Why Pep Guardiola Succeeded Where So Many Great Players Failed as Managers

There is a curious contradiction at the heart of football. Some of the greatest players the game has produced have discovered, after retirement, that brilliance on the pitch is no guarantee of brilliance from the dugout.

The qualities that make a player exceptional, instinct, technique, athleticism, imagination and the ability to solve problems in an instant, are not necessarily the qualities required to manage a squad of 25 players, construct a tactical system, negotiate personalities and persuade an entire team to see the game through one set of principles.

Pep Guardiola is one of the most compelling exceptions to that rule. He was a highly accomplished footballer, but he was not a global superstar in the mould of Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona or Ronaldo. His reputation as a player was built largely around intelligence, positioning and his ability to organise the game from midfield. Yet as a manager, he has reached a level that very few former players have matched.

The numbers tell only part of the story. Guardiola’s first-team Barcelona side won 14 trophies in four seasons between 2008 and 2012, including three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues. His first season produced the club’s first-ever treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. In 2009, Barcelona then became the first team to win all six major competitions available to them in a calendar year.

His success did not stop when he left Spain. At Bayern Munich, Guardiola won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons, becoming the first coach to win the German championship in each of his first three campaigns. He subsequently moved to Manchester City, where he transformed the club into the dominant force in English football. City won the Premier League in 2017/18 with a then-record 100 points, retained the title the following season…