IF PEP GUARDIOLA loses a match you can be sure it is never down to a lack of preparation.
The Spaniard has gained the reputation as the best coach in the world not just because he has amassed 19 major trophies in just seven years as a manager.
But equally because of his attention to detail, man-management skill, shrewd appraisal of his opponents and almost obssessive dedication to the job.
His insistence on video analysis, team briefings and tactical work on the training ground is allied to an almost photographic memory which allows him to remember and analyse everything that has happened in the match.
He remembers every move, how it developed, what happened, which players were involved and what the consequences were.
If Louis Van Gaal is renowned - and often criticised - for his regimented preparation for games at Old Trafford, then Manchester City's collection of superstars better brace themselves for something similar.
 |
| Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich have won 15/17 Bundesliga games this term |
He once said: "I look at footage of our opponents and then try to work how to demolish them."
Despite interest from United and Chelsea, City have been quietly confident for a long while that Guardiola is their man. They tried to sign him as a player back in 2002 when Kevin Keegan was in charge but look certain to enjoy better luck this time.
Nothing has yet been signed but crucially Guardiola is best friends with City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain from their days playing together in Barcelona's dream team of the early 1990s. The word is hardly a day goes past without them talking on the telephone.
He is also very friendly with City's chief executive Ferran Soriano, a former Nou Camp director, and most importantly he is understood to be happy with the Abu Dhabi project to make City the biggest club in the world.
Guardiola's style suits City's football philosophy, as laid down by Begiristain and Soriano. They want possession-based football, played at a high intensity and with a lot of goals - just like his Barca and Bayern teams.
To be fair, the present incumbent Manuel Pellegrini has done exactly that but the City hierarchy believe Guardiola - who has won two Champions Leagues and is two decades younger than the Chilean - can take them to where they want to be: a dominant force in Europe, alongside Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Chelsea will try to lure Guardiola but while living in London would be an obvious lure for the his cultured mentality, he is likely to consider working for Roman Abramovich more of a risk than working for the people he knows so well at City.
The history, heritage and huge global fan base offered by United has its appeal but Guardiola is unlikely to slap his mates at the Etihad in the face by moving across town, quite apart from the fact he knows a far bigger re-buidling job is required at Old Trafford.
Highly-placed United sources admitted before Christmas they were not in the running for him because they had already established where he was heading - with a nod to the blue half of town.
Guardiola is well aware that City already have many of the components of a great team. Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure -who played for him at Barca - and Vincent Kompany, if they can keep him fit.
It has been suggested he has already handed City a list of players he wants in the summer transfer window.
It stands to reason he would love to be re-united with Lionel Messi, while Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan would be another.
The 25-year-old German international will only have one year left on his current contract in the summer, and would be a natural long-term replacement for Toure, who is 32 and though still capable of match-winning moments, has plenty of miles on the clock.
Guardiola's football philosophy is best summed up by the advice he gave to a young coach who asked him how to identify the good players.
"Is it the most famous players?" he said. "No. The really good players are the ones who never lose the ball. Those who know how to pass it and who never lose it. They are the good ones. And that's who you must always use, even if they are lower profile than the rest."
The best coach in the world is coming to the best League in the world. It is odds-on that City is his destination.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus