Pep Guardiola's 5 biggest mistakes
Pep Guardiola is unquestionably one of the greatest managers of the modern era. His career has seen him lead teams that play an ubercool style of attacking football, setting the bar for the modern technical game.
With 31 trophies and counting, his spells in Spain, Germany and England have seen him coach bonafide superclubs and excel. Despite what seems like a career constantly in search of perfection, he has, on occasion, let his ability and tactical acumen affect his success as a manager.
With that in mind, here's a look at the five biggest mistakes of Pep Guardiola's managerial career:
#5 Pep Guardiola's defense budget
Guardiola is notoriously demanding to work with when it comes to footballers of high technical ability. His basic philosophy of football requires players of great talent to play out from the back and defend on the counterattack. At Barcelona, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves and Eric Abidal all contributed to the team's attack, providing able defensive ability while playing a high line.
Signing Ruben Dias in 2020 for over €68m means Guardiola has spent an astonishing €500m during his five-year spell at Manchester City. That includes bringing in the likes of John Stones, Kyle Walker, Danilo, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy for huge sums of money.
Many have criticized Pep for his apparent inability to "coach" a player into a great defender, as well as his fickle approach to transferring players in and out.
#4 Pep Guardiola's signing of Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas was by far one of the most gifted technical players of his generation and another product of La Masia. During his time at Arsenal, he flourished as a roaming playmaker, making his debut aged just 16, before evolving into an attacking midfielder. At Euro 2012, he even led the line as a "False Nine" for Spain as they won the tournament.
What was seen by many as a perfect reunion at Barcelona, however, did not pan out. At the outset, the intensity and combination play seemed to unsettle Fabregas. He was used to being the focal creative presence for Arsenal and playing a more direct style. Nevertheless, the heir to Xavi and Andres Iniesta left after an impressive three seasons, staying beyond Guardiola's reign. He then proceeded to play some of his best football at Chelsea.