Man City welcome Donnarumma: Pep Guardiola changes to win

Man City's recruitment of Donnarumma to replace Ederson is an important turning point in Pep Guardiola's career, with the goal of regaining victory.

Pep changes with Donnarumma

Man City have gotten used to living with Ederson's legs. The Brazilian goalkeeper has been not only a goalkeeper for the past 8 years, but also a silent conductor from the back.

His long, accurate passes, his cross-field passes that tear apart the opponent's pressing, turn Ederson into a true goal-creator (4 assists in the 2024/25 Premier League).

Donnarumma replacing Ederson is a change in Pep's philosophy. Photo: Sky Sports

This summer, Pep Guardiola took a different path: selling Ederson to Fenerbahce and bringing in Gianluigi Donnarumma – known more for his reflexes than his footwork (ranked 87th among goalkeepers with the most passes in Europe’s top five leagues in 2024/25).

This decision is like a cut into the very identity that Pep has built. His football, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Man City, has always started with the goalkeeper.

His tenures have always been filled with memorable names: Victor Valdes at Camp Nou, Manuel Neuer at the Allianz Arena, Ederson at the Etihad. But now, Pep has changed direction.

Guardiola is no longer absolutely obsessed with the omnipotence of the goalkeeper's legs, but looks at Donnarumma's hands and eyes, which helped PSG win the Champions League last season.

Ironically, Donnarumma was once the tragic figure of “Pep-ball”. In March 2022, at the Bernabeu, when PSG faced Real Madrid, the Italian goalkeeper made a fatal mistake.

Under pressure from Karim Benzema, Donnarumma paused, trying to pass short in the penalty area. The ball went wide, Real Madrid took advantage to start a spectacular comeback, advancing straight to the Champions League title.

Donnarumma is expected to bring certainty to Man City. Photo: MCFC

Since then, he has been labelled as “not knowing how to play with his feet”. But 3 years later, Donnarumma’s reflexes have become the pillar that helps PSG reach the top of Europe – from the victory over Man City in the “reverse final” of the group stage; to the knockout matches against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal.

Pep has seen it all. And he chose Donnarumma to change a brilliant era he built at Etihad.

Many people see the shadow of Luis Enrique – Guardiola’s old friend – in this decision. When Pep’s glorious period at Barca ended, Gerard Pique once lamented: “We are slaves to tiki-taka” .

Lessons from Enrique

Tiki-taka became a rigid framework, stifling creativity. Tito Vilanova, then Tata Martino, both failed to break out of the mould of a tactical system that had run out of life at Barca. Luis Enrique came and broke it.

Enrique opted for a more direct style of football, exploiting open spaces, speed and intense pressing. The result was a treble in 2015, with the “MSN” trio (Messi – Suarez – Neymar) destroying every European defence – with the Uruguayan striker suspended for the first months of the season for biting Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

Donnarumma 's PSG last season were the same. They could pass the ball in tight spaces, and escape pressure with technique, but their strength lay in their directness: when the ball escaped the siege, the speed and pressure were immediately applied to the opponent.

The goalkeeper is no longer a creator, but a fulcrum for effective pressing. Donnarumma does not help the ball up like Ederson, but he helps the team not concede in a few crazy minutes like at the Bernabeu (when Mauricio Pochettino led PSG).

Pep seems to have learned that lesson. After four consecutive Premier League titles, Man City are exhausted by their own omnipotence.

Pep changed to avoid depending on Rodri, who has not regained 100% of his form and fitness. Photo: MCFC

When Rodri was injured, John Stones reached his limit (and declined), De Bruyne also had physical problems (he went to Napoli), having a goalkeeper to launch the ball was no longer necessary, while what Pep needed was survival in the storm zone - the moments when the opponent pressed suffocatingly.

That's where Donnarumma comes in. He doesn't give Pep another conductor, but he gives him one last soldier. Man City can now play more pragmatically, press higher, and when pushed, the goal becomes a fortress.

A shift in philosophy: from creating with the goalkeeper, to preserving the result with the goalkeeper. Erling Haaland's goals cannot be wasted like in the reverse defeat to Brighton.

Is this the death of Pep-ball? Probably not. Like Luis Enrique did at Barcelona and PSG, Guardiola is breathing new life into his team. Because if you live by one unchanging principle, every dynasty will collapse. “Slave of tiki-taka” is a warning.

When Donnarumma stepped onto the Etihad pitch, it was not just as a replacement for Ederson, but also as a symbol of change. Pep Guardiola began to rewrite his own philosophy.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/man-city-mua-donnarumma-pep-guardiola-thay-doi-de-thong-tri-2438790.html