Is Pep truly a world-class manager?

What does it take to be the best manager in world football. Is it tactics, control, vision, philosophy or longevity?

It is arguable what specific attributes make up a great manager but the obvious trend is a ‘world-class’ manager should be a winning one.

The volatility of professional football often leave the best in its dust. So for gaffers, the high pressure nature of management means only a handful can claim they are one of the world’s best.

At the start of the 2008 season, Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola – Catalunyan through-and-through – took over as manager of the team he played for as a boy and as a professional.

Pep took over a side that had won just one trophy in two seasons. The side then boasted world-class players like Deco, Samuel Eto’o and World Player of the Year, Ronaldinho, who won the Champions League together just two seasons prior.

Pep arrived, and brought with him an era of dominance founded on a brand of football the likes the world has not seen in sometime.

The so called ‘tiki-taka’ style of game Guardiola promoted showed some of the most adventurous plays and goals that enthralled audiences worldwide.

Many have tried to emulate this brand of football but have failed to convert it to points and trophies, though Pep made it happen.

His previous post before taking over as Barcelona manager was successful leading ‘Barcelona B’, who was then competing in the Tercera Divison to promotion.

The board were so impressed that his lack of experience was overlooked he was chosen to take over the senior Barca side from Frank Rijkaard. As a consequence, many argued Pep got the post because of his profile, rather than managerial merit.

The team he inherited consisted of players who had huge egos and were overpaid. Call it inexperience, but instead of managing these egos, Guardiola instead put these players on the market and opted to head towards a different direction, making his position clear from the outset.

He demonstrated his intent of building the next dynasty through the prodigies of La Masia (Barcelona’s Academy).

The team going forward was to be built around the triumvirate of Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and a little player called Lionel Messi.

He found great success with these players. He also ordered for the return of a few more of La Masia’s familiar faces – Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas among others – to consolidate his already strong squad.

They found playing with each other as second nature; most have played together since they were teenagers and all had complete understanding of the fundamentals of Pep’s tiki-taka football, which brought them great success.

One cannot argue against trophies and his winning percentage. Though with further analysis of specific match results, their success is a product of the environment in which the players developed and not Guardiola’s coaching.

Too many in world football quickly praise the Catalunyan and have put the team’s success down to his brilliance as a coach.

His coaching is littered with inadequacies which prove Guardiola is nothing but a glorified coach who has been carried by great players.

Throughout his coaching tenure with Barcelona he had a number of altercations and coaching challenges which he chose to ignore – he simply faltered and chose the easy way out.

For instance, there are questions asked about his man management. His way of handling egos demonstrates his lack of ability for it.

Excerpts from former Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s autobiography were quite telling. He acknowledged Pep was a great coach but called him a “coward”.

Furthermore, Ibrahimovic cites how he constantly played favourites with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. He also mentioned Guardiola’s lack of ability to inspire his men, comparing him to his former Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho, who he regards as Guardiola’s total opposite.

“He (Mourinho) is outstanding. Very intelligent and a great motivator. Guardiola’s philosophical team talks on the other hand – they are bull***t for the advanced,” Ibrahimovic said.

“Mourinho can handle personalities, he is able to form a team out of 11 characters. But Guardiola isn’t.”

What separates professional coaches is their ability to tap into the sizeable egos of millionaire players to inspire them and, more importantly, to get them to happily listen to orders.

Guardiola, by constantly surrounding himself with yes men and players that would not challenge him, portrays his inability for that task.

There were also game moments in which his tactical prowess was challenged, mostly in the Champions League.

He reaped the benefit of many controversial decisions as well as fixture entitlements which led to many conspiracies. Given his team were technically magnificent, it seemed he only had one game plan and was often left wondering when the team was one or two nil down.

He lost ties in the Champions league against Inter Milan and Chelsea, teams who imposed their physical presence on his team. As these ties wore on, the formula of beating Barcelona was simple: Defend as one, be physical in the midfield and be effective on the counter-attack.

More often than not, Guardiola’s look of confusion was a gateway to his incompetence to turn a game through either a substitution or tactical instructions. Once his team were on the back foot on the score board he had no answers and consistently made ineffective substitutions.

Quite simply, he could beat the teams he was meant to beat but found it difficult with the others.

The most telling factor of all was in 2012 when he used his ‘sabbatical’ excuse as a reason to leave, citing he was stressed and was not mentally capable to be coaching at that point of his life, after all coaching arguably the best team of all time for four years would have been really difficult (sarcasm).

One can’t help but feel he sensed the end of this dynasty and wanted to leave at the summit. Which, to be honest, is what most people would do, but then again most people are not world-class managers.

Instead of relishing the challenge ahead, he simply caved at the thought of building the next dynasty and it is arguable he simply believed he was incapable of doing so.

He wanted to maintain the myth of being the best coach in the world.

His so-called sabbatical lasted just under a year, until a phone call from treble-winning Bayern Munich and all of a sudden he was good to coach again (funny that).

He stated in a press conference he was excited to coach in a different country, a new league, and to build a new squad to win trophies. Oh, oh wait – this team has already won every trophy they can.

His trophies, winning percentage and ability to learn German so rapidly does not fool me. He has once again moved into a team built for success.

As Ibrahimovic says, “Why did he opt for Munich? Because the team functions without him.

“It’s a complete team. He bought new players, but he does not need them. It was a smart move by Guardiola, because nothing can go wrong in Munich. He will have success.”

To his credit, Pep has done very well to sustain his legacy and reputation.

I’m not saying he’s a bad coach. In fact I believe he is the best in the world in regards to producing the best brand of football, but he needs the players to do so.

Can he emulate what Mourinho did at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, can he do what Jürgen Klopp and Diego Simeone do at their respective clubs? Can he go to Manchester United and create a new dynasty?

The answer is no. These coaches have proven their worth in different clubs and, more importantly, different situations where Pep simply hasn’t.

Josep Guardiola is brilliant, but he is a product of luck, support and La Masia. He knows his limitations and was clever enough to control his destiny.

His initial lack of experience, along with the teams he has coached prove to me he is inadequate of being dubbed world-class.

As much gratitude as the footballing world gives him (espescially UEFA and Michel Platini) I am not fooled; Guardiola is a decent coach but a world-class football manager he is not.