Is Pep Guardiola’s football actually enjoyable to watch?
YES
MARK WHITE
CONTENT EDITOR
@markwhlte
Let’s debunk something right away: Pep Guardiola himself doesn’t care about ‘enjoyable football’.
Some managers want to entertain, some owners want their teams to play an attractive style of play. But where Arsene Wenger said he saw football as art, Pep sees possession football like a dog pinching a ball at the park. He only wants to win.
Yet however you quantify ‘enjoyable’, his sides surely fulfil the brief. Manchester City are unpredictable in that they alter personnel weekly. They attack relentlessly; they innovate. They move defenders into midfield, have used false nines and eliminated the need for full-backs (the dullest position on a pitch, sorry Gary Neville). The only ingredient for fun that they’ve lacked, are equals.
That City games are so one-sided isn’t a criticism of them, but those who play into Guardiola’s puppeteering hands. The calculated Catalan has spent so many years praising the passing networks of Messrs Sarri, Kompany and Arteta – “More than you believe, they’re amazing” – that we’ve almost believed it. There’s nothing he likes more than competition against an imitator. Of course it’s dull when you give him what he wants.
My most enjoyable game so far this season actually involved Guardiola, with Mauricio Pochettino baiting the champions into a transitional basketball game as City drew 4-4 at Chelsea. It doesn’t require a billion pounds, either: Poch infamously dumped City out of Europe in 2019 by creating similar chaos. Roy Hodgson did it. Thomas Frank did it. Wenger saw off three separate Pep sides by letting madness reign.
Few try it; fewer succeed. Erling Haaland might not be Ronaldinho reincarnated, but there’s surely excitement in having the best striker on Earth in our presence, right? What about Kevin De Bruyne? And against top opposition, City find moments of genius.
Guardiola has introduced plenty since FIFA Streetwas released, but is football less enjoyable for having clearer structure? Not for me – he’s raised the quality of the sport. His sides aren’t really robotic, they’re just that good.
NO
RYAN DABBS
STAFF WRITER
@ryandabbs_
Pep Guardiola is one of, if not the greatest manager to have lived, and his football brings incredible success due to his meticulous planning of every single
