Ok, so I'm a little surprised that Guardiola has decided to go to Manchester City. I think a lot of people were. Considering the clubs he has managed in the past come with heritage, prestige, charisma and City come with lots of money I am a little worried that the most coveted coach in the world turns out to not have any principles at all.
But City do have money, which they are not afraid to throw around. They have not shied away from signing the big name players when they have wanted to. Suddenly, the choice of which corner of Manchester to fight for isn't so Red and Blue anymore. In the past it was a choice between history and money. Now it's a choice between playing for one of the best coaches in the world right now or one of the worst. Ok, van Gaal is doing a much better job than I would do but he's still crap.
The choice for Guardiola was, in the end, a very simple one as well. He wouldn't want to go to a team where he was constantly getting compared to a previous manager. He would want to forge his own path and be judged against his own merits. Hence why he decided not to join either Man Utd or Arsenal (even though the latter would have been a stretch to imagine). In the end it would have come down to which of the moneybags teams in City or Chelsea offered him the best potential.
Guardiola is itching to write himself into the Premier League history books in the same way he has done in Spain and Germany. How do you do that? Well, United have already completed the Treble (shut up Liverpool fans, any treble including the League Cup is worthless), Arsenal have already gone a season unbeaten and Chelsea have already become the first London club to win the Champion's League. However, in the North-West, there is a club who have not won the Champion's League. The owners of this club could not be more desperate to win it. In fact, it's taken them three managers (not including Guardiola), £853,000,000 and the lost respect of the rest of the footballing world to get to within seven matches of the Champion's League crown.
It seems like they've now got their man. Fighting on four fronts, a squad depth the envy of the Premier League and only a few points of the summit, Manuel Pellegrini has taken Manchester City to within touching distance of that trophy the owners crave. Sad thing is, he won't be the one to lift it. The owners are taking the club in a new direction. A more European direction. I'm delighted to see Pep Guardiola strut his stuff in the Premier League, but I'm extremely disappointed that it comes at the expense of a man that I admire as a coach and tactician and who has always held his head high even when results weren't going his way.
If the Champion's League can be bought using money made from oil, is it any wonder that the World Cup being handed to Qatar is under investigation? Good luck Pep, and good luck Manuel too.
