Guardiola and German Football

By no standards is Josep Guardiola a conventional, everyday manager who’s out there to win fan hearts. And this is probably why he is critiqued more than other managers. Unlike other big club managers who just tweak and twist a little and do just about the right thing to win a competition, Guardiola brings a system. A principle. The short sightedness of winning trophies blinds people to the long term success that Pep brings to the table. And that is precisely why a Guardiola team is uniquely identifiable.

More to the point of Bayern Munchen; under Jupp Heynckes, Bayern was a brute force. The double pivot of Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez seemed to work well. A prime version of Ribery and Robben tore down flanks and Mario Mandzukic was a force in the air, as on the ground. There was minimal passing and build up play. Chances stemmed from the wings rather than the center. And it all seemed to gel up pretty well. But the question to be asked is how long can a forceful, constant running form of play last? Maybe the answer can be seen in the English League where this form of play is prevalent, as validated by N’Golo Kante winning the Player of the season there. There is no clear domination in English League where each team seems to tumble completely after perhaps a season of glory in their league.

Figure 1: Bayern's Double Pivot under Heynckes (Credits: Sportskeeda)

However on the other hand, Pep Guardiola brings in a system where brute force is absolutely minimized. The game lies in the mind rather than the body. And the clear contrast that can be seen is that under Pep’s first season Javi Martinez, who was a regular starter under Jupp, wasn’t able to break in into the team in midfield. Thiago was given preference because of his vision and passing ability. As a result, the midfield saw more of the ball.

One other important tactical change that seemed to work wonders was, Lahm drifting into the midfield which was later employed by Loew in the World Cup. Lahm worked as a shield for the defense while defending, picking out dangerous counter attacks. And acted as link between the defense and the attack during build up plays. This was infact classic Guardiola. Total football. Adapting according to the need of the play rather than being the king of a fixed position. This brought in fluidity to the Bayern play.

Figure 2: Lahm's effectiveness as a Midfielder (Credits: _NizaR_)

One other jewel that Guardiola can be proud of is Joshua Kimmich. Guardiola moulded him into a player who could play in several positions (CB, RB, RCM) rather than just keeping himself fixed in one position. This helps a player develop his potential all around so that he can be helpful to his team in all situations. It can be clearly seen what an asset Kimmich is no that even when the entire Bayern squad seemed of sorts under Ancelotti, he is still giving one stellar performance after other in a team filled with star names. Sure he has strengths and weaknesses in particular positions but the team can always count on him when in need. Exactly as Sergi Roberto at Barcelona.

Figure 3: Kimmich at the heart of Bayern's 4-1-4-1

Guardiola ideologies trickled into the German National side whose core was based on the Bayern side itself. It was evident in the 2014 World cup that Germany focused more on build up play, where Lahm was again used in midfield as a link between the defense and the midfield and attack and it seemed to work well. If it wasn’t for this style, they probably wouldn’t have been able to break down teams with strong and compact defensive setups, especially how Argentina setup in the final. Although both the teams played sub-par in the final game and it came down to a moment of individual brilliance the game could have been very different if conventional brute force of Germany had fallen prey to Messi’s incisiveness.

The ideals of Guardiola aren’t for the instant success relishing sides. Guardiola makes sure his approach is strong, he doesn’t believe in playing “safe”. His approach is long term. Making a club win trophies isn’t the primary objective. To make them play beautiful football which transcends time is. Case and point Manchester City.

Figure 4: Argentina's compact defensive setup in the WC 2014 Finals

To sum up, Guardiola may not have won a lot of hearts in Bavaria because he couldn’t emulate Jupp’s treble, but he brought about monumental changes to the strong and burly German football with his tactics, he made them think. He made them use their heads. And in the process he may well have set the foundation up for the National team to win the World cup. He brought about a system which was ahead of it’s time to be appreciated by the general masses.