Guardiola’s – The Ultimate Chequebook Manager
Pep Guardiola is a chequebook manager. There’s no point in denying it, there’s no point in arguing it, it’s just a fact. Throughout his managerial career at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City he has spent an obscene amount of money to continually improve his teams.
There’s also no point in claiming that he’s alone in this, or that it’s a bad thing. The greats that preceded him, like Sir Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello, and Ottmar Hitzfeld were also chequebook managers. His peers, like Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho, are too. Like Pep, they also spent huge sums of money. Like Pep, they also won the biggest prizes over and over again.
The Real Secret to Guardiola’s Success
But money is not the key to Guardiola’s success, nor is his brilliant coaching. Those things help, but many managers have spent huge amounts and not had the same success as he has had. Many others have been great coaches and not had the success he has. Only a select few can claim to have operated on his level and had the same calibre of success and there is one undeniable trait that links all of them.
Ruthlessness.
Pep Guardiola: A Driven Winner
Pep Guardiola is a ruthless, cold-blooded winner. He is driven by the pursuit of success, as Ferguson, Capello and Hitzfeld were. Second place is not an option. Being a runner-up simply means you have failed.
In the fourteen years Pep has been a manager, he has won a staggering 11 league titles. Of the three he has missed out, he finished second to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, 3rd behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, and second behind Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Those failures, as he sees them, have spurred him on. He has always come back stronger after tasting defeat.
Guardiola’s Pursuit of Perfection in Team Building
His pursuit of success, and his ideals of perfect success, are vital in shaping his approach to how he builds his teams. Even winning doesn’t always satisfy him. He’s also pushing to improve. He never rests on his laurels. Compare his Barcelona teams from the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. Only two years apart, but there were five changes in the starting 11 and another five amongst the subs.
Likewise, his City team that won this past season’s Champions League final had five changes in the starting 11 to the team that lost the final two years earlier, and of the players on the bench in the 2021 final only four were involved in the 2023 final. And don’t forget, there were 12 subs for each of those finals. Enormous change in two years, because losing a Champions League final was not acceptable.
Pep’s Approach to Player Relationships and Performance
Guardiola is adored by his players, for the most part, and is very protective of them, but he understands that personal relationships can not be allowed to cloud his judgement. Pep doesn’t keep players because they might be “good in the changing rooms” or “an example to young players”. If you can’t contribute on the pitch, Pep has no use for you.
Even if you can contribute, but he feels he can improve upon you, he will make moves to do that.
Pursuing Improvements: The Case of Josko Gvardiol
This summer’s pursuit of RB Leipzig’s outstanding young defender Josko Gvardiol is further evidence of this. City are believed to be locked in negotiations with the German club, who are demanding a fee of around £90mil, having made the Croatian their top target for the summer.
A left-footed defender, Gvardiol is a perfect fit for City’s 3-2-4-1 shape and is also comfortable at either left-back or centre-back in a traditional back four. But here in lies Pep’s ruthless nature, as the player he would be replaced in the team is Nathan Ake.
The Uncertain Future of Nathan Ake Under Pep
Ake, 28, was arguably City’s best defender last season as he put together a career-best season. He arrived at City in the summer of 2020 and after failing to make a big impact for the first two seasons came close to being sold last summer. Instead, he stayed and became a vital figure in City’s historic treble. At most clubs and under most managers, he might be considered a guaranteed starter next season. Not at City, not under Pep.
Guardiola’s Unrelenting Chase for Success
Guardiola sees an opportunity to improve and once again chase all the silverware. The treble won last season? Great, that’s the past. Pep is already thinking about the next trophy.
