Sort of like Messi and the World Cup actually.He needs to win this CL to get the monkey off his back (of never having won a big cup title without Messi, Xavi, Iniesta) and make a strong case for greatest manager of all time. He's already one of the greatest, though, and nothing changes this status.
Pep Guardiola: "The best team at making the build-up in the world is Brighton! There is no team better that make the process to get the goalkeeper to bring the ball into to the last quarter."
This for all the clowns in here who mock coaches like ETH, like Arteta, like Nagelsman, like Di zerbi, because they have never won the CL or the EPL
While they suck Xavi's dick, who has spend 200+ m on transfers and can't play decent football even against the GEtafes and the Gironas
Pep Guardiola: "The best team at making the build-up in the world is Brighton! There is no team better that make the process to get the goalkeeper to bring the ball into to the last quarter."
This for all the clowns in here who mock coaches like ETH, like Arteta, like Nagelsman, like Di zerbi, because they have never won the CL or the EPL
While they suck Xavi's dick, who has spend 200+ m on transfers and can't play decent football even against the GEtafes and the Gironas
Where has this tactical nous been over the years in the Champions League with Man City? Real Madrid was on the players but those embarrassing losses in the final to Chelsea and against Lyon were all on him. Considering the amount of money he's spent and the squad he has at City he should have won a champions league with them already. If he can't win the champions league with City that's a huge black mark on his legacy considering the obscene financial advantages he has at that oil club. Lets see if he can this season, although I suspect they'll capitulate against Real again. It is no surprise that City dominate the league with the abundance of quality throughout their squad but in Champions league there seems to be a mental fragility about them. Year after year they manage to bottle it in increasingly embarrassing fashionThe greatest tactical nous and the most tactically adept manager the sport has ever seen.
He has eclisped everyone, from giants like Michels, Cryuff, Sachi to more contemporary greats like SAF Wenger etc
The way he schooled Arsenal yesterday by just tweaking the back 3 into a back 4 again should be in the books.
He has now built a juggernaut that is not only able to win leagues (which he always did), but also annihilate strong opponents in knockout ties by being insufferable when the opposition has the ball on their feet.
This City is the culmination of what he has been building since 2020 when he changed his ways (more control, less attack).
Madrid will need thrice as much black magic as they used last year to eliminate them this time.
They are set to walk it and lift the trophy in Instanbul
PS: Needless to say, Bartomeu and Rossell are the biggest criminals the club ever saw. The biggest reason of them all is they pushed this GOAT coach out of the club of his heart. Imagine him having stayed as many years as he has been already at city
Where has this tactical nous been over the years in the Champions League with Man City? Real Madrid was on the players but those embarrassing losses in the final to Chelsea and against Lyon were all on him. Considering the amount of money he's spent and the squad he has at City he should have won a champions league with them already. If he can't win the champions league with City that's a huge black mark on his legacy considering the obscene financial advantages he has at that oil club. Lets see if he can this season, although I suspect they'll capitulate against Real again. It is no surprise that City dominate the league with the abundance of quality throughout their squad but in Champions league there seems to be a mental fragility about them. Year after year they manage to bottle it in increasingly embarrassing fashion
Since Pep went to City (keep in mind he inherited the best squad in the league) in terms of net spend he's spent over twice as much as Liverpool. Man Utd have spent more but they're one of the worst run clubs in football so comparing them to City is very disingenuous. Same thing with Chelsea when you include the spending since their takeover. They also have a significantly higher net spend than Bayern, Madrid,Barca and PSG in that timeframe. But sure City don't have an advantage or anything.Same crap that have been churned against him over the years.
Money argument is silly, he has spent less the last 4 years at City compared to other top5 EPL sides.
So throwing away a two goal lead in a champions league semi final in injury time isn't a bottle job. Ok. Getting the team selection wrong and then being completely outplayed by a Chelsea side who have won nothing since then. Getting humiliated by a pre peak Liverpool and knocked out by Spurs who never won anything. You can say they're good sides but City were much better on paper as shown by the league tables. These are awful results.The only bottlejob all those years was against Lyon. Everything else was against top sides
Right so you admit Pep's City sides were great at beating mid table sides week in out but couldn't handle the big boys on the big stage. Isn't that when a managers tactical nous really comes into play. Nevermind I guess Pep must just be the most unlucky manager in football.It has less to do with mentality (which is a thing nevertheless) and more with this:
His City side until 2020, and his Bayern and Barca sides were not constructed for cup ties but for leagues.
They were made to have the ball all the time, dominate through possession, attack and create chances.
This plan faced problems against very deep compact blocks who also did have good attackers to hit on the break (Mou's teams of the past, Atleti of the past, even Barca MSN despite not sitting that deep) because of the NATURE of the KNOCKOUT tie: a goal on the break, an unlucky moment (penalty, red card, away goal until recently) would put his team in unfavorable positions, despite many times being able to devise a good plan to break those buses (Barca 2012, Bayern 2016, City 2019)
So it didn't work in 2021 when they got completley outplayed by Chelsea and didn't work in 2022 either when they produced that spectacular bottle job. Call the second leg lucky if you want but they also conceded three goals at home to Madrid. Just like against Monaco and Tottenham. Just like in the first leg against Liverpool and against Lyon. Such an improvement.Pep learned his lesson that in knockout ties you don't need to annihilate the opponent, and its risky to play like that when one moment could cost you the entire tie.
Since 2020 he reworked his side to create a team that controls the game by not getting threatened, and being ridiculously good in pressing and stealing balls so that they hit them on the break this time.
Since then: 1 final, 1 semi-final, and this season another SF, possibly F and trophy
You can't say it didn't work, as they got outworked only by Tuchel in the 2021 final, and completely dominated all other knockout ties the last 3 seasons. Even won the tie on the tactical front against RM last season (bar last minute black magic).
Since Pep went to City (keep in mind he inherited the best squad in the league) in terms of net spend he's spent over twice as much as Liverpool. Man Utd have spent more but they're one of the worst run clubs in football so comparing them to City is very disingenuous. Same thing with Chelsea when you include the spending since their takeover. They also have a significantly higher net spend than Bayern, Madrid,Barca and PSG in that timeframe. But sure City don't have an advantage or anything.
So throwing away a two goal lead in a champions league semi final in injury time isn't a bottle job. Ok. Getting the team selection wrong and then being completely outplayed by a Chelsea side who have won nothing since then. Getting humiliated by a pre peak Liverpool and knocked out by Spurs who never won anything. You can say they're good sides but City were much better on paper as shown by the league tables. These are awful results.
Right so you admit Pep's City sides were great at beating mid table sides week in out but couldn't handle the big boys on the big stage. Isn't that when a managers tactical nous really comes into play. Nevermind I guess Pep must just be the most unlucky manager in football.
So it didn't work in 2021 when they got completley outplayed by Chelsea and didn't work in 2022 either when they produced that spectacular bottle job. Call the second leg lucky if you want but they also conceded three goals at home to Madrid. Just like against Monaco and Tottenham. Just like in the first leg against Liverpool and against Lyon. Such an improvement.