Positional play and Pep Guardiola's evolution

POSITIONAL PLAY AND PEP GUARDIOLA’S EVOLUTION A tactical and historical review and an eye to the future TACTICS

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POSITIONAL PLAY AND PEP GUARDIOLA’S EVOLUTION

POSITIONAL PLAY AND PEP GUARDIOLA’S EVOLUTION

THE AUTHORS

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Cross experiences, open debate and an open mind are our guiding principles, as we want to look ahead while studying present and past currents of thoughts of this beautiful sport.

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POSITIONAL PLAY AND PEP GUARDIOLA’S EVOLUTION

Guardiola’s Bayern Munich and Manchester City Tactical Differences Manchester City

Bayern Munich

Build-up from the back (old and new rules)

Build-up from the back (old rules)

Verticality

More ball distribution

Winger’s passes reception in the space

Winger’s passes reception on feet

Cut-backs

Crosses

False Nine - mobile strikers

Center mobile strikers

3 and 4 at the back alternation as a base system

4 at the back in a 1-4-1-4-1 base system

Table 2 - Manchester City (before Haaland) and Bayern Munich differences.

Besides the field’s factors, signing for Manchester City was a big step for the Catalan coach, despite being a successful team over the last few seasons before his arrival, Man City was a less historical and traditional top club like Barcelona and Bayern Munich were.

Barcelona had a story to recall when he signed, and Bayern Munich was ready for a revolution among the tradition’s boundaries; Manchester City had a story to write to make the club a team with a tradition of trophies and to convince the soccer world that City wasn’t a rich club only, but a club with projects, ideas and a future to write. At the end of the 2024-2025 season, when his contract is ending, we will answer the question if Guardiola has been able to write enough stories at the Etihad Stadium.

As Qatari owners had the ambition to create a worldwide soccer group, the CFG (City Football Group), the Group property signed Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, two of Barcelona’s managers when Guardiola became a manager there at the beginning. The newborn group needed someone with the vastest soccer culture possible, with an exportable idea of soccer, a strategic and spiritual leader in the field who could show a clear and recognizable soccer style; and Pep Guardiola was the right man in the right place.

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CHAPTER 1

PEP GUARDIOLA, POSITIONAL PLAY AND FC BARCELONA (2008-2012)

The first season (2008-2009) in charge ended with a “treble” for Per Guardiola, who used to shape the team in the 1-4-3-3, like the picture below (picture 4).

Picture 4 - Barcelona’s most deployed starting lineup.

The holding midfielder dropped back between the center-backs against the pressing opponents to play out from the back, outnumbering the opposition’s forward in 3 + goalkeeper v 2/3. Abidal often played as a third center-back, to allow Iniesta to support the attacking phase higher up. Messi played as an inverted winger until that famous signal for most of the season, tucking in with the ball after receiving wide, or moving in behind the opposition’s full-back.

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POSITIONAL PLAY AND PEP GUARDIOLA’S EVOLUTION

Picture 69 - Premier League style of play evolution from 2012-2013 to 2022-2023. Source: markstats.

2022-2023 season, when Erling Haaland joined the club; before him, he created and developed a style of play that few had seen in England. Citizens won the Premier League in 2013-2014, two League Cups (2013-2014 and 2015-2016) and also achieved a Champions League semi-final, under Manuel Pellegrini, before Guardiola’s arrival; a constant system of play without developments and improvements through the years caused tactical issues that the new coach had to fix before deploying his positional play idea in England.

The only change the previous coach made was to turn from the 1-4-4-2 to the 1-4-2-3-1 (picture 70) during his last season, with poor results from possession and balance. Defensively, the center midfielders of this system of play (usually Yaya Touré and Fernandinho, sometimes Fernando) left space in between the lines, when none of them dropped back in front of the back one.

Touré tried to stop the opposition’s No. 10 action to prevent him from turning with the ball. The second center midfielder Fernandinho was far from 52

3. POSITIONAL PLAY IN ENGLAND AND PEP'S SEASONAL TACTICAL METAMORPHOSIS AT MAN CITY

the ball, and the opposition’s ball carrier had space and time on the ball to play a through pass back to the defensive line (picture 71).

Picture 70 - Space between Manchester City’s back four and the center midfielders.

Picture 71 - Citizens defensive struggle in the center channel.

Offensively, when the usual interchanges of positions between Silva and De Bruyne on the right and the left didn’t work, the possession phase of the Citizens was closed down the wing. Pellegrini often asked the Belgian to play wide, despite his preference to be free to act both centrally and wide. A 3 v 2 duel for the opposition is clear, in this situation (picture 72).

Picture 72 - Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva outnumbered out wide in a 3 v 2 situation.

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03

CREATING NUMERICAL SUPERIORITY WITH ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS AND EXPLOITING THE SPACES BETWEEN THE LINES

DRILL TYPE

Thematic match

DURATION 30 minutes

PREPARATION

EQUIPMENT • • • • •

Markers 5 vests 4 silhouettes 1 goal Balls

OBJECTIVES • • •

Finishing in the final third Width Depth

Playing area: 50×87 yds Players: 12 + 1 goalkeeper Series: 8 of 3 minutes each with 2 minutes of recovery after each round

ORGANIZATION

Use half of a regulatory field; divide the area between the box and the half line into three zones and place four silhouettes as in the picture. The coach and the assistant coach have a ball each, and they alternately start blue team’s attacking actions. The blue team deploys two center midfielders, two attacking midfielders who start in the half-spaces, right and left wingers and the center striker. The red defenders’ line of five at the back must be active behind the silhouettes’ line of four, and they shape an ideal low block in a 5-4 formation.

DESCRIPTION

• The aim of the attacking team is to create a 4 v 3 duel in Zones 13 or 15, and play between the lines and in behind before passing to the opposite attacking midfielder and winger, concerning the ball’s position at the beginning • The defenders must save the space alongside the edge of the penalty area, preventing the blue team from penetrating its last line • If defenders win the ball, they must be able to drive it toward the other side of the half-line

RULES

• If defenders win the ball, only the front line of the Blues’ five can retreat and attempt to counter the Reds

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COACHING POINTS • • • •

Speed of play One-touch play Runs off the ball between the line and in behind with the right timing Enter the penalty area on the opposite side with the right timing to meet cross passes • Maintain possession under pressure • Distribute the ball to create gaps in the opposition’s defensive shape

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