Monday's Cafe: Has Pep Lost His Identity?

In Pep Guardiola's rather furious interview after the heavy loss to Real Madrid, we observe a fresh dimension in the Spanish manager's philosophy: he has entirely altered his viewpoint regarding football overall and chances specifically.

1. "We needed a real game at the Bernabeu… not just to play football, (but) to make the Bernabeu feel that we were present there," he said. "And we achieved that in the first 20 minutes. Many times. I wanted that kind of match. If I put in other players, more controlling ones, we wouldn't create that kind of threat" – Pep explained the controversial lineup of Man City in the first leg of the knockout round.

Pep went all-in at the Bernabeu, something rarely seen even in ordinary matches throughout this great coach's career. That kind of approach was even something Pep used to be allergic to: Ball control is not just for controlling the game, but also aimed at… preventing the opponent from playing.

The public largely misunderstands Pep's philosophy on this aspect. The intricate, elaborate style of play is the result of a super-perfectionist mindset: If bringing the ball into the opponent's final third reveals an unviable opportunity, Pep's players will return the ball to their own half, to rebuild that attack systematically, and minimize the risk of losing possession and facing a counterattack.

For the Man City manager, risk occurs… near the opponent's goal, not his own. A typical goalkeeper under Guardiola's philosophy would not hesitate to handle the ball and combine with defenders under pressure, but a Pep-style forward would bring the ball back if realizing the chance to finish off the opponent is not ripe, either due to insufficient numbers or because the opponent has stabilized their formation.

Pep is so perfectionist that whenever someone dares to "threaten" his domain, that person is immediately removed. Samuel Eto'o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic… strong personalities who did not comply with tactics were pushed away without mercy, even though they were top stars at the time.

2. Throughout his career, Pep has created dazzling collectives and many breathtakingly beautiful goals, but the core of all these outcomes is not a spirit of dedication, but perfectionism and a desire to control every possible development in the match.

Interestingly, Real Madrid is precisely the opponent that reminded Pep that sometimes that obsessive perfectionism is also worthless: In the Champions League semifinal of the 2013-14 season, Madrid crushed Bayern at the Allianz with a 4-0 score, despite having only 36% ball possession.

The Royal team made only half as many passes as their opponent (300 vs. 650), but generated a superior number of opportunities (14 shots, 8 on target) compared to Bayern (9 shots, 3 on target) and scored 4 goals. Sergio Ramos scored a double from set pieces, while Cristiano Ronaldo netted two goals from swift counterattacks.

The German magazine Spiegel described Pep's tactics that day as "slow, innocuous, predictable," and that was probably the clearest match illustrating a simple truth of football: No matter how perfectionist one is, no matter how much one tries to control the match, within 90 minutes, football always has its own perspective and judgment. A free kick. A moment of error. A star shining. That is enough to completely turn the situation and result around.

3. In the final months leading Barcelona, Guardiola admitted that he was mentally exhausted, perhaps not only due to the pressure of consecutive success. The greatest pressure came from Pep's own expectations: His team must control every detail in the match, but there will always be some match that slips out of reach (like the Champions League semifinal in 2010 against Inter Milan), and that reality could hurt Pep.

But the desire to "be present" at the Bernabeu was real: Pep truly wanted to try something crazy in one of the most difficult places in the world. A fifty-fifty gamble. A bold experiment at a time when no one expected it.

The paradox is that even though he lost the match, this mindset is precisely what nourishes football: The spirit of dedication and willingness to do crazy things, letting emotions guide the game.

Fabio Capello said that Pep is the killer of football. But on the other slope of his career, perhaps Pep is ready to change, even if he may lose more and be angrier.