How Pep Guardiola’s Mastery Is Transforming Manchester City into A Football Powerhouse

Manchester City conquered Inter Milan 1-0 on Saturday, the final game in the UEFA Champions League. It is the win that marked the club as the second English team in history to secure the continental treble—winning three trophies from different tournaments in a single season. It is a rare achievement fueled by elite play, coaching and a good financial standing.

Pep Guardiola is currently the fourth manager to win the European Cup at least three times after Carlo Ancelotti got (four titles). The season have by no means been perfect. Few weeks before the premier League win, City was still five points behind Arsenal. Yet Guardiola saw signs that his players were clicking into gear at precisely the right moment and just as he envisioned, they became the fifth club to lift three consecutive top-flight titles. Guardiola will be the second manager, after Sir Alex Ferguson, to achieve that.

A number of factors made their win inevitable; the evolving patterns of game, the capability and depth of the squad, Pep Guardiola’s leadership style, harnessing world football’s new pin-up striker, using the Premier League’s charges of alleged financial impropriety as a galvanising tool, with a few bits in between.

Manchester City’s squad depth i.e the quality of all their signed players, not just the starting 11 can be attributed to their transfer activity over the past three seasons. The club have one of the highest net spends in the division. It is Guardiola’s strategic spending – acquiring players who would fit his plans for the team – that enhanced their success. This means Guardiola has enough qualified players to form almost two different starting 11s without sacrificing the calibre of players and playing style.

Another situation that assisted the club’s depth is what is called vertical integration. This is where some club owners such as City Football Group (CFG), which owns Man City, and Red Bull Sport acquire satellite clubs in smaller leagues. The aim is to secure playing time for young talents who would otherwise be blocked from getting first team opportunities. This gives City a competitive advantage over their rivals in England as none of their competitors have this kind of multi-club ownership model.

Guardiola has created a powerful identity at Manchester City. His leadership at the club allowed no room for selfish interests. He so much believes that the collective culture of a team can be damaged by just one selfish mindset. This was demonstrated recently in one of his many decisions to loan full-back Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich during the winter transfer window.

Research shows that measuring the effect of a leader on organisational performance is a challenging task. This is because there are quite a number of factors that can cause a positive or negative impact. But without doubt, while Manchester City had won Premier League titles before the arrival of Guardiola, his leadership has changed the team inside out. Presently, Man City is the sixth English club to win the UEFA Champions League, cementing their place as one of the best football teams in history.