Step Aside Fergie and Ancelotti: Pep Guardiola is Football’s Unmatched Superman and True Muhammad Ali
IT’S not only the number of trophies that solidifies Pep Guardiola as the greatest manager of all time – although those figures are undeniably impressive.
Six Premier League titles, with a stunning seventh still within reach, albeit unlikely.
Three FA Cups, five League Cups, and the Champions League, Club World Cup, and UEFA Super Cup, all earned with City.
Additionally, Guardiola has claimed three LaLiga titles, two Champions League trophies, FIFA and UEFA honors, and a couple of Copa del Reys with Barcelona, plus three Bundesliga titles and four other trophies at Bayern.
In total, a mind-blowing 35 major trophies amassed over 18 years, averaging more than two titles per season, factoring in his one-year sabbatical in New York before heading to Germany.
However, it’s the legacy he leaves that truly matters. Not just an inspirational leader or a successful manager that players dream to play for, but the most influential figure in modern football – for Guardiola has genuinely altered the game as we know it.
This season may have seen a return to percentage play, an emphasis on set-pieces, and a wrestling-like approach to victory.
Yet, even that trend is viewed as a counter-response to the changes brought about by Guardiola and the “school” of thought he has effectively introduced.
For years, English football was often ridiculed abroad as a primitive concept, focused too heavily on physicality and brute strength.
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Attributes that held some merit but repeatedly fell short against tactical prowess, skill, game management, and intelligence.
Not anymore. Observe the Premier League – almost every team now aims to play possession-based football, inviting pressure, seeking to disrupt opponents’ formations and coherence through skill, rather than relying on hope.
This playing style is visible even in Leagues One and Two, non-league football, and among youth players.
That’s Guardiola’s influence, more than any other figure.
He possesses a vision and remains steadfast in his approach.
It’s easy to forget how, during his debut season at City—when they finished trophy-less—his choice to replace England’s No. 1 Joe Hart with the error-prone Claudio Bravo led to criticism that Guardiola was raising the stakes too high.
In hindsight, it was reflective of a broader strategy, further solidified once Ederson took charge as goalkeeper instead of Bravo, and everything fell into place.
And while that City squad featured brilliance from players around the globe like Kevin de Bruyne and Vincent Kompany, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero, one can also see the transformation in players like Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, and Nico O’Reilly.
There are indeed rivals for this title.
In England, legendary figures like Matt Busby, Don Revie, Bill Shankly, and Bill Nicholson come to mind. In the contemporary era, you have Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, and Jurgen Klopp.
And let’s not overlook Helenio Herrera, Fabio Capello, Arrigo Sacchi, Ernst Happel, Franz Beckenbauer, Marcello Lippi, Carlo Ancelotti, Miguel Munoz, and Vicente del Bosque.
Few, if any, have made the fundamental impact on football that Guardiola has.
Moreover, he has faced and defeated many of them, both in domestic leagues and on continental stages.
Ferguson had no solution for Guardiola’s Barcelona, utterly outplayed in Rome in 2009 and again at Wembley two years later.
Wenger’s Arsenal fell into decline, Klopp managed to clinch the Premier League once against him, while Mourinho was consistently exasperated by the Nou Camp side during his tenure at Real Madrid, claiming that finishing second to them at Manchester United was akin to winning the league.
It recalls Roger Black’s remark at the 1996 Olympics, after claiming silver behind Michael Johnson:
“You can’t do better than compete against the best.”
And Guardiola is that best—
a managerial Superman, with no Kryptonite discovered yet to bring him down.
Of all his rivals, perhaps Ancelotti has the most justified claim.
Don Carlo has accomplished extraordinary feats, winning titles in all the “Big Five” European leagues and a record five Champions League titles.
However, Ancelotti tends more toward being a man-manager rather than an obsessive tactician.
The former Milan, PSG, Chelsea, Madrid, and Bayern manager—now leading Brazil—encourages his players to feel in control, while he deftly pulls the strings behind the scenes.
Under Pep, players don’t run the show. He’s a perfectionist who once pushed Bayern to part ways with Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, the top sports doctor of his time, due to a disagreement over player fitness.
With Guardiola, it’s not just about each match counting; every training session, every pass, every moment is critical.
He believes football can never truly be “completed.”
There will always be room for improvement—a man who won’t rest until his team achieves absolute control in a game, even if complete possession is impossible because the opponent must kick off at least once and restart after every goal conceded.
Yes, Pep has benefited from coaching at clubs with established advantages.
Spain has been a two-club league for over fifty years; Munich has deeper pockets than the remainder of German football combined, even bailing out Dortmund to prevent their biggest rivals from collapsing; while City embodies the global aspirations of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
But many others have faltered despite their advantageous positions. Pep has leveraged his opportunities to craft a legacy of dominance. His impending departure from City will bring relief to every top-flight manager.
What lies ahead? Quite possibly numbers that rival Ancelotti.
That likely means a move to France—if so, it would only be for PSG, pending Luis Enrique’s exit—or Italy, specifically Juventus or Inter Milan, with Paris being the prime choice for securing additional Champions League wins.
Or maybe he’ll venture into international football. The FA would eagerly welcome Guardiola to the Wembley dugout five or six times annually, rather than the limited two or three during his time at City.
As a proud Catalan, Spain might not be in the cards, but after Ancelotti, Brazil could be an option.
No matter what direction he chooses, fans of his next club or country will be thrilled. While shortcuts to success are rare, landing Guardiola’s signature comes close to guaranteeing it.
Relentless, restless, remarkable. Like Muhammad Ali, The Greatest.