Tactical Pep - A Legend.

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There is one thing I admire about Pep Guardiola and that's his tactical genius. He is not your ordinary coach and whether you like him or not, he understands his team to perfection and this allows him to tweak his formations, bring in some players and even play without a striker.

I want to believe I first understood what playing without a striker was from Pep. He tried it with Barcelona and he played it so often with Bayern Munich and with the small Gotze playing the false 9. This is why he wasn't able to fit Ibrahimovic into his plan because he loves having every team move and not stationary.

He has a clear vision of how he wants his team to play and even if they win and it wasn't done his way, he would never agree they played well. I've listened to many of his press conferences where they either drew or lost but because the team played the way he wanted, he said he couldn't fault their performance and he was pleased. There were times when they won convincingly and yet during the press conference, from his statement you could see that he appreciated the victory but he wasn't impressed.

I can remember his days with Barcelona when Thierry Henry scored 2 goals. Henry said he was happy and he felt he had won the game for his team only for Pep Guardiola to pull him off in the second half. He was asking why especially after he scored 2 goals, he said Pep said he didn't take to his instructions and that despite scoring two goals, he didn't play to instructions. Henry said that was when he was shocked and knew Guardiola is a perfectionist.

I read his story when he just took the job at Bayern Munich after which Sir Alex Ferguson approached him afterwards. He said he has already given his words to Bayern Munich and won't go against it. His brother told the news how he was studying German as though his Ife depended on it. He said and I quote: "He is a mad man." That was what his brother called him. He is a coach that pays attention to every detail and that shows in the way he approaches every game

I love seeing his team in action, especially with the way they throw themselves into the opposition box. They are all risk-takers. They advance and attack with force and make sure they dominate. Guardiola's teams are special and he is not a fluke, especially with the way he pays attention to details. It doesn't mean he is without weakness but he is not afraid to take risks and he knows how to bring the best out of his players.

He thrives on pressure too and that was how he was able to break Burnley despite how Liverpool won earlier in the day. City pushed themselves forward and they got the reward for it, with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan scoring the two goals. His team's strength is always in the attack and he knows the players he needs. If Guardiola buys a player, it's never for commercial purposes or to appease the fans but because he needs that player. I can't say the same for their rival team.

I've always wondered how he plays without a striker, redesigns the roles of players and makes them pop up at the right moment. Thomas Tuchel is trying the same pattern with Havertz in his Chelsea team too and I've seen Ralf Rangnick do the same thing with the toothless Manchester United.

Guardiola is demanding and a tactical coach and that's why he is a blessing to the Premier League. His class shows and he is going to take City to greater heights. He only needs the Champions League and once he cracks that, I am sure he would win more for them IF he decides to stay at Manchester City afterwards.

Cheers.

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