Lessons For Pep Guardiola From Jose Mourinho And Paris Saint-Germain

Cruel Irony Sees Pep Guardiola Learn From Jose Mourinho And Paris Saint-Germain

When Manchester City met Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Semi-Final four years ago, it was billed as a battle between two methods of seeking glory.

Paris Saint-Germain had taken the ‘Dream Team’ approach, loading their side with two of the world’s biggest superstars: Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé.

Manchester City, on the other hand, chose to place its trust in a legendary coach and his much-loved tactical philosophy of possession soccer.

And, while there were times in the first half of that semi-final at the Parc des Princes where the combinations between PSG’s iconic forward line looked unstoppable, as Pep Guardiola’s sides used to have a habit of doing when the initial adrenaline of the contest wained, and City began dominating the ball.

Neymar and Mbappé didn’t seem quite as fearsome when they were tasked with doing shuttle runs to contain the metronomic passing, and City gained the upper hand.

A 1-0 advantage to the home side became a 1-2 deficit, and the Mancunians left Paris with the advantage.

Weeks later, when the pair met for the second leg, the result was even more emphatic: City won 2-0, and PSG was booted out.

By the end of the game, Mauricio Pochettino’s side had given up trying to compete and began fouling their opponents as much as possible.

As the BBC pointed out after the game, the French superpower, which had lost the final to Bayern Munich the previous year, was regressing.

“While obviously disappointed to lose to Bayern Munich in Lisbon, it will at least have felt like a display and achievement to build on,” it wrote.

“But there is little they can take away from this semi-final loss, which not only saw them beaten by a superior and savvier side but also inexcusably lose their discipline in both legs.”

That summer, the Parisians doubled down on the Dream Team approach by signing Lionel Messi and regressed further to win Europe’s biggest prize.

City, who lost that year’s final to Chelsea, kept faith in Guardiola and were rewarded two years later with the club’s first Champions League trophy.

When the clubs met in Europe once again last week, a very different dynamic was present.

PSG has totally abandoned the superstar model and is seeking to build with a Guardiola disciple, Jose Enrique, while City is struggling badly because it has failed to replace aging parts of the team.

Even though the Mancunians raced into a 0-2 lead, just like what happened in Paris back in 2021, the superior tactics decided the game, which ended 4-2 for PSG.

In defeat, Guardiola conceded he’d been outdone.

“PSG were better than us,” he said.

“We could not make the passes, cope with the fast transitions.

“PSG have played better and not won; today they did. To defend, we have to play; we could not. Give credit to PSG.

“We tried to keep ball with Ilkay Gundogan, James McAtee and Jack Grealish but couldn’t. Everything happens in the middle where you control game, they could, we could not. PSG players move with a lot of sense attacking and defending – good collective.”

To hear Guardiola praising the collective of Paris Saint-Germain over his outfit shows just how dramatic the unraveling of the past couple of months at City has been.

Unusual Heroes For Guardiola

Much has been made of the tired, ageing legs in Manchester City’s engine room this season, but as the Catalan coach pointed out after the PSG loss, the problem has been their usual precise play has been unruly.

Although a physical disadvantage causes that, the evidence suggests even the best versions of the Etihad side were slower and smaller than their opponents.

It was structure and style that set them apart.

“Speed is important but against PSG we ran more than them,” Guardiola said after the game.

“Our problem is with the ball. This season, it is what we have missed.

“If you have the ball and don’t pass properly to your mate, everything is so difficult.”

However, Guardiola’s broader justification for City’s terrible drop-off this season seems contradictory.

The Catalan blames a terrible injury list for his side’s poor form, stating after the PSG game

“When everyone, when Rodri is here, when all the central defenders is here, and many players are all there, we will fight. We will not be 25th now, in the Champions League [table], we will not,” he said.

Enduring his struggles this season, Guardiola remarkably found wisdom in the words of our former rival, Jose Mourinho.

Given how rapidly the once indomitable Portuguese manager was declining when he said finishing second with Manchester United was “one of the best jobs” of his career, it is perhaps not the best sign the Catalan coach finds solace in the Portuguese manager’s description.

Yet that is where Guardiola finds himself.

“There are seasons when there are a lot of difficulties,” Guardiola said. “How do you stand up? How do you stay there?

“I remember Jose. I don’t know the reality of United but he said many times finishing second in that season was his biggest success. I understand completely.”

Learning from Jose and PSG is something few thought we’d see Guardiola do, yet here we are.