Guardiola: A Man in Focus

There is an African proverb that says when a chicken arrives at a new place it stands on one leg, observing the surroundings before it puts the second leg down to compete with the other chickens it meets on the ground.

That is the story of Josep Guardiola Sala, affectionately known as “Pep.” His coaching career began with Barcelona B, from which he was promoted to manage the senior team in 2008.

Guardiola hit the ground running in his debut season, leading Barcelona to a treble by winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League in 2008/2009.

During his four‑year tenure from 2008 to 2012, he secured an impressive 14 trophies. He popularised the possession‑based tiki‑taka style of football that had been laid out earlier by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff during his time as Barcelona coach.

After dominating La Liga for four seasons, the Spanish coach, who had also played for Barcelona, moved to the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, where he spent three seasons from 2013 to 2016.

In Germany, he introduced his tiki‑taka style, helping Bayern win three consecutive Bundesliga titles and two DFB‑Pokal cups. However, he was unable to add a UEFA Champions League title to his collection at Bayern.

In 2016, he began his journey in the English Premier League with Manchester City and remained there for ten years, set to leave at the end of the current season.

Before Guardiola arrived in England, Sir Alex Ferguson was the dominant figure in the Premier League and remains the only coach to have achieved three consecutive wins at two different periods and two back‑to‑back wins.

During his 23 years at Manchester United, affectionately called the Red Corner of Manchester (Guardiola’s City are the Blue Corner), Sir Alex won the EPL a record 13 times, a feat no other coach has matched to date.

Guardiola, who became a phenomenon after taking charge at the Etihad Stadium, redefined English football.

He guided City to multiple Premier League titles, a historic domestic treble, and the club’s first-ever UEFA Champions League trophy.

His first season in the Premier League was the 2016–17 campaign, the only season of his managerial career in which he did not win a major trophy. Manchester City finished third with 78 points, trailing champions Chelsea and runners‑up Tottenham Hotspur.

However, he surpassed Sir Alex by winning the Premier League four times in a row, after his attempt to secure a hat‑trick was halted by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the 2019–20 season.

Klopp could not maintain the tempo that Ferguson and Guardiola had set, so Guardiola and City returned as champions again for the record double back‑to‑back in 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24.

Ironically, what could have been Guardiola’s fifth consecutive EPL victory in the 2024–25 season was again interrupted by Liverpool, this time led by a Dutchman, Arend Martin Slot, who took over from Klopp, a German.

At one point in the Premier League, the fear of Guardiola was the beginning of wisdom. Though Manchester City struggled throughout the 2025/26 season, which ends today, the gap between them and Arsenal was so wide that even Guardiola himself had given up any hope of finishing in the top four. Arsenal fans were still uneasy, believing that with Pep, it is never over until it is over.

This followed their experience in three consecutive seasons when Arsenal led but still slipped at the end, falling behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

Some Arsenal fans, who had waited 22 years since their last Premier League title in 2004, swore and cursed Mikel Arteta when Manchester City caught up with Arsenal on the table, calling for his dismissal.

Arteta, mentored by Guardiola, was under pressure but remained calm, believing that nothing should derail his managerial career.

As Guardiola bows out at the end of the season today, it is memorable to note that he hit the ground running on his debut with Manchester City.

He gave Arsenal a good fight. But for the shared points with a rugged Bournemouth, the final matches today would have generated a lot of suspense because Arsenal would have played Crystal Palace with all their might, hoping not to drop points.

While Palace would today be mounting a guard of honour for the champions who are still celebrating the deserved win, tension would shift to the bottom side of the table where Tottenham Hotspur, who placed second behind Chelsea and pushed Guardiola’s Manchester City to third in the 2016–17 season, would be battling to avoid the drop zone against West Ham United.

To avoid relegation, Tottenham, the former team of Harry Kane, who are on 38 points and a plus‑10 goal difference, only need a draw against West Ham, who have 36 points with a minus‑22 goal difference.

Tottenham, a North London side, may be supported by fans of their neighbours, Arsenal, to ensure they remain in the Premier League, as they have never been relegated since the EPL was introduced in 1992.

They have only suffered relegation four times since they were founded, in 1914–15, 1927–28, 1934–35, and 1976–77.

So while SportsGuard congratulates Arteta and Arsenal for breaking a 22‑year jinx, we wish Tottenham and West Ham good luck and hope the better side survives the drop today.

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