Pep Guardiola and his pivots amidst Manchester City’s ongoing struggle

For the first time in years, City approached the Manchester derby in more disarray than the Red Devils, coming off a poor run of just one win in their last 10 matches across all competitions.

Whenever a Manchester derby is on the horizon, Alex Ferguson’s famous quote comes to the forefront. In 2022, during the famed derby, English commentator Guy Mowbray reinterpreted Sir Alex’s words as follows: “Sir Alex Ferguson was asked in 2009 if City could ever go into a derby as favourites, and he said, not in my lifetime. Now it’s this time.”

In the brand new season of the English Premier League (EPL), fan banter has once again reintroduced the quote. However, this time it is phrased as: “Sir Alex Ferguson was asked in 2009 if City could ever go into a derby as favourites, and he said, not in my lifetime. Now it’s this time.”

Guardiola’s positional play: A revolution in football

Despite Manchester United’s struggles with another managerial change and a new phase of rebuilding ahead, the downfall of Guardiola’s Manchester City has been quite surprising. For the first time in years, City approached the Manchester derby in more disarray than the Red Devils, coming off a poor run of just one win in their last 10 matches across all competitions. The 2-1 defeat of Manchester City by rivals Manchester United on Sunday, December 15, was predicted by several football pundits. The Josep Guardiola-led City lost to Man Utd under their new coach Ruben Amorim after squandering a 1-0 lead in the first half. The club’s ongoing struggles continue in both league matches and European competitions.

Football correspondents have cited various reasons behind City’s slump. Frequent injuries, including the long-term absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, the ageing of the squad, and a lack of balance in the team, appear to be key factors contributing to their poor performance.

In this scenario, a closer look at Guardiola’s positional philosophy and the importance he places on the role of the central defensive midfielder in his system may help explain the team’s recent struggles. Josep Guardiola himself was the pivot and cornerstone of Dutch master Johan Cruyff’s dream team at Barcelona.

‘El juego de posición’ – ‘positional football’ – is not the same as possession-based football; it is a philosophy initiated by Dutch school pioneer Rinus Michels. Johan Cruyff and AC Milan’s Dutch-schooled Italian manager Arrigo Sacchi refined Michels’ principles. Cruyff’s favourite disciple, Josep Guardiola, revolutionised the footballing philosophy further. One could say that Pep Guardiola perfected the art to a degree never achieved by his predecessors. Guardiola’s philosophy is deeply rooted in achieving superiority over the opposition by focusing on position and movement: a superiority in terms of numerical, qualitative, and positional aspects. This approach divides the pitch into certain zones, helping players better understand their movements.

“Our players had four reference points: the ball, the space, the opponent, and their own teammates. Every movement had to decide which of these reference points should determine their movement,” said Arrigo Sacchi, the Italian legend. The conventional Sacchi positional principles considered positions as static, with space itself being static, while the ball and the opponent’s movements were dynamic. However, Pep modernised these principles, making adjustments based on circumstances. His City team plays differently from his Bayern Munich side (2013-2016), which had a style distinct from his Barcelona team.

In 2007, Guardiola wrote for the Spanish journal El País. That same year, he was appointed manager of Barcelona Atletic (Barcelona B). Success with the third-division side led him to take the senior Barcelona role in the 2008-09 season. Initially, the giant Ivorian Yaya Touré played in the pivot role in Pep’s side. While the player lacked press resistance, his athleticism provided greater cover for the defence. Guardiola’s first major successful move was promoting his Barcelona B pivot, Sergio Busquets, to the senior team, marking the positional shift of Yaya Touré to defence. The rise of Busquets redefined the role of the central defensive midfielder in football. His confidence on the ball, brilliance under pressure, awareness of space, possession skills, and defensive acumen made him the ideal candidate for the pivot in positional play. He thrived under pressure, using it to free up teammates and open up space.

Pep couldn’t recreate Barcelona’s model of positional play at Bayern due to the lack of intensive youth training at the Barcelona academy. For the fast-paced Bundesliga, he created a different version of positional play. He started using right-back Philipp Lahm as a central defensive midfielder in his first season. Lahm’s intelligence and technical ability were crucial for the base of midfield. However, Guardiola needed him in the full-back position, so he solved this by signing Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso. Alonso’s wide passing range allowed for both vertical and long passes, a departure from the horizontal passing he used at Barcelona.

Evolution of central defensive midfielder role

When Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, he had a master plan, which included signing Ilkay Gündogan, a key figure in Borussia Dortmund’s glory under his rival Jürgen Klopp. However, Guardiola couldn’t utilise this signing in his first season as Gündogan was sidelined due to injury. The solution for Pep was Fernandinho, who, unlike his predecessors, didn’t excel in passing, but was lethal in defence with a unique pressing rhythm.

The philosophy of positional play has been admired worldwide, leading to the emergence of different playing styles. Guardiola’s success has created numerous admirers, many of whom have attempted to replicate it. The demand for a pivot player has grown in the market, and Guardiola responded by signing Rodri Hernández, Busquets’ true heir, from Atlético Madrid. Rodri, who learned positional principles from Bruno Soriano at Villarreal, was moulded into a physically stronger modern pivot by Guardiola. He controlled the game and allowed City to play with more freedom, selecting the correct zones, and became a key figure in Guardiola’s experiments.

City’s struggles and the search for a new pivot

Guardiola’s pivots attract pressure from the opposition, and when they do, the pivots nullify it by finding a free man. The concept of the free man is a crucial part of positional play, manipulating the opponent and dictating the next step in the game. In Pep’s system, the lone pivots are often not alone. The central midfielders regularly move alongside the pivots.

Xavi at Barcelona, Bastian Schweinsteiger at Bayern, and at City, Gündogan, Bernardo Silva, and De Bruyne have all played vital roles.

Guardiola has also experimented by positioning full-backs as second pivots or more advanced number-8 roles, with players like Zinchenko, Cancelo, and, more recently, Rico Lewis operating in key zones. Another experiment involved moving centre-backs into midfield during the build-up phase, allowing Rodri to show his attacking attributes. This system of positional superiority has been deployed by Guardiola in the highest manner at City.

This season, City also signed experienced Mateo Kovačić from Chelsea as a back-up pivot. However, Rodri’s long-term injury has made the situation difficult. The ageing midfielders have struggled to keep up with the intensity without a stronger pivot. Manchester City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, is already exploring solutions, with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi being considered as potential replacements.