Will Pep Guardiola ever coach a club team again? An x-ray of a tenure that has turned the Premier League upside down

10 years ago, the Premier League was going through a golden period. The most powerful championship in the world was starting a new season just a few months after Leicester City's historic triumph. Arsene Wenger was still on Arsenal's bench and trying to bring another title to the Gunners' showcase, Jose Mourinho was promising to return Manchester United to the heights of glory, Liverpool was getting more and more enthusiastic about the “heavy-metal” football practiced under Jurgen Klopp, and Mauricio Pochettino was promising a new season in which Tottenham would fight for the title.

And then Pep Guardiola appeared on the scene. Although he delighted world football with Barcelona's “tiki-taka” and dominated German football with Bayern Munich, without European success, some wondered what Cruyff's successor could bring to the Premier League. Will he be able to impose his game in a championship that has never taken into account the difference in value between teams? Will he survive a rainy night in Stoke? Will he cope in the face of volcanic pressure from the English supporters? Well, yes. And brilliantly. Although not from the beginning.

Guardiola made a timid start to his Premier League adventure

Guardiola's debut season was eclipsed by Antonio Conte, a technician also on his first adventure in England. The Italian lifted Chelsea from an embarrassing 10th place last season and made them champions in their first season at 'Stamford Bridge'. Pep then watched from third place as Chelsea lifted the trophy with a 15-point lead.

Pep has found world-class footballers at the Etihad, from Aguero, De Bruyne and Sterling to David Silva, Yaya Toure and Kompany. But he needed a team.

Although he started his Premier League adventure with 6 wins from 6 games, Guardiola hit the intensity of British football and began to mess with the small teams who knew how to close in front of goal. Three consecutive draws at the Etihad, all 1-1, with Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough have given the Spanish tactician, who has used 6 different systems of play throughout the season, something to think about. The only time he tried to play 4-4-2 was in a historic defeat in his career, 0-4 at “Goodison Park” against Everton.

The second season began with a controversial decision throughout England. Pep Guardiola has dropped national team goalkeeper Joe Hart because he was unhappy with his footwork. The first time Claudio Bravo was brought in, coming after two good seasons at Barcelona. The Chilean goalkeeper had only one season to convince Guardiola, but it was his turn to be replaced the following season by Ederson, who would win the coach's trust. At the end of the adventure at the “Etihad”, Guardiola admitted that the way he removed Hart was “the biggest regret of his career”.

Going back to Guardiola's second season, City strengthened consistently and expensively with players like Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Danilo or Bernardo Silva. And Guardiola was successful. 100 points, 19 more than the main pursuer, Manchester United, brought Pep Guardiola his first triumph in the Premier League.

Guardiola was preparing for a new title, and the only important reinforcement was Ryiad Mahrez, a player who impressed in Leicester's jersey. Only this time, Guardiola didn't have it easy, but he was carried by the wave until the last stage and prevailed to the limit in front of his rival Jurgen Klopp, with whom he would develop “the most beautiful rivalry”, as both coaches admitted. Manchester City was once again crowned champion in the Premier League with 98 points, having one lead over the “cormorants” at the end of the last stage.

The pandemic season was quickly “blown” by Liverpool, who advanced steadily, from stage to stage, and Jurgen Klopp won the only title of his tenure at “Anfield” with 100 points, having a lead of 19 over rival Guardiola. In addition, the promised first Champions League triumph was torn apart from season to season, with City stopping in the “quarters” 3 seasons in a row.

But that all seemed to change in 2020-2021. City no longer had a rival in the Premier League and won easily, 12 points behind United and 17 ahead of title champions Liverpool. And this time, Guardiola was leading the blue team from Manchester to the Champions League final. There, City faced Chelsea in an all-English final, but the Londoners prevailed thanks to Kai Havertz's goal and monumental misses from Guardiola's side, who dominated the final.

Guardiola started again and caused another terrible disappointment for Klopp, defeating him again in the title fight by one point, 93 to 92. However, the dream of the most coveted European trophy stopped in the semi-finals, in front of the giants Real Madrid, who passed Liverpool 1-0 in the final, although the “cormorants” dominated the match as did City in the final with Chelsea.

2023, Guardiola's year of glory

After all, 2023 was the year Guardiola silenced any challengers, leading Manchester City to a historic 'treble'. The “Citizens” won their third consecutive title, 5 points away from Arsenal, won the FA Cup and prevailed in the Champions League final with Inter Milan, score 1-0, after the goal scored by Rodri. At the end of the previous season, Guardiola spoke tearfully of Aguero's departure from the Etihad, noting between sobs that “we can't replace him”. Then he replaced him with Erling Haaland, the beast hungry for trophies after breaking the net for Dortmund.

A new season, a new triumph for Guardiola, who reached 4 titles in a row and 6 in total, taking the top position again at the limit, two points above Arsenal. But this is where the decline began.

City has never made it past the “quarters” of the League since then, and the 2024-2025 season has put Guardiola out of his mind. A string of setbacks led to Pep scratching his scalp uncontrollably, and people looked at him like he was crazy when he appeared injured in interviews. And yes, Guardiola was crazy. But crazy about success. For the first and probably only time in his career, Guardiola was the target of the irony “You re getting sacked in the morning”. At 0-2 at “Anfield”, the “cormorants” fans chanted this continuously at Pep, who turned back smiling and showed them 6 fingers, allusion to the number of titles won. The very poor season, perhaps the most disappointing in Guardiola's era, consumed a lot of the Iberian, who was outclassed by Arne Slot, who was on his first adventure in England.

Although there was much speculation that he would leave City as early as last summer, Guardiola had to tick off 10 seasons, as did his side's mark in more than half of their games. Pep has been outclassed again, this time by his former disciple, Mikel Arteta. So the prophecy was fulfilled. The apprentice has surpassed his master, so Guardiola can retire quietly.

And the history he was going to make in England should have been foreseen from the two Champions League finals won in front of the great Sir Alex.

Will Pep train another club team? Not likely. He has no one and nothing left to prove. Yes, unlike other coaches, such as Klopp or Mourinho, who did not have the same facilities in building teams, Guardiola always had talented players and billions of euros to spend. And he did it well, ignoring certain quirks.

The dreamy coach who replaced Rijkaard at Barcelona after coaching only junior teams quickly became the shadow craftsman of the spectacular “Tiki-taka” and decisively marked the career of Messi, considered by many, the best footballer in history. Even if there were conflicts with numerous players, Guardiola always knew how to mount his students in the decisive moments, as proof of the 41 trophies won, of which 20 on the City bench.