Time to say goodbye to Guardiola?

Guardiola is going through the most difficult period since leading Man City.

Guardiola has always sought new challenges throughout his coaching career. Whether it was moving from Barcelona B to Barcelona after just one season, managing Bayern Munich or his journey in the Premier League with Man City, he has always shown his ability.

Challenging season

On his first day at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, Guardiola admitted that despite winning titles in Spain and Germany, the question everyone was curious about his arrival in England was: "How good is Pep?" And after 9 years at Manchester City, he proved his worth with 18 titles.

However, with so much change happening at both Man City and English football, Guardiola is faced with the challenge of answering this question. In a career full of challenges, this season is perhaps the biggest he has faced.

Had things gone differently, Guardiola would have been enjoying life on a beach in the Maldives or a golf course in Portugal. However, he chose to stay at Man City, partly because last season was extremely difficult and he did not want to leave with the team in disarray.

It was the only season City failed to win a trophy during Guardiola's time at the Etihad, and he also realised that if he left in the summer of 2024, the club would have an easier time finding a new manager, especially without the added hassle of qualifying for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Having decided to extend his contract until 2027, Guardiola has been tasked with building a strong squad and aiming for further titles. However, the current context has changed a lot. Of the squad that played in the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul just two years ago, 15 players have left or are no longer in the starting lineup.

Pep has been with Man City for too long.

It's not just people who are changing, it's the world of football. The balance in the Premier League is shifting rapidly. Last season, when discussing the success of teams like Newcastle, Bournemouth and Brighton, he admitted that "modern football is not just about position, you have to control the tempo of the game". It was a sign that Guardiola had to change the approach he had built up over many years.

After Man City's defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Guardiola said his tactics were no longer effective. However, at the start of this season, he insisted he would "never change his belief" and still wanted his team to make "a thousand, a million passes". However, he seems to accept that he has to do something new to keep up with the times.

Guardiola took inspiration from Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool as he began to combine control of the game with a high pressing style and quick, direct attacks, reflecting a general trend in English football.

The former Barcelona captain chose Pep Lijnders as his assistant because the Dutch coach played an important role in developing the "heavy metal" style of play under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

While a good idea, combining elements from two of the most successful teams in the modern Premier League era soon ran into problems. After an impressive 4-0 win over Wolves in their opening game, Man City suffered two consecutive defeats.

Pep is out of cards

Against Tottenham and Brighton, the Citizens conceded almost identical goals. The opposition attacked quickly, exploiting large gaps behind the defence. These gaps were made more obvious by the high defensive formation that Lijnders favoured.

Manager Ruben Amorim will no doubt be paying attention to this detail when he faces Guardiola in the Manchester derby at the Etihad on September 14. Man City are even one point behind their opponents in the Premier League standings. They are also six points behind Liverpool in the title race.

New ideas are no longer in Pep.

Since the 1992/93 season, no team has lost two of their first three games and still won the Premier League. Although still in the early stages of the season, Guardiola and Man City face a huge challenge if they want to regain the title they won six times in seven consecutive years from 2017 to 2024.

But if this season is not City and Guardiola's, when is it? Guardiola has two years left on his City contract, but no one can predict when he will retire from coaching. There is a feeling within City that this could be his last season.

But some believe that, at 54, Guardiola can still extend his contract once more. This will depend on his strength. After all, the Man City board have long given Guardiola the right to decide whether to leave. Guardiola accepts that last season was so bad that if he were at another big club, he might have been fired.

At the end of his 26-year reign at MU, Sir Alex Ferguson left the team as Premier League champions in 2013. Guardiola's achievements deserved such a perfect ending.

To be able to say goodbye properly, he must create a new great team, capable of competing in the new era of the Premier League. This is another big challenge in the list of challenges he has overcome throughout his career.

Ultimately, however this season ends, Guardiola will always be a role model in modern football. And if this is the final chapter in Guardiola's Man City journey, it will surely end with an indelible legacy.

Source: https://znews.vn/toi-luc-tam-biet-guardiola-post1584899.html