Champions League: Pep just a step from greatness
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates with the trophy after winning the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, last weekend.
THE triumph of Manchester City in the FA Cup final last Saturday was another indication, if one was needed, of the continuing power shift being played out in Manchester, as the red royal aristocracy of United is usurped by the noisy neighbour in blue.
Even so, the one thing that United fans could confidently rub in the face of their ‘Cityzen’ neighbours, was that while City have been dominating the domestic game, effectively for the last decade, Pep Guardiola and his gang have not managed to crack the rather difficult nut of Champions League success. And as such would always leave them in an inferior status and relegate Pep to an ‘also ran’ in the sweepstake of best Premier League manager, well behind their own beloved Alex Ferguson. This evening’s Champions League final between City and Inter Milan, at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, offers the Catalonian manager and the blue half of Manchester the perfect opportunity to address this imbalance by ing their first, and much sought after, annexation of Europe and even the world’s top prize in club football.
Could Pep actually, if not today, someday be deemed the best manager in English Premier League history?
Firstly, let’s set out the parameters here. We are talking about Premier League history. And despite the best efforts of Sky Sports, football did exist before 1990. If we broadened the spectrum beyond the advent of the Premier League, there are more than a few worthy contenders. The likes of Don Revie, Alf Ramsey, and Bobby Robson all hold a special place in the heart of the English game, while Brian Clough arguably achieved more for less at Forest, and in more style, than any other manager before or since. Of course, for sheer numbers of achievements only Alex Ferguson and his 13 league titles can sur the number of domestic titles won by Bob Paisley, who bagged six league titles and three league cups. But even Ferguson can’t match Paisley’s European haul of three European Cups, one Uefa Cup and one Uefa Super Cup claimed by the Liverpool boss.
But back to the modern day and the start of the Premier League heralded the rock and roll years for English football and was initially highlighted by the rivalry of Man United and Arsenal. Ferguson versus Arsene Wenger.
Wenger spent 22 years at Arsenal, winning three league titles and seven FA Cups. Wenger also consistently kept Arsenal in the top four, which was sometimes treated as a joke at the time, but as has been shown by subsequent managers, it was a feat not all that easily achievable by those walking in his footsteps.
Wenger’s nemesis was always Alex Ferguson and theirs was the first genuine rivalry of the Premier League years. But to be fair, as heated as the rivalry sometimes got, the Gunners and Wenger did not come close to troubling Ferguson’s legacy.
Ferguson's record, when listed out, is breath-taking. He spent 27 years at Manchester United, winning a record 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and four League Cups domestically. He also won two Champions League trophies, one Super Cup and one Club World cup.
Hard shoes to fill and looked like an untouchable record until one Pep Guardiola came on the scene and his desire to win as much as possible.
Guardiola signed for Manchester City in 2016. Since then, he has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cup, and four Carabao Cups. It’s a very impressive haul and right on track for equaling Ferguson’s record, should he wish to do so. And if he can land the Champions League tonight, he will have proven his worth at the club both at European and domestic levels. A win tonight and who knows how many his achievements might mount to? Could he equal and sur Ferguson’s achievements? Does he even want to?
There are circumstances that make Guardiola’s achievement less astounding in comparison to Ferguson and also situations that make it unlikely that he will want to push to better the Scotsman’s accomplishments.
Unlike Ferguson, Pep did not take over a losing side. City had already won two league titles under Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini. And while Ferguson can’t complain that he didn’t have access to funds that helped build his dynastic line of achievements. It can also be argued that it is in the tuppenny-farthing market compared to the seemingly bottomless resources available to Guardiola today.
Still, you play with the players and resources dealt to you and there is no denying the potential of Guardiola has of matching Ferguson. But if it comes down to it, does anyone believe that Guardiola’s ambitions stays with Manchester City? A Champions League win might just see Pep’s ambitions at Manchester City come to an end.
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