The news that Pep Guardiola will arrive at Manchester City in June has split English football fans.
Some are excited for him to arrive in what is one of the best leagues in the world whilst others are jealous and believe this is an easy test for Guardiola.
There are many reasons as to why some are thinking this, City’s vast financial resources and a talented pool of players are just a few.
Guardiola is a perfect example of someone who has raised through the ranks, starting off as an academy manager at Barcelona, eventually being put into the position of first team coach in 2008.
His work in the academy allowed him to work with potential first team players whilst also installing his philosophy to the younger players.
Clearly, with Barcelona’s vast financial resources, Guardiola was also able to bring in some of the world’s best players to Barcelona which have now become pillars in the Barcelona team such as Dani Alves.
Guardiola’s philosophy allowed Barcelona to begin four years of dominance in European football which led to two Champions League trophies to name just a few of the pieces of silverware which Guardiola’s Barcelona team won.
Following his final season at Barcelona in 2012, he decided to go on a sabbatical, during this time Manchester City apparently attempted to make the Spaniard Roberto Mancini’s replacement, however, this move did not come to fruition.
Guardiola took over a Bayern Munich side which had just won the Champions League, Bundesliga and the German Cup in the summer of 2013.
Evidently, Guardiola was taking over a talented group of players and this proved to be the case as he won two Bundesliga titles and a FIFA Club World Cup during the first two years of his managerial career at the club.
This was impressive from Guardiola, but with a league which is only dominated by one team, Bayern, these achievements are undermined.
The Premier League is the complete opposite to La Liga and the Bundesliga if this season is anything to go by.
With Leicester top of the table, Manchester United, not the usual dominance force and Chelsea falling apart, the Premier League is proving why it is one of the toughest leagues in the world.
Manchester City despite their talented squad and vast financial resources are too inconsistent in order to be a dominant force in English football and the owners are hoping Guardiola can bring some consistency to the club in terms of winning silverware.
With the new £200 million academy, it is clear City are looking to the future and hope Guardiola can make City’s youth players footballing superstars.
Guardiola for sure will put his own unique stamp onto Manchester City, but with the likes of Stoke, West Ham and Southampton gaining significant financial backing, all the teams are now going onto more of a level playing field.
City are a team with ageing players and Guardiola will most likely clear out a lot of those players which could mean it could be a completely different team all together.
The Premier League is an unpredictable beast and Guardiola is stepping into unknown territory taking charge of a team who are not a dominant side in world football.
Therefore, City will be Guardiola’s hardest challenge as he attempts to make City a dominant force along with trying to make a squad full of new faces a successful one with the Premier League becoming fiercely competitive.
