Pep Guardiola Would Fit Perfectly With Manchester City

By Nick Burgess @NickBurgess92 on October 24, 2014

Pep Guardiola has jumped onto the managerial scene since taking over Barcelona in 2008. In his first season in Catalonia, he won the treble, a historic feat never before achieved in Barca’s storied history. He also won the Sextuple by the end of the 2009 calendar year, being the first team to do so in competitive top-flight history. Guardiola is said to have put together the greatest team ever seen playing the game, with superstars like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique leading the Catalonians. In winning the treble in his first season with this team, he also became the youngest manager in history to win the Champions League.

Guardiola is famous for his style of football that he imposes on teams named tiki-taka. It involves intricate, one touch passing to move the ball rapidly up the pitch and cut defenses apart in the process. It is a variant of the Arsenal method of triangles, where the player with the ball will always have two options to pass to.

This style of play comes from Guardiola’s history as a player. A Barcelona player himself, he graduated from La Masia and moved into Barcelona B, before establishing himself as a premier defensive shield for the Blaugrana. His vision, pace and quick passing moved with him from his successful playing career to his time in the technical area.

Guardiola won 14 trophies in four years with Barcelona before a managerial break, in which he claimed it was for his “health,” before moving to Bayern Munich to start a new era in Germany.

To chronicle this move, a new book was released entitled “Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning.” In this book, it is revealed that the Spaniard wants to one day manage Manchester United, but another English club may beat them in the race for the ultra successful manager.

After Roberto Mancini was released, Manchester City hired Manuel Pellegrini on a three-year deal to manage the Citizens. Pellegrini was very successful in his first season, beating Jose Mourinho and Chelsea to the Premier League title but failed in the Champions League. Those woes continue this season, and if they carry on, Pellegrini could see his time in England come to an end at the end of his contract in 2016.

Manchester United, on the other hand, hired the tried and tested Louis van Gaal to steer the ship and gave him a three-year deal, lasting until 2017. United has not had a positive recent record with honoring managerial contracts, but if van Gaal is successful, he could survive until the end of 2017, meaning City could win the race to Guardiola.

The rest of the Premier League should be very worried if the Spaniard is appointed head of the Sky Blues, because they fit his style of football. City are a very technical side, good on the ball and they keep it on the ground. Guardiola also has success both in domestic leagues and in the Champions League, so City would be even more of a force to reckon with should Guardiola and the tiki-taka find their way to northern England in a few seasons.