Premier League
Ahead Of 2017/18: Pep Guardiola -Tactically Astute or One Club Wonder?
BY SAM FRANSISCO’
The former Barcelona manger has not reached the same heights he attained at the Camp Nou despite spending astronomical amounts on transfers
Pep Guardiola was regarded as one of the best players of his generation with his combination of creativity and technically prowess and made the switch to football management first with Barcelona B, eventually succeeding Frank Rijkaard as first team manager in 2008.
The Spaniard’s time at the helm of the Catalan giants was bedridden with ground breaking achievements, winning the treble in his first season and becoming the youngest manager to win the champions league. Between 1st July 2008 and 30th June 2012, Pep’s team won a total of 14 major trophies with a win rate of 72.47% and he was quickly heralded as one the best minds in football management.
After choosing to go on a one-year sabbatical, he joined German giants Bayern Munich in 2013 replacing Jupp Heynckes who just won the treble the previous season with the same squad.
But apparently he could not wield the same magic wand that brought him so much acclaim in Spain at the Allainz Arena losing 5-1 on aggregate to Real Madrid and receiving strong criticism from German media.
In the 2014 season, things didn’t improve as he lost four games in a row for the first time in his career and still couldn’t get into the final of Europe’s elite club competition, and on the 20th of December 2016, he announced he would be leaving the Bavarians at the end of that season.
He won only seven trophies in his three-year reign in Germany, with some very bad losses; a far-cry from his time at Barcelona.
Pep joined English outfit Manchester City for the 2016/2017 season and finished outside the top-two in the league for the first time in his managerial career after a blistering start to life in England and everyone tipping them for the title, but that form didn’t hold as he lost six games in a row for the first time as a manager and lost to Monaco in the Champions League.
But his inability to replicate his successes at Barcelona has sparked controversy with many terming the Catalonian ‘Fraudiola’. And even though his record puts him at the very top of the managerial ladder, it is totally unacceptable to have spent 1.037 billion pounds on transfers and not deliver trophies.
With his recent splurge on defenders, all eyes will be on City and Guardiola this season to deliver, City to prove they can finally compete that they are amongst Europe’s elite and Pep needs to shut up his critics who have been growing ever since his last triumph at the Camp Nou.
The coming season might define Pep Guardiola as a manager and I’m sure he feels the weight of the pressure to deliver both from within and without as reputation can only carry you so much without results.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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