18 Yard Box shares a controversial point about whether Pep Guardiola really did play a large hand in the success of Barcelona or whether he was just a part of the 'Best team in the world'
Pep Guardiola's announcement for a one year sabbatical came as a shock to not only to his fans but to also the whole of the footballing fraternity. Strangely, a manager who won 14 silverwares in just four years of his reign at the club left Barcelona when they seemed to be at the helm of their powers.
Breaking a million hearts, Pep decided the game had got the better of him and he would like to have a so called 'one year break' away from football to refresh himself for a new challenge. However one question on which no one has pondered over is the fact that despite Pep's miraculous achievements did Pep actually play any hand in these or were they all his creations?
Barcelona's La Massia academy has produced some breath-taking footballers over the previous decades. With the likes of Iniesta and Messi breaking through the first team in the 2003-04 season, Barcelona's future was secured. But one thing to be noted is that the think tank of bringing in all these players is not Pep Guardiola. It is infact a man who has been overshadowed by Barcelona's success in the past. A man who revolutionised football at Camp Nou only for Pep to make it easy to carry on the baton. A man who had Barcelona etched right in his hearts from the moment he took over the managerial burden in the year 2003. A man known as Frank Rijkaard.
The former Dutch midfielder had been laying the foundations of the 'Best team on the planet' ever since he stepped in to replace the unsuccessful Radomir Antic. Rijkaard rejuvenated the 'tiki-taka' era which had been lost since the time of Johan Cryuff and laid stress on producing superstars like Deco, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o etc. Not only this but Frank Rijkaard also spotted the talent of youth products in the form of Lionel Messi,Victor Valdes, and Iniesta who have now gone to become one of the integral part of the Barcelona team. Having a mix of experience and youth, Frank was making a team filled with superstars and a team which could go on to become the 'untouchables' in club football history. Rijkaard went about his way in a quiet manner and unfortunately left the club at the hands of the then Barcelona B manager Pep Guardiola.
Upon his arrival, Pep wanted to make some major upheavals in the team. Announcing that Samuel Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldinho were not in the plans, he made some poor decisions of signing forwards which did not shine for the team. Barcelona still havent replaced Ronaldinho on the wings. Moreover they also need a centre forward. Although the goal scoring burden has been taken upon by Lionel Messi, Barcelona still await the arrival of a typical centre forward who could gel with the team. He not only bought unecessarily but also paid a lump sum amount of money which has caused the club to look at ways to stabilize their bank accounts. In order to strengthen the midfield, Guardiola had to rely on Rijkaard's additions Messi and Iniesta and luckily they turned out to be gems that Barcelona desired. Guardiola's tactics were brilliant when executed with precision but he did little to stabilize the ailing Barcelona defence. Selling Sylvinho and sidelining Thuram, Pep relied on Abidal to protect the left flank. Moreover as Carlos Puyol did well to retain his place, Pique did little to help his compatriot in the middle. Barcelona's defensive record is more to the fact that the team keeps so much possession rather than a good defensive unit. A play whose credit should be given to Rijkaard who started this rather than Guardiola who just carried it forward.
Another cause for concern was Guardiola's overspending in the midfield area and not on the needed defensive area. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Seydou Keita and Ibrahim Afellay were not required when Barcelona themselves possessed a star midfield and also a backed up by the budding youngsters coming out from their academy in the form of Isaac Cuenca and Thiago Alcantra. This not only caused an over flow in the midfield region but also brought about a hault to the inflow of talent from the academy which was in the first place made Barcelona who they are now. Moreover letting Yaya Toure leave was a surprise decision as he not only added cover for the back four but also helped the team in attacking. Luckily for him, Pep escaped with all these decisions as his team helped him win trophies and overshadow his lack of vision and poor decision making.
Another cause for concern was the outburst of former players stating that Pep Guardiola was a poor man manager and over favoured Lionel Messi. This was clearly evident when the story about a text sent to him by Messi regarding Ibrahimovic was leaked. Since that time no striker has been able to adjust with the legendary Argentine and always has left the club in dismay. The same looks to be happening with David Villa.
It will be safe to say that Pep Guardiola benefited mostly from the additions what Frank Rijkaard made to the side and not by what he himself bought. Tactically sound, Pep did have a hand in the 14 trophies Barcelona won but according to what the former Barcelona man Alexander Hleb said:
Many would argue that Pep Guardiola's change in tactics did not need wingers like Ronaldinho and midfieldfer like Deco but selling Eto'o was evident of the fact that he did favour Messi over everyone else.
No doubt he has achieved so much in so little time. Hence, some credit must given to the Barcelona legend. But with clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United eagerly waiting for the Spaniard to come out of his sabbatical, it remains to be seen where Pep will set foot next year and take up the most difficult challenge he will ever face- living upto the expectations. If he does that without a midfield trio of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, he surely would have proved himself.
Written By,
Rishabh Ghai
Pep Guardiola's announcement for a one year sabbatical came as a shock to not only to his fans but to also the whole of the footballing fraternity. Strangely, a manager who won 14 silverwares in just four years of his reign at the club left Barcelona when they seemed to be at the helm of their powers.
Breaking a million hearts, Pep decided the game had got the better of him and he would like to have a so called 'one year break' away from football to refresh himself for a new challenge. However one question on which no one has pondered over is the fact that despite Pep's miraculous achievements did Pep actually play any hand in these or were they all his creations?
 |
| Pep's victory or the team's? |
Barcelona's La Massia academy has produced some breath-taking footballers over the previous decades. With the likes of Iniesta and Messi breaking through the first team in the 2003-04 season, Barcelona's future was secured. But one thing to be noted is that the think tank of bringing in all these players is not Pep Guardiola. It is infact a man who has been overshadowed by Barcelona's success in the past. A man who revolutionised football at Camp Nou only for Pep to make it easy to carry on the baton. A man who had Barcelona etched right in his hearts from the moment he took over the managerial burden in the year 2003. A man known as Frank Rijkaard.
The former Dutch midfielder had been laying the foundations of the 'Best team on the planet' ever since he stepped in to replace the unsuccessful Radomir Antic. Rijkaard rejuvenated the 'tiki-taka' era which had been lost since the time of Johan Cryuff and laid stress on producing superstars like Deco, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o etc. Not only this but Frank Rijkaard also spotted the talent of youth products in the form of Lionel Messi,Victor Valdes, and Iniesta who have now gone to become one of the integral part of the Barcelona team. Having a mix of experience and youth, Frank was making a team filled with superstars and a team which could go on to become the 'untouchables' in club football history. Rijkaard went about his way in a quiet manner and unfortunately left the club at the hands of the then Barcelona B manager Pep Guardiola.
Upon his arrival, Pep wanted to make some major upheavals in the team. Announcing that Samuel Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldinho were not in the plans, he made some poor decisions of signing forwards which did not shine for the team. Barcelona still havent replaced Ronaldinho on the wings. Moreover they also need a centre forward. Although the goal scoring burden has been taken upon by Lionel Messi, Barcelona still await the arrival of a typical centre forward who could gel with the team. He not only bought unecessarily but also paid a lump sum amount of money which has caused the club to look at ways to stabilize their bank accounts. In order to strengthen the midfield, Guardiola had to rely on Rijkaard's additions Messi and Iniesta and luckily they turned out to be gems that Barcelona desired. Guardiola's tactics were brilliant when executed with precision but he did little to stabilize the ailing Barcelona defence. Selling Sylvinho and sidelining Thuram, Pep relied on Abidal to protect the left flank. Moreover as Carlos Puyol did well to retain his place, Pique did little to help his compatriot in the middle. Barcelona's defensive record is more to the fact that the team keeps so much possession rather than a good defensive unit. A play whose credit should be given to Rijkaard who started this rather than Guardiola who just carried it forward.
 |
| Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Deco (behind) were all not in the part of Pep's plans |
Another cause for concern was Guardiola's overspending in the midfield area and not on the needed defensive area. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Seydou Keita and Ibrahim Afellay were not required when Barcelona themselves possessed a star midfield and also a backed up by the budding youngsters coming out from their academy in the form of Isaac Cuenca and Thiago Alcantra. This not only caused an over flow in the midfield region but also brought about a hault to the inflow of talent from the academy which was in the first place made Barcelona who they are now. Moreover letting Yaya Toure leave was a surprise decision as he not only added cover for the back four but also helped the team in attacking. Luckily for him, Pep escaped with all these decisions as his team helped him win trophies and overshadow his lack of vision and poor decision making.
Another cause for concern was the outburst of former players stating that Pep Guardiola was a poor man manager and over favoured Lionel Messi. This was clearly evident when the story about a text sent to him by Messi regarding Ibrahimovic was leaked. Since that time no striker has been able to adjust with the legendary Argentine and always has left the club in dismay. The same looks to be happening with David Villa.
 |
| Pep was accused of over favouring Messi |
It will be safe to say that Pep Guardiola benefited mostly from the additions what Frank Rijkaard made to the side and not by what he himself bought. Tactically sound, Pep did have a hand in the 14 trophies Barcelona won but according to what the former Barcelona man Alexander Hleb said:
"I learned more from (Arsenal manager Arsene) Wenger than Guardiola, but Pep is a good coach. Guardiola is not the best coach in the world, because he coached the best team in the world, with the best players, and that's why he won"
Many would argue that Pep Guardiola's change in tactics did not need wingers like Ronaldinho and midfieldfer like Deco but selling Eto'o was evident of the fact that he did favour Messi over everyone else.
No doubt he has achieved so much in so little time. Hence, some credit must given to the Barcelona legend. But with clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United eagerly waiting for the Spaniard to come out of his sabbatical, it remains to be seen where Pep will set foot next year and take up the most difficult challenge he will ever face- living upto the expectations. If he does that without a midfield trio of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, he surely would have proved himself.
Written By,
Rishabh Ghai
Rishabh is a writer for Goal.com India, International (all English editions) and an Editor and writer for 18 Yard Box
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