Sometimes, it feels like every modern football trend was heavily influenced by Pep Guardiola’s period at Barcelona.
From pressing to possession, from entrusting academy products to playing with a false nine — Guardiola didn’t invent any of these concepts, but he certainly helped to repopularise them.
But the most obvious trend has been where clubs try to find their version of Guardiola — the cultured ex-player who understands the club’s traditions from his days as a member of the team.
Former players have always returned to manage their clubs. However, it was noteworthy that Guardiola won the European Cup immediately after he became Barcelona coach. Juventus appointed Ciro Ferrara and AC Milan hired Leonardo, neither of whom had managed before — and neither of whom has had much of a managerial career since.
Since then, we’ve had Zinedine Zidane and Santi Solari at Real MadridAntonio Conte and Andrea Pirlo, Juventus, Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid and Roberto Di Matteo, Frank Lampard Chelsea, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, Tim Sherwood at
