Could Pep Guardiola be Manchester City’s Alex Ferguson?
Despite constant rumors linking the Catalan away from the Etihad, manager Pep Guardiola has the perfect situation for long-term success at Manchester City.
Since taking over from Manuel Pellegrini at the start of the 2016/17 season, Pep Guardiola has transformed Manchester City.
Once a club that at times would produce brilliant domestic teams but would struggle to maintain pace with expectations both in Europe and domestically, Guardiola delivered consistency and excellence.
While City teams of the past had faded after winning the Premier League, Guardiola followed up his record-breaking 100-point second season with a 98-point 2018/19 to seal the club’s second straight title. Moreover, City are now feared as Europe’s best team on paper when fully healthy, something that simply was not the case under previous coaches Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini.
Although Guardiola has already achieved so much, fueling rumors of his exit to clubs such as Juventus and Bayern Munich, he has the perfect situation in Manchester. Armed with the budget and backing he needs to continue to improve, along with the spotlight of the Premier League, there is no reason to believe that he could not be with the club for the long term.
This goes against the current trend of most managers not lasting more than four to five seasons, but the Catalan’s mission is still not complete: delivering City’s first Champions League title.
The setup at the club is built for long-term stability and continued success. Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano have worked brilliantly with Guardiola at board level, and with the financial backing City possess, there is no reason to believe that they cannot win Europe’s most coveted prize with him at the helm.
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In addition, the club’s youth development through the City Football Academy is flourishing and is built in Guardiola’s image. The beautiful, free-flowing style of football the senior team plays has been translated down to the youth ranks, making the posession-based attacking style of football synonymous with Manchester City in the English game. Players such as Phil Foden have risen from the ranks of the CFA and make real contributions to the first team, and there is no reason to believe this will not continue.
In the end, Guardiola will hold the final say on his future. Although he is a folk hero among the City faithful and the club’s greatest ever coach, should he seek a new challenge, the club will respect his decision and back whoever comes next. In my opinion, Guardiola assistant and current Arsenal and Everton managerial target Mikel Arteta would be the ideal choice to succeed the Catalan. Nonetheless, here’s to hoping that one day Guardiola will establish himself as City’s generational boss, viewed with the same admiration that rival United fans feel for Sir Alex Ferguson.