05/21/2024
In 2016, when his teacher Johan Cruyff died, Pep Guardiola He stated for the Spanish radio RAC1 that “When I started I didn’t know anything about football, I didn’t know how to interpret it. He opened this world to us. He explained to me the reason for things.”
On this base, It is feasible to affirm that Pep’s playing philosophy, originally known as “tiquitaca”, He is a descendant of the “total football” that Cruyff professed and learned from Rinus Michels, also Dutch, who coached him both in the National Team and in Barcelona, and transferred his knowledge to him. Just like Cruyff did with Pep.
Before, there was also a team that applied pressure and succession of passes in 1950. The so-called “Golden Team” of Hungarydirected by Gusztav Sebes, one of the most dominant in football at that time.
It had players who would be hired by Spanish teams, like Ladislao Kubala in Barcelona and Ferenc Puskás in Real Madrid, and would spread throughout the country the basis of associative play. For the Hungarians and Dutch, the “tiquitaca” came to make history.
“If you ask me ‘if Cruyff hadn’t existed, would you have been able to change football?’ I wouldn’t have been able to, for sure.. Maybe because Johan learned from others who preceded him,” Guardiola mentioned in an interview with former player Gary Lineker.
How do you play then?
For Guardiola, the most important thing is to have a clear idea of the game. Therefore, he spends hours and hours of his life watching videos of his rivals, trying to decipher the place to hurt them, and thus provide tools to their players.
“The idea is fundamental. The idea of what we are going to do is very important. You have to make passes and passes. And another one, and another. What I always want is the ball. Play easy, make it easy. Simple”Guardiola said in an interview shared by Manchester City.
The foundation of “tiquitaca” is to defend with the ball for two reasons, speaking generally, without going into very specific details. The longer the team has possession, the less time it will be receiving attacks from rivals.
On the other hand, the possession game allows the team that was giving passes to be in an advantageous position when the ball is lost, since the team that recovers it is tired after chasing the ball for so long, and also , being positioned in the rival field, the players are closer to press and be able to get the ball easily. “We always believe that if we recover the ball up front, we are closer to scoring a goal”mentioned the Spanish coach.
To do this, the commitment of everyone on the playing field is necessary.. “When we don’t have the ball, everyone runs. “With the ball, we try to play,” This is what Guardiola professes, who went so far as to say that the only one who is not required to do so is Lionel Messi.
The importance of habits
Guardiola’s success is not only due to his playing philosophy. He is also recognized because he is involved in extra-sports aspects of his footballers, paying attention to even the simplest things.
Regarding Manchester City’s star midfielder, Rodri, he highlighted that “He has no tattoos, no earrings and wears his hair like a classic midfielder. A midfielder must be like that, and think about the rest”to the detriment of footballers who seek to attract attention with elements other than their football. Generally looking for people with a profile like this for your team.
Not only that. It intervenes in key aspects such as intensity when training, discipline – punctuality or respect for others -, nutrition and weight control, and, most importantly, a winning mentality, hungry for more.
“The only thing I know is that we have to be clear that when you rest, they prepare to beat us. So we have to prepare more. Training more and playing better is the only way I know to maintain the level,” stated the coach.
Thus, with these methods, he consolidated successful teams such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, and with the Premier League he won this Sunday, he remains the second coach with the most titles (38) in the history of football.
