CITY/CHAMPIONS SPECIAL Pep’s Blue revolution is just beginning
PEP Guardiola took over at the Etihad with the aim of becoming City’s answer to his idol Johan Cruyff.
And in less than two years the Catalan has stamped an imprint on the club that has the potential to be indelible.
The Pep revolution was more than just a soundbite - it had real teeth.
Stubborn, uncompromising and fuelled by an unshakable confidence in the methods first instilled in him by Cruyff, Guardiola has done it his way. He saw City as a blank canvas. Sold the project by his good friends and former Barcelona colleagues Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, he was wooed by the promise of fashioning the Blues into a global superpower - and crucially, in his own image.
In chief executive Soriano and sporting director Begiristain, he knew he would have the unflinching support of the club’s hierarchy.
In chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak, he knew he would have the financial backing to realise his ambitions.
It was an intoxicating offer that prised him away from Bayern Munich - footballing royalty, with one club legend after another only too happy to remind him of the German giants’ greatness long before his arrival and the certainty it would continue long after his departure.
Guardiola considers his time in Germany a resounding success, even if he never managed to emulate his predecessor Jupp Heynckes’ feat of delivering the Champions League.
Should Heynckes - lured out of retirement in a fire-fighting role this season - triumph in Europe again, it would put Guardiola’s reign at the Allianz Arena further into the German’s shade. But Bayern were never going to be Pep’s club.
Just as Barca weren’t either even if his team that won two Champions League trophies are considered arguably the greatest club side of all time.
Luis Enrique won the trophy after him, Cruyff and Frank Rijkaard before him. Cruyff is considered the architect of what we consider Barcelona to be - and no matter Guardiola’s achievements at the Nou Camp, he knew that would remain the case. That was the appeal of City.
Guardiola saw the opportunity to change the culture and identity of the club. To make the Pep way City’s way.
From the academy to sister clubs around the world - the City Football Group are playing Guardiola’s brand of football. Players produced at grassroots level will be archetypal Guardiola players. Think Phil Foden - a Stockport lad with Catalan flair.
That is the dream - and the teenager is the living embodiment. But Guardiola was also appointed to deliver silverware - which he has managed in emphatic fashion after an underwhelming first season in English football.
The nature of City’s landslide Premier League title has made a mockery of those who questioned him after a trophyless first year. While criticism of City’s failure last term was justified, it is now clear to see the building blocks Guardiola put into place in his first 12 months. Such as breaking the dominance of high-profile players Joe Hart, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero. To an extent, Vincent Kompany too. Four pillars of the club’s success under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini,Pep wanted to build his vision around a vibrant, youthful team, with fresh hunger. Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and John Stones. He wanted a squad with humility and togetherness. It’s notable how many players chose to follow his lead by living in the city centre to drink in the culture and appreciate the community.
And it wasn’t only new arrivals such as Ilkay Gundogan and Sane. David Silva followed suit.
Touches like playing Oasis tracks ahead of games only added to that spirit among his players.
As did team bonding sessions. He has an ethos that he wants his players to improve both on and off the pitch. But it is undoubtedly on the pitch where the most dramatic change can be seen.
And as complex as City’s bewildering movement can appear, it is rooted in simplicity on the training