Success has always accompanied Pep Guardiola in his already extensive career on the bench, spanning more than 15 years. Few coaches in the history of football can be proud of not seeing their name associated with the word dismissal in a newspaper headline. The one from Santpedor is one of those exceptions, redoubling his confidence year after year with the conquest of titles until he is the second most successful coach in history with 39 wins, surpassed by Ferguson.
The Catalan, meticulous like few others, a student of tactics to the verge of obsession, always in favor of the collective game, has multiplied over the years his aura of genius of the band. He has earned the respect of football for his knowledge, for many a revolutionary of the beautiful game. Their teams have enjoyed themselves on the field and have made those who witnessed enjoy that always rhythmic dance between possession and position, exasperating for the rival. The main and blessed problem of the former coach and former Barça player has been managing excellence and managing praise. Until now.
“The situation is new. There are no fairy tales in sport, we have to accept it,” says the one from Santpedor.
Guardiola has entered unknown territory. The crisis has fully burst into the coach’s daily life after suffering five consecutive defeats for the first time in his career on the bench. His Manchester City, almost always dominant and the terror of England since the arrival of the Catalan in 2016, lost again on Saturday against Tottenham, also with a rout (0-4) that confirmed the worst feelings.
“The situation is new. There are no fairy tales in sport, you have to accept it. “Life is not always what you want,” said Guardiola after falling in front of the spurs . Revalidating the Premier is already a feat. The leader Liverpool is eight points after its victory yesterday in Southampton (2-3), so the visit to Anfield of the skyblue next day is presented as a final. And in the Champions League, City is out of the top eight with four games left after being beaten by Sporting in Lisbon (4-1).
The cityzens They have stopped being that hierarchical team that barely conceded chances to their opponents, the majority behind the ball the entire game, to become a predictable team in attack and a slippery side in defense. The midfield, a key line for Manchester, does not feed enough for a scoring beast like Håland, often lost in the defensive tangle that the rival usually presents despite his 15 goals this year. Gündogan has returned far from his level and Bernardo Silva is no longer that player who creates and in turn steps into the area to score. Foden doesn’t generate either, only two assists and three goals. The return of the injured De Bruyne, who has already played minutes in the last duels, seems like a breath of fresh air.
The cityzens have stopped being that hierarchical team to become a predictable team in attack and a leak in defense
At the back, however, the solution seems more complex. The defense, always on the line against rival counterattacks, must manage very large spaces with anticipation, coordination and concentration, everything that Akanji, Gvardiol, Aké and especially a once important Walker who is in very low shape. The defense misses the injured Rúben Dias, even more so in the midfield, Rodri, without a doubt the piece that put together the entire demanding mechanism skyblue . The Ballon d’Or, honored in the previous match against Tottenham, who will be out for the entire season due to his knee injury, does not have a guaranteed replacement. The physical problems at the beginning of the season are City’s only excuse.
“Not for a second will I stop believing in these players. What defines us is when we fail. We will get up and face it,” added Guardiola whose figure in Manchester remains intact, renewed last Thursday until 2027 in the midst of a storm of bad results.
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