The two years of challenges and setbacks that Italy threw Guardiola’s way undoubtedly shaped him into one of the greatest managers to have graced the game
Tag: guardiola
Steeped in tradition, thought and guile, passing is a by-product in football, once deemed pointless. Now, however, it’s the basis of success
Internazionale’s return to the Champions League this season after a long sojourn was always bound to produce a flood of memories for the club’s fans, but few venues will evoke stronger nostalgia…
In King Lear, when the hapless footman Oswald is tripped up by a duke and called a “base football player”, the audience is expected to sneer and snicker. Indeed, in the 16th…
This feature is the first in a three-part series looking at why English football struggles to produce and develop creative midfielders, how it can learn from Spanish football’s success over the…
Like him or not, Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful managers in the modern era. Over the years, he’s acquired several assistants and footballing experts who have helped him achieve…
“I HOPE THAT one day I will be given the chance to coach Milan. I have a long road ahead of me, but training Milan would be incredible.” When Benevento spectacularly equalised…
TO MANY FOOTBALL FANS, the archetypal number 10 represents the sport at its purest. Tasked with playing in whatever tiny pockets of space they can find behind the striker, their role is…
PREENING, POINTING, POSTURING AND PARADING; the managerial theatre played out in top-flight football’s technical areas is more often than not fascinating. Dugouts used to be quite literal – a sunken structure almost…
“JOHN STONES HAS MORE PERSONALITY than all of us here together in this room, more balls than everyone here. I like that. I love him. Under pressure, the people criticise him, so…
After Luis Enrique announced his seemingly inevitable resignation as Barcelona coach, he made a poignant statement: “The reason clearly had to do with the way of life I need to have in this…
Recently, I was at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona and my mind couldn’t help but wander off to football. This moment came when I was inspecting Pablo Picasso’s Las Meninas collection. In…
As featured on Guardian Sport As Real Madrid’s Isco squeezed the ball through a helpless Tom Heaton’s legs, Spain did the unthinkable and completed a stupendous comeback to steal a draw after…
It was around 380BC that one of Western philosophy’s founding fathers, Plato, of Classical Greece, first speculated about the purpose of art. In his dense investigation into society titled The Republic, it is…
When Sheikh Mansour sanctioned the purchase of Manchester City back in September 2008, many neutral supporters believed that the Arabian Deputy Prime Minister would leave the club soon after. That, however, was…
Illustration by Alex Noriega WHEN I LEAVE my flat to go to work later on today, a number of events may occur. That number is, in fact, infinite. Some of these events…
MONEY BUYS QUALITY. Quality in football is, to a large extent, determined by the individual actions of a player that are measurable. Goals scored, passes completed, assists given, interceptions made; the list…
As featured on Guardian Sport “I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE FANTASTIC FOR THE LEAGUE. He’s going to bring a very successful football philosophy, without a doubt it will affect a lot…