club’s first European Cup in 1992. From 1997 until his retirement from Barcelona in 2001, he served as captain of the team. After that, Guardiola played for Brescia and Roma in Italy, Dorados in Mexico, and Al-Ahli in Qatar. He played in both the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2000, earning 47 caps for the Spanish national team. He also represented Catalonia in friendly games.

Guardiola won a Tercera División championship with Barcelona B, the team he temporarily managed after retiring as a player. In 2008, he became the first team’s manager. He became the youngest manager to win the UEFA Champions League after leading Barcelona to the continental treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the league in his debut season. After leading the team to another La Liga and Champions League double in the 2010–11 season, he was named FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2011. Guardiola set a club record with 14 awards at the end of his four-year tenure at Barcelona in 2012.

Guardiola rejoined Bayern Munich in 2013 following a hiatus, and throughout the three seasons he won the Bundesliga, including two domestic titles. After leaving the squad in 2016 to join Manchester City, he led the team to the Premier League championship in his second season as manager, shattering multiple domestic records and making history as the first team to reach 100 points in a single season. As part of another continental treble in 2022–2023 he guided City to their first Champions League victory, their first Champions League final in 2020–2021 and a domestic treble in 2018–19.

Club career

1988–2001: Barcelona

Guardiola, who was born in Santpedor, Barcelona, Catalonia, joined La Masia from Gimnàstic de Manresa at the age of 13. He spent six years at Barcelona’s junior program before making his debut against Cádiz in 1990. In Morbo, Phil Ball writes:
Johan Cruyff made an unexpected appearance at the Mini Estadi, a stadium used by Barcelona B that is located just down the road from Camp Nou, during his first week at the club. He strolled into the dugout just before halftime and asked Charly Rexach, who was then in charge of the minor team, what the name of the young player on the right side of midfield was. In response, “Guardiola – good lad,” Ignoring the remark, Cruyff instructed Rexach to take him into the middle for the second half.

Many Spanish teams at the time did not employ it, and it was a challenging position to adjust to. As Cruyff had anticipated, Guardiola adapted right away, and when he joined the first squad in 1990, he emerged as the Dream squad’s key player.

In the 1991–92 season, Guardiola established himself as a mainstay in the first squad and, at just 20, played a crucial role in a team that won both the European Cup and La Liga. Guardiola was hailed as the world’s best footballer under 21 by the Italian publication Guerin Sportivo. The “Dream Team” led by Cruyff went on to win La Liga again in 1992–93 and 1993–94. The team made it to the 1994 UEFA Champions League final once more, but Fabio Capello’s AC Milan team defeated them 4-0 in Athens. Guardiola remained in the middle of Barcelona’s midfield when Cruyff left in 1996, despite the team finishing fourth in the 1994–95 season and third in the 1995–96 season.

Barcelona, under Bobby Robson’s leadership, won three trophies in the 1996–97 season: the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de España. Under new manager Louis van Gaal, Guardiola was elected captain of Barcelona in 1997. However, he missed the most of the 1997–98 season, when Barcelona won a league and cup double, due to a calf muscle injury. Barcelona turned down bids for Guardiola from Parma and Roma at the end of the season, totaling over 300 million pesetas. He signed a new deal with Barcelona that extended his stay until 2001 following drawn-out and difficult contract negotiations.

The following season, Guardiola made a comeback, and Barcelona won La Liga once more. Guardiola had surgery on June 8, 1998, in an attempt to treat a persistent calf problem that had kept him out of the 1998 FIFA World Cup for Spain. Guardiola missed the final three months of the 1999–2000 season due to a severe ankle injury, which again resulted in surgery.

After 17 years of service, Barcelona’s captain declared his intention to depart the team on April 11, 2001. According to him, it was a personal choice that was partly a reaction to what he saw as football taking a new, more aggressive turn. Guardiola’s final game with Barcelona was against Celta Vigo on June 24, 2001, the season’s last game. Guardiola won 16 trophies while playing 479 games for the first team over 12 seasons. “It’s been a long journey,” he stated at the press conference following the Celta match. I’ve made a lot of friends and am pleased with how I’ve been treated. I can’t ask for more. I’ve been in the top for a long time. Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Cesc Fàbregas are among the future Barcelona midfielders who have praised Guardiola as their hero and role model.

2001–2006: Later career

Guardiola, who was thirty when he left Barcelona in 2001, replaced Andrea Pirlo as a deep-lying playmaker for Brescia in Serie A. Under manager Carlo Mazzone, he played with Roberto Baggio. Guardiola moved to Roma after his time at Brescia. However, his stay in Italy proved fruitless, as he was banned for four months after testing positive for nandrolone (he was exonerated of all allegations in 2009.

Guardiola played in the Qatar Stars League with Al-Ahli from Doha in 2003 following stints with Brescia and Roma. He declined offers from several European clubs in 2005–06 because he believed his playing days were coming to an end.

Juan Manuel Lillo was named manager of the Mexican team Dorados in 2006. While Guardiola was attending a management school in Axocopán, Atlixco, Puebla, Lillo enlisted him to play for the team. Guardiola spent six months playing for Dorados, but injuries kept him from playing more than ten games before he retired. He gave the team one goal.

International career

Guardiola made his debut for Spain’s national football team in a friendly match against Northern Ireland on October 14, 1992. He represented Spain in the Olympic Games in Barcelona that year, when they took home a gold medal. He was the recipient of the Bravo Award that year, which honors the top player under 21 in the globe.

Guardiola played for Spain in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, when they advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Italy 2-1. He lost favor with Spain coach Javier Clemente as a result of their arguments, and he was unable to qualify for UEFA Euro 1996. Guardiola missed the 1998 World Cup due to a career-threatening injury, but he went on to participate in Euro 2000, where Spain advanced to the quarterfinals but lost to France by the identical score of 2-1. He kept playing in the Spanish midfield until November 14, 2001, when he made his final appearance in a friendly match against Mexico, winning 1-0. In his 45th appearance, Guardiola scored his final goal for his country against Sweden in a friendly tie of 1-0.

Catalonia

Guardiola has supported the Catalonia football team and played for them. He represented Catalonia in seven friendly games from 1995 to 2005.

Player profile

Throughout his career, Guardiola was typically used as a central or defensive midfielder in front of his team’s back-line, but he was also capable of playing more attacking midfield roles. Guardiola was a very creative, hardworking, nimble, and elegant player with good anticipation, tactical awareness, and the ability to read the game.[29] His teamwork and defensive positioning allowed him to press opponents to break up play and win the ball effectively, but he also had a tendency to commit a lot of fouls. As a result, and partly because of his thin frame, he typically played as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the defense, where he excelled thanks to his technical ability and intelligent, efficient, precise passing game. On occasion, he would also drop deeper to play as a backup center-back in Cruyff’s flexible 3–4–3 formation at Barcelona. Guardiola was admired throughout his career for his vision, close control, passing range, positional sense, calm composure on the ball, and speed of thought, even though he lacked notable speed, dribbling ability, aerial prowess, or strong physical or athletic attributes. These skills allowed him to maintain possession under pressure and either set the pace of his team’s play in midfield with quick and intricate short first-time exchanges,  or switch the play or create chances with longer passes.  He has also been compared to a metodista (or “centre-half” in Italian football parlance) because of his ability to control midfield play.

Guardiola’s ability to make accurate long-range strikes or aggressive runs, as well as his ability to create chances and fire from set pieces, made him a potential offensive threat. He was notable for his leadership throughout his career, having held the positions of captain for both Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Throughout his career, he was known to be prone to injuries despite his skill as a player.

Reception

A number of future tiny Spanish playmaking midfielders, like Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Cesc Fàbregas, were influenced by Guardiola’s style of play, which placed more emphasis on creativity, technique, and ball movement than on physicality and pace. The latter even called him his “idol.” Instead, Pirlo referred to Guardiola as the “model” for the deep midfield position he held. Guardiola was previously referred to as “the best central midfielder in our history” by former Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Richard Jolly of Four Four Two and Marco Frattino both agreed with Johan Cruyff that he was among the greatest midfielders of his generation. In 2018, the latter said: “Twenty years ago, Pep Guardiola was one of the best midfielders in the world.” Josè Maria Orobitg, his agent, said in 2001 that he was the finest in the world at setting the pace and rhythm of his team’s play.

In 2020, Miguel Val of Marca called Guardiola the “brains of Barcelona’s Dream Team under Johan Cruyff” and regarded him as one of the best Spanish footballers of all time. One of the greatest deep-lying playmakers in European football during his time, according to Federico Aquè, he was even listed among “The Best Deep-Lying Playmakers of All Time” by Lee Bushe of 90min.com in 2020.

Managerial career

2009–10: Six trophies in a calendar year

Guardiola’s second season as manager started with losses to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Super Cup and Athletic Bilbao in the Supercopa de España. Barcelona defeated Málaga on the road on September 25, 2009, to record his 50th professional win. On December 19, they were crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions for the first time in their history.

Guardiola became the first manager in history to end the year with a record six titles, including the Spanish League, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, and Club World Cup. He broke Josep Samitier’s record in January 2010 to become Barcelona’s longest-serving Spanish manager. In order to stay with Barcelona until the end of the 2010–11 season, he consented to a one-year contract extension.

Guardiola oversaw Barcelona’s first team’s 100th game in February 2010. His record was 242 goals for and 76 goals against, with 71 victories, 19 ties, and 10 losses. He became the first manager in Barcelona history to defeat Real Madrid in the El Clásico four times in a row on April 10, 2010. Barcelona advanced to the 2009–10 Champions League semifinals, however they fell to José Mourinho’s Inter Milan 3–2 overall.  In spite of this, they defeated Real Valladolid 4-0 at home to clinch their 20th La Liga championship with 99 points. This was the most points ever earned by any of the main leagues in Europe at the time. Guardiola’s sixth prize as the club’s manager was the La Liga title, matching.

2010–11: Second Champions League title

Barcelona won the 2010 Supercopa de España on August 21st, defeating Sevilla 5–3 overall, his second consecutive victory. Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 5–0 on November 29, 2010, giving Guardiola five consecutive El Clásico victories. Guardiola signed a contract until June 2012 after accepting the club’s offer of a one-year extension on February 8, 2011.

After a 1-1 draw with Levante on May 11, 2011, Barcelona won La Liga and the club’s third consecutive championship. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the 2011 Champions League final on May 28 at Wembley.

2011–12: Final season

In the Supercopa de España, they defeated Real Madrid 5–4 on aggregate to start the season.

In the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona defeated Porto 2-0 on August 26 to win their second trophy of the season. He now holds the record for the most trophies won as a Barcelona manager, having won 12 in just three years, thanks to the trophy he won against Porto. Guardiola managed his 200th game for Barcelona’s first team in November of that year. His record was 500 goals for and 143 goals against, with 144 victories, 39 ties, and 17 losses.

With the largest margin in an Intercontinental Cup/Club World Cup final since switching to a single match format, Barcelona defeated Brazilian club Santos 4–0 to win the Club World Cup at the conclusion of the 2011 calendar year. Guardiola has only participated in 16 events, and this was his 13th victory. He received the FIFA World Coach of the Year award on January 9, 2012. As a manager, he stayed undefeated against Real Madrid in regular time after leading his team to a 2-1 victory over the bitter rivals in El Clásico on his 41st birthday. Guardiola gave up the league crown to Real Madrid on April 21 after they defeated Barcelona 2-1 and increased their advantage to seven points with four games left.

Barcelona was eliminated from the competition on a 2–3 aggregate score on April 24 after a 2–2 draw at home against Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. As a result, the team’s sole remaining goal was to win the Copa del Rey. Guardiola’s recent tactics and personnel choices had drawn criticism. He declared on April 27, 2012, that he will leave his position as manager of Barcelona at the conclusion of the 2011–12 campaign. During his time as manager, he had been under a rolling contract that was renewed every year. He added that four years at a club like Barcelona felt like an eternity and cited fatigue as the primary factor in his decision.

Following a 3-0 victory in the Copa del Rey final, Guardiola continued to guide Barcelona to victories in the remaining La Liga games of the season. He is the most successful manager in Barcelona’s history, having won 14 titles in four seasons. Tito Vilanova, who would take over as first team manager at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, was named by Barcelona as his successor.

Sabbatical

Guardiola took a year off in New York City after his tenure at Barcelona ended. He finished third in the 2012 FIFA World Coach of the Year competition on January 7, 2013, behind José Mourinho, the runner-up, and Vicente del Bosque, the winner.  have decided to return to coaching, but beyond that, no decision has been made,” Guardiola stated during a press conference at the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or gala in Zürich. I would like to resume coaching even though I don’t have a team to join.

Bayern Munich

2013–2015: Consecutive Bundesliga titles

It was revealed on January 16, 2013, that Guardiola would succeed Jupp Heynckes as manager of Bayern Munich, a Bundesliga team, following the 2012–13 campaign. On June 24, 2013, he gave his first press conference in German at Bayern, and two days later, he had his first training session. Bayern lost 4–2 against Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup, his first official match. He defeated old rival José Mourinho, who had recently returned to manage at Chelsea, to win his first trophy with Bayern in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup. After Manuel Neuer stopped Romelu Lukaku’s kick, Bayern defeated Chelsea, who had 10 players, in a shootout.

Guardiola defeated Raja Casablanca in Morocco in December 2013 to win his third Club World Cup. He guided Bayern to their 23rd Bundesliga championship on March 25, 2014, when they defeated Hertha Berlin 3-1 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. With seven games left in the season, it broke the record set by Heynckes’ Bayern the season before and was the quickest championship win in Bundesliga history. Karl-Heinz Feldkamp’s record for the longest winning run at the beginning of a Bundesliga team’s tenure was surpassed by Guardiola.[90] On matchday 29, Augsburg defeated Bayern 1-0, ending the run at 28. The run also put a stop to Bayern’s 53-game winning streak.

In the Champions League semifinals, Bayern and Real Madrid were drawn. Bayern lost both the first and second legs, 1-0 and 4-0, respectively. Guardiola suffered his first loss at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg as well. He won the DFB-Pokal 2–0 in extra time to wrap up the 2013–14 campaign.

Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern 2-0 in the German Super Cup during the 2014–15 campaign. Bayern’s 7–0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on March 11, 2015, tied their biggest Champions League victory ever. Guardiola led Bayern to a 6-1 victory against Porto in his 100th game as manager. Bayern advanced to their fourth consecutive Champions League semi-final with the victory. In a penalty shootout on April 28, 2015, Bayern was eliminated from the German Cup. Bayern had failed to make any of their four attempts. Bayern fell 3-0 against Barcelona in his first competitive game. Throughout the game, Bayern was unable to get a shot on goal. He lost four straight games, including the shootout defeat, for the first time in his career.

2015–16: Second domestic double and final season

When Bayern fell to Wolfsburg in a shootout in the German Super Cup on August 1, 2015, the 2015–16 season officially began. Bayern won their first ten games in the league. They suffered their first league defeat on October 30, 2015, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt 0–0, and their first league defeat, falling to Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1, on December 5, 2015. Bayern won Group F in the Champions League group stage, winning five of the six games. On October 20, Bayern’s only defeat in the Champions League group stage came at the hands of Arsenal. During the 2015–16 season, this was Bayern’s first defeat across all competitions.

After Guardiola’s contract ended at the end of the season, Bayern declared on December 20 that he was leaving the team. Carlo Ancelotti will take over as manager for the 2016–17 campaign.

Guardiola’s last chance to win a Champions League trophy with the Bavarian team ended on May 3, 2016, when his Bayern Munich team succumbed to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals. On May 21, 2016, Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund in a shootout, marking Guardiola’s last game. He finished with 82 Bundesliga victories, 11 draws, and nine losses; 14 DFB-Pokal victories, three draws, and no losses; and 23 UEFA Champions League victories, five draws, and eight defeats. Additionally, he had a combined record of two victories, two ties, and two defeats in the German Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. In unofficial contests, he participated in a combined six wins, one draw, and one loss.

Manchester City

2016–17: Adjustment to England and first season

Guardiola signed a three-year contract with Manchester City on February 1, 2016, for the start of the 2016–17 campaign. In the summer, Guardiola added a number of key players, including defender John Stones from Everton, winger Leroy Sané from Schalke 04, and midfielders İlkay Gündoğan from Borussia Dortmund and Nolito from Celta Vigo. Additionally, he controversially substituted Claudio Bravo from his old team Barcelona for longtime City starting goalie Joe Hart, who would never play again for the team.

Guardiola won his first Premier League game as manager of City on August 13, 2016, defeating Sunderland 2-1. In a 2-1 victory over City at Old Trafford on September 11, Guardiola won his first Manchester derby as manager. It was also his sixth victory over José Mourinho, his “rival” manager.

Prior to the international break, City led, but their performance deteriorated after that. The heaviest managerial loss Guardiola has ever had in a domestic tournament occurred on January 15, 2017, when Manchester City fell to Everton 0–4. After a 6–6 aggregate draw, City lost to Monaco on away goals in the Champions League round of 16 in Europe. Guardiola had the best record of any manager going into the second leg of the match, with 61 victories and 23 draws—one more than the previous record holder, Louis van Gaal, who was Guardiola’s former manager at Barcelona. It was Guardiola’s 100th game as manager in European competition. Guardiola ended the season without a trophy after losing to Arsenal in the FA Cup semifinals.

2017–18: “Centurions” and first Premier League title

In order for Manchester City to contend for the league title, Guardiola determined that the team needed to strengthen its defense, especially in the goalkeeper and full-back positions, during the summer transfer window. Ederson was brought in as the new first-choice goalkeeper because of Bravo’s difficulties the season before. The club also signed wing-backs Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker, while firing all of its former senior full-backs, including Pablo Zabaleta, Gaël Clichy, Bacary Sagna, and Aleksandar Kolarov. Furthermore, Danilo and Bernardo Silva were purchased from Real Madrid and Monaco, respectively.

Guardiola’s first trophy with the team came on February 25, 2018, when City defeated Arsenal 3–0 to win the 2017–18 EFL Cup. City was crowned the 2017–18 Premier League champions on April 15 after Manchester United lost to West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at home. Guardiola agreed to a new deal with City through 2021 after the team finished the league season with a record-breaking 100 points.

2018–2020: Domestic treble and Champions League disappointment

For £60 million, Manchester City acquired Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City during Guardiola’s third season as manager. In the 2018 FA Community Shield, City defeated FA Cup winners Chelsea 2-0 to start the season on August 5, 2018.

Guardiola’s team faced Chelsea in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on February 24, 2019. After extra time ended with a score of 0-0, Manchester City prevailed 4-3 on penalties to win the title for the second consecutive year. The opening leg of City’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Tottenham Hotspur took place at Tottenham’s new stadium on April 9. The game finished with City losing 0–1. Guardiola’s team defeated Tottenham 4–3 in the second leg, which took place at the Etihad Stadium on April 17. City’s controversially disallowed fifth goal came in the final seconds.  Tottenham advanced to the semi-finals on away goals after the final score was a 4–4 draw. Guardiola won the Premier League for a second time in a row on May 12. After winning 4-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion in the season finale, his team ended with 98 points, one point more than Liverpool. City became the first men’s team in England to win a domestic treble when they defeated Watford 6–0 in the FA Cup final on May 18.

During the 2019 summer transfer window, Guardiola completed two significant purchases: midfielder Rodri from Atletico Madrid for a club record £62.8 million and defender João Cancelo from Juventus for £27.4 million plus Danilo. The City squad was now worth more than €1 billion thanks to these acquisitions, making them the first football team in history to do so. City won the Community Shield trophy for the second consecutive year on August 4, 2019, after defeating Liverpool in a penalty shootout to start the season.  Guardiola also became the first Premier League manager to be given a yellow card by the referee during the game. Manchester City won the 2020 EFL Cup for the third consecutive season on March 1st after defeating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final. Following a spring break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, City finished second in the 2019–20 Premier League. Guardiola’s team played Lyon in the single-elimination quarterfinals on August 15, 2020, following their victory against Real Madrid in the 2019–20 Champions League round of 16. For the third consecutive season, City was eliminated at the quarterfinal stage after losing the match 1–3.

2020–present: Premier League four-peat, Champions League win and continental treble

Compared to the previous season, City’s defense significantly improved in the 2020–21 campaign, giving up just one goal in twelve games. Guardiola agreed to a new two-year deal with Manchester City through the summer of 2023 on November 19, 2020. On January 31, 2021, City defeated Sheffield United 1-0 at home in the Premier League, marking his 500th game as manager. It was the ninth victory for City in January, making them the team with the most victories in a single month in the top four divisions of English football since the Football League’s founding in 1888. On February 10, Guardiola’s team defeated Swansea City 3-1 in the FA Cup, shattering the record for the longest winning streak in English Premier League football history.

Two weeks after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the 2021 EFL Cup final, Guardiola won his third Premier League title on May 11 following Manchester United’s home loss to Leicester City. This was his fourth consecutive time winning the trophy. For the first time in their history, Manchester City participated in the Champions League final on May 29 but lost to Chelsea 1-0. Guardiola faced criticism for his team selection and decision to start without a defensive midfielder after the game. Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Chelsea, also said that he was taken aback by the absence of Fernandinho, a midfielder, in the City starting lineup.

Manchester City shattered the British transfer record in the summer of 2021 when they paid £100 million to recruit Jack Grealish, a midfielder for Aston Villa. After Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 on the road in the Premier League on September 25, he overtook Les McDowall as the team’s all-time winning manager. Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 3–2 on May 22, 2022, to win the Premier League. Guardiola now ranks second among managers with the most Premier League titles after winning his fourth at the club.

Manchester City won the Premier League for the third time in a row during the 2022–2023 season, marking their fifth successive victory under Guardiola. Guardiola agreed to a new two-year deal with Manchester City through the summer of 2025 on November 23, 2022. After defeating rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the final, the team won their second FA Cup under Guardiola on June 3, 2023, completing another domestic double. Following a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the final, he guided the team to their first Champions League title and his own third on June 10, 2023, completing their continental trifecta.

Guardiola became the first manager to win the cup with three different clubs when the Manchester team defeated Sevilla 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on August 16, 2023, earning him a record-tying fourth UEFA Super Cup championship. When City defeated Fluminense 4-0 in the final on December 22, Guardiola led them to their first FIFA Club World Cup trophy. The team also became the first English team to win five titles in a single year. Guardiola became the first manager in history to win four FIFA Club World Cups with this accomplishment. Guardiola said he “had the feeling that we would close the chapter, we won all the titles, there’s nothing else to win” after the game. I sensed that the task was completed, it was over.

After losing 4–3 on penalties after a 4–4 aggregate draw against Real Madrid, whom Man City defeated 5–1 in the previous Champions League semi-finals, Man City’s Champions League defense came to an end in the quarterfinals, ending their hopes of winning consecutive continental trebles.

Man City became the first English club to win four consecutive top flight league titles on May 19, 2024, when they defeated West Ham United 3-1 on the last day of the season to win their fourth consecutive Premier League title with 91 points, two points ahead of Arsenal. Man City’s hopes of winning a domestic double in a row were dashed a week later when they succumbed to Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup Final.

When Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Man City 2-1 on November 8, 2024, Guardiola suffered four straight losses in regular time for the first time in his managerial career.

Manager profile

Tactics

Guardiola’s teams are known for pressing off the ball, despite the fact that a lot of focus is placed on controlling play and holding onto the ball in order to force the defense of the other team to pursue the ball for prolonged periods of time. In an effort to regain possession of the ball, players jointly press and harass the opposition. Only in the first third of the opposition’s pitch, when there is less room and defenders and/or the goalie might not be as skilled at passing or dribbling the ball as a midfielder, is this collective press used.

Guardiola tried to counteract the dominance of high pressing by using goalkeepers and defenders who were adept at controlling the ball and distributing it both long and short. At Barcelona and Bayern Munich, goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer and Victor Valdés also played out from the back and acted as sweeper-keepers, racing off their line to stop counterattacks. When City was pressed high, Ederson would frequently play accurate long balls up-field, sometimes forcing the entire opposition out of play and setting up City strikers for one-on-one situations. Despite the forward line’s heavy press, the opponent defense would carefully drop deep to create space in the middle of the pitch and avoid being caught by long-range passes from City’s defensive-third.

Guardiola has said he tries to change his strategy all the time. Guardiola was greatly impacted by his experience playing in Mexico under his friend and manager at Dorados, Juan Manuel Lillo, after studying the technique similar to Total Football under Johan Cruyff. In order to learn from Marcelo Bielsa, Guardiola also asked for his assistance. The extent of his admiration for possession-based, attacking football, with defenders and the goalkeeper playing it out from the back, is evident in his editorials for El Pais during the 2006 World Cup, where he praised Luis Aragonés’ Spanish team and Ricardo La Volpe’s Mexican team. Guardiola later repeatedly cited this style of play as a major source of inspiration.  He referred to Zinedine Zidane as France’s best defender in one of his editorials, emphasizing that recycling possession is a crucial defensive strategy that Guardiola teams would come to be associated with. In contrast to José Mourinho’s and Diego Simeone’s successful use of a strictly defensive Catenaccio-inspired style, Philipp Lahm, who played for Guardiola at Bayern Munich, noted that Guardiola’s tactics were primarily “an offensive Sacchi” and were modeled after the Milan team of the late 1980s, which placed an emphasis on fluid movement, quick recoveries, and maintaining possession of the ball. Guardiola has since changed his approach, which appears to be a combination of both of those styles.

Guardiola’s tactics have been compared to Gegenpressing, which was created by Ralf Rangnick and effectively implemented by Jürgen Klopp. His strategies have impacted the methods of other sports, such rugby, as well as managers like Maurizio Sarri, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Luis Enrique. Guardiola acknowledged that he had to modify his approach to fit the German and English leagues, but he attributes his “football education from [Catalunya]”—a possession-based approach that differs from Gegenpressing.  The tiki-taka style used by the Spanish national team under Aragonés at Euro 2008 has been frequently compared by some commentators to Guardiola’s attacking-minded tactics at Barcelona, which are centered on quick passing, ball possession, movement, a high defensive line, and heavy pressing. Guardiola has denied this claim and even criticized the system, saying in 2014: “I loathe all that passing for the sake of it, all that tiki-taka.” It’s useless and full of garbage. You must pass the ball with a specific goal in mind, which is to put it in the opposing team’s goal. Passing for the sake of passing is not the goal.

Throughout his career, Guardiola has employed a variety of formations, earning him plaudits from commentators for his adaptability as a coach. He frequently used a 4–3–3 formation at Barcelona, where aggressive full-backs and inverted wingers would overlap and give the team breadth. He also occasionally used a 3–4–3 configuration; he later employed these formations at Manchester City and Bayern Munich. Defensive midfielders Xabi Alonso at Bayern Munich and Sergio Busquets at Barcelona would sometimes drop back into the back line to serve as an extra defender in the 3–4–3 formation; this function was comparable to the one Guardiola himself performed under Cruyff at Barcelona. He also employed Joshua Kimmich and Phillip Lahm, both full-backs, in midfield for Bayern Munich.  During his tenure at Barcelona, Guardiola also started using a false nine, starting Lionel Messi in the heart of the offensive line and dropping deep into midfield to give the side a numerical edge in the middle of the field. After trying with a few of formations at Manchester City, he employed a contemporary 3–2–2–3 configuration during the 2022–23 treble-winning season, which was compared to the previous WM formation.  In 2023, Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian compared the libero and wing-half positions to the hybrid defensive and creative role he used for center-back John Stones in midfield. In addition, Guardiola employed inverted full-backs, who shifted inside to take up center positions on the field, but he moreover performed in a more  physical and direct style than in previous seasons, utilising Erling Haaland as a traditional striker.

Reception

Guardiola, who is regarded by commentators as one of the best managers of all time, is frequently associated with the 2010s triumphs of the German and Spanish national teams, both of which had numerous first-team players under his tutelage.

“I could say City are the toughest opponent I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t much easier when I faced Pep’s Bayern,” says Jürgen Klopp, who attributes his success to Guardiola’s creation of the most formidable teams he has ever faced. We push one another to the limit.

The popularization of possession-based playing styles, which are linked to Barcelona under Guardiola, and the growing emphasis on producing defenders who are at ease with the ball at their feet from an early age in Italy, according to Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, who criticized Guardiola’s philosophy in 2017, actually had a detrimental effect on their overall defensive quality. He made the following observation: “Guardiolismo, the term he created for “the Guardiola method,” has somewhat destroyed a generation of Italian defenders; now, everyone wants to push up. Defenders are adept at spreading the ball and setting the tone of play, but they lack the marking skills.

Guardiola has been acknowledged as an inspiration by a number of former players, teammates, and coaching staff members who have gone on to become coaches, including Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Luis Enrique, Erik ten Hag, and Mikel Arteta.

Personal life

Dolors and Valentí were the parents of Guardiola. He has a younger brother, football agent Pere Guardiola, and two older sisters. He doesn’t believe in God. When Guardiola was eighteen, he met his wife, Cristina Serra. On May 29, 2014, they were married. Màrius, Valentina, and Maria are the names of their three children.  Marius Guardiola, Maria Guardiola, Valentina Guardiola.

He declared that he would relocate to the United States and live in Manhattan, New York, for a year after leaving his position as manager of Barcelona, until he made a decision about his future. Guardiola spent four to five hours a day studying German in order to be ready for his role as manager of Bayern Munich.

Guardiola is in favor of Catalonia’s political autonomy. He affirmed that he would run in the regional parliamentary election of 2015 as a member of the pro-independence coalition, Junts pel Sí.

Guardiola had a brief appearance in Ted Lasso on May 24, 2023, as Jason Sudeikis’s character, Ted Lasso, leads AFC Richmond to victory over Manchester City. After City loses, Guardiola shakes hands with Lasso and gives him some advice, to which Lasso accepts. According to reports, Guardiola loves the show and likes to watch it with his wife and daughter. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Pandora Papers, which implicated 13 sports figures, including Guardiola. Until 2012, he maintained an account in the principality of Andorra, taking advantage of the tax amnesty implemented in Spain by Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government to stabilize his financial circumstances. He hadn’t told the Spanish Tax Agency about the money in that account until then.

What is Pep Guardiola’s net worth and salary?

The net worth of Spanish soccer coach and former professional player Pep Guardiola is $60 million. Pep Guardiola has had a significant impact on the game as a manager and player. Guardiola’s career is characterized by success at many levels of the sport and is well-known for his tactical savvy, creative methods, and dedication to an aesthetically beautiful style of play. His management approach, which is marked by careful preparation and an unwavering quest for excellence, has earned him multiple honors and established a new benchmark for football managers everywhere.

He earned the Olympic Gold Medal, La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup while playing. Guardiola has won numerous accolades as a manager, including FIFA World Coach of the Year, La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup.