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Pep Guardiola: Playing the Cruyff way

By Jason Bardwell

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 16: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City gives his team instructions as Mikel Arteta, Manchester City coach looks on during the Manchester City Training Session at the Etihad Stadium on October 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 16: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City gives his team instructions as Mikel Arteta, Manchester City coach looks on during the Manchester City Training Session at the Etihad Stadium on October 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /
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Philosophy:

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 16: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City trains during the Manchester City Training Session at the Etihad Stadium on October 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 16: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City trains during the Manchester City Training Session at the Etihad Stadium on October 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /

Something which was clear throughout the talk and that is that formation is not as important as the principles of play. Talk of 4-3-3’s and 4-4-2’s are secondary to the Cruyff philosophy. Managers like Pep are keeping this alive with the value of movement along with having two footed players.

Thoughts first should be of third man and exploiting the space. Dominating possession with high press and the focus of the timing of runs.

That last point with the timing of runs could be seen in a couple of the goals on Saturday. Kyle Walker identified space and timed his run perfectly for KDB to find him.

Similar with the Jesus second goal and Sane’s goal in the second half. That identifying space and timing of the run resulted in goals. Of course, DeBruyne delivered the killer pass on both occasions, but confidence of the players to make that run is key.