Pep Guardiola: Catalan genius who changed football

LONDON – Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City with an unparalleled legacy as a manager who has reshaped English football during a decade of relentless success.

The Catalan is reportedly in the final days of his Etihad reign, though there has been no official comment from the club, who still have an outside chance of sealing a domestic treble.

Guardiola, who has a year left on his contract, has wearily fended off questions over his future for months but it is widely reported that this Sunday’s match against Aston Villa will be his last.

He was asked before last Saturday’s trip to Wembley for their FA Cup win over Chelsea if he was visiting the iconic national stadium for the final time as City boss.

“No way,” he said, as quoted by the BBC, reminding reporters he had “one more year” on his contract.

In another interview with BBC Sport, when asked if he will still be at the club next season, he replied: “Yeah. I am here, I have a contract.”

The same question was asked before Tuesday’s trip to Bournemouth, referencing Cherries manager Andoni Iraola’s impending departure from the club and if Guardiola had also thought the same about his future.

He said: “Next (question). So many times (I have said) – I have one more year.”

Former Chelsea boss Maresca is reportedly in line to take over next season. Football expert Fabrizio Romano has said an initial three-year deal is in place for the Italian.

On Maresca, Guardiola had said previously: “One of the best managers in the world, Enzo Maresca, I know him quite well, but the job he has done at Chelsa does not get enough credit.

“Winning the Club World Cup, Conference League, qualification for the Champions League in a league that is so tough with a young team. It is exceptional.”

Guardiola, 55, arrived in Manchester in 2016 as the most sought-after coach in world football following golden stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

During his 10 years at the Etihad he has turned City into a ruthless winning machine in the world’s richest league, backed by the bottomless pockets of the club’s Abu Dhabi ownership.

Guardiola has collected 20 trophies including six Premier League titles, bagging an unprecedented four in a row from 2021 to 2024.

In 2023 he won the first Champions League trophy in City’s history – the third of his career – in addition to the Premier League and FA Cup, matching the treble he won at Barcelona.

In doing so City became just the second team in English football history to complete the feat after Manchester United in 1999, ruthlessly underlining the power shift in their own city.

Guardiola’s rivalry with Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side pushed City to even greater heights with their own swashbuckling brand of “heavy-metal football”, was one of the high points of the Premier League era.

But Guardiola’s legacy is about so much more than silverware.

His brand of slick, possession-based football and insistence on building from the back, even under pressure, is now a core part of the English game from grassroots through to the elite level.

And he has been a ceaseless innovator, famously winning the Premier League in 2022 without a recognised centre-forward and using players in unfamiliar and hybrid roles.

Guardiola has also imparted his philosophy to a new generation of coaches.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was given his first senior coaching post as his assistant at City and Maresca was previously a member of his coaching staff.

Former City captain Vincent Kompany is flourishing in charge of Bayern while newly appointed Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso worked under him at Bayern.

Such has been Guardiola’s influence on the English game that he was even linked briefly with taking over as manager of the national team.

Off the pitch he is passionately outspoken on political issues, backing Catalan independence and voicing his support for Palestinian children.

He says he wants to use his position to “speak up to be a better society”.

Guardiola’s great mentor and inspiration is late Dutch great Johan Cruyff, who built Barcelona’s “Dream Team”, which featured locally raised defensive midfielder Guardiola.

He himself shies away from the comparison.

“Nobody is like Johan,” he said. “It’s a big compliment you say that, but nobody is like him, the charisma, personality.

“He changed the mentality of two clubs – Ajax and Barcelona – as a player and as a manager with a charisma that’s impossible to replicate.”

Guardiola may not want to compare himself to Cruyff but the former midfielder is already among a select group of all-time coaching greats.

City’s season-ending open-top bus parade next Monday may turn into a farewell celebration for the greatest manager of his generation. AFP