Imagine a team that has its goalkeeper as an active element and thus every player moves one step forward. His participation is neither arbitrary nor compulsorily, he participates in the game like Bastian Schweinsteiger or Xabi Alonso do. Legendary Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita was the first example of active goalkeepers, but Manuel Neuer take this goalkeeping style to a higher level. Guardiola's keeper, just like Manuel Neuer, must be an active member of the game. Keepers also have a different and crucial role in Guardiola's game, like any other player.
The only way to adapt is to stop worshipping old and dogmatic perceptions of football. Players always create pass opportunities for their team-mates, the game narrows horizontally but stretches vertically, players get rid of the chains of their positions and become active members of the game, only the game and its natural flow matters and finally players become parts of a greater being.Ĭodes of the game are being rewritten by Guardiola and his neo-total football. Added to that, Guardiola not only creates partial tactics or solutions but also creates the path that leads to a natural flow. In a game that is played with 11 players, one player's conjectural decisions can never be effective as a plan that involves his team-mates. These type of coaches do not rely on analysis of their opponents or cheap mistakes, their game creates its own opportunities and that makes it self sufficient. The point is to build a systematic relationship among the players that enables their game to find its own solutions. On the other hand, some coaches like Guardiola see formation as a part of their strategy and do not give all the credit to it. They insist on the strategies and tactics of decades before and wait for Maradona or Pele to save them. However, the problem is their belief in "steadfast" and ancient football perception. A person whose only duty is to observe players and put them in the right position is redundant. Ironically, these kind of coaches actually make themselves totally unnecessary. One type of coach, and the type that represents most of them, still worship players' individual talents, putting them in the right position according to their talent. The most characteristic difference often occurs around the perception of formation. This alone is enough to take Guardiola to the highest point of football today.įirst, let me make a classification about coaches in today's football. This self-sufficient game also is clear proof for coaches' importance and power over collective action. These two elements actually make the team more effective, and eliminate the team's dependency on individual talent.
His game philosophy is based on two elements rhythmic progress and three-dimensional tempo. If you carefully examine Barcelona's game before 2013 and Bayern Munich's game now, you will see Guardiola is saving the game from its innate pressure. Guardiola's, and formerly Barcelona's, game was always one step ahead of their opponents', says Ali Fikri Işık and I agree with him. Thus, suddenly consciousness is caught unaware by a power that is beyond it. "One cannot realize that Guardiola's game is a dialectic illusion, the game that seems to be pushed to the farthest point of the pitch, firstly loosens the dependency from the center of the game and then accelerates the disorganization of your opponent.
This explanation by columnist Ali Fikri Işık is the finest one I find, in my opinion: However, we should examine the philosophy of Guardiola first. I believe their domination in both the Bundesliga and Champions league is worth examining. Munich had fast and deadly weapons in their arsenal with Heynckes but since Guardiola took charge they have been creating a new style. Their superb form since the Jupp Heynckes era has only got better under Pep Guardiola. The first team that immediately came to my mind was Bayern Munich. Given the Turkish Cup games' unbearable quality, I decided to focus on the teams that represent the highest point of football.