As the reconstruction of Man City is gradually forming, the new season will be an important test for Pep Guardiola's theory that the cause of the decline last season is not in tactics, but a matter of personnel.
Pep Guardiola's point of view is very consistent: The 2024/25 season fails, along with a bad decline in the winter, mainly an unexpected accident due to the trauma crisis – what he thinks is unprecedented. And over time, his view seemed to be clearer.
After the victory over Juventus in the last round of the FIFA Club World Cup group stage at Orlando, Guardiola continued to emphasize that. He talked about Rodri – the owner of the Golden Ball was absent in most last season – now returning to the main squad. He talked about the training sessions that could not happen properly because of lack of people, and the impossible of success in the Premier League when he could not practice the way he would play.
In Pep Guardiola's thoughts, last season slipped is due to personnel, not the error in the philosophy of playing football, and this season will be a testament to whether the Spanish strategist is right or wrong.
Before Juventus, Man City showed a familiar control, which made them a giant “football machine”, constantly pressing the opponent into the endless ball circle, just waiting for a loophole, a mistake to throw the finishing blow. It was the identity in the Guardiola era in the Premier League, which once seemed to be unable to be broken.
But then, in just a few weeks of November and December, the miracle collapsed, and Pep Guardiola and his students became normal as many other teams were struggling with weak performance.
“We have a great squad,” Pep said a few days ago, “but 50% of the players were injured, so we were in decline and could not compete.” He repeated the weeks before “all the central defenders were injured”, sometimes all four main central defenders were not physically enough.
Even when escaping the worst crisis – the period from the end of October to Boxing Day, when Man City lost 9 matches and won only 1/13 matches – they continued to receive bad results. They took PSG to 2-0 and conceded 4 goals in 25 minutes. They lost to Arsenal 1-5; Lose Real Madrid both the first and back; Let Liverpool win at Etihad and Nottingham to score the decision at the end of the match at City Ground.
All of these failures were empty Rodri. However, it must also be recognized that the successful teams last season – like Liverpool and PSG – played in another style, more direct, less risky than the complex control philosophy of Pep Guardiola without Rodri.
Indeed, one can imagine a Man City without Erling Haaland easier than a team that lacks Rodri. The midfielder is the center in Guardiola's ball control philosophy. But obviously, both Liverpool and PSG pointed out how to make it difficult for the gameplay – and the next season, they will definitely continue to do so. If everything goes smoothly, PSG will probably encounter Man City at the final of the World Cup Club.
Besides, there is another big question: a tensioning summer will affect Man City – and even other European teams are playing in the World Cup Club – when they return to the domestic tournament. And there are other factors beyond PEP's control: the legal battle with the Premier League, or the sports director of TXIKI BEGILILISE – a long -time companion with him – was gone.
The ability to maintain the peak while constantly refreshing Pep Guardiola's squad during the 10 premier League seasons is respectable. Overall, Man City bought the right people, Guardiola bent them according to his philosophy, and the result was brilliant success. Some people like Matheus Nunes take time to adapt, and only very little – like Jack Grealish – cannot meet expectations.
In the opposite direction, breakup decisions are often made in time. A team that once won the Premier League was dismantled by Guardiola almost completely in the first 6 years. Their Al Hilal rival in the round of 1/8 of the FIFA Club World Cup owns Joao Cancelo – a person who has been removed by Pep. Kevin de Bruyne wanted to stick for another year, but Guardiola didn't think so. Even the coach team changes in the cycle – when the person sitting next to Pep is now former assistant Liverpool, Pep Ljinders.
All of this change contributes to the immutable aura of Guardiola – a non -stop, reflecting the spirit on his pitch: everything is always moving. Even the biggest names are gradually being taken out of orbit.
In a corner of his mind, Rodri probably understood that he had to have a successful season, otherwise, when he turned 30 in June next year, the doubts will appear. However, maybe Guardiola did not think that way. Regardless of whatever he had, he had an extraordinary 18 -year training career, with influence that spread to all levels of football. Pep always knows how to adjust and innovate. But last season was the biggest challenge with Guardiola's dominance since he came to England.
Guardiola is sure his method is still true, that both the style and structure of the squad – from ambition, age to experience – have reached an ideal balance point. In the past 6 months, Man City has bought many young players – a common trend – but also added stars that have affirmed their names, such as Omar Marmoush – one of the top names Bundesliga, and Tijjani Reijders – who used to have the same position in Serie A.
Belief in the rightness is the imprint of Pep Guardiola's career – and that is the most powerful weapon that a coach can own. As Sir Alex Ferguson once proved, it could make a club a great and raise the career of the player far beyond his colleagues. And year after year, that always needs to be refreshed.
