After been criticized for ‘overthinking’ his strategy in the past, Pep Guardiola is hoping to win a historic treble for Manchester City in the Champions League final.
It is odd that the manager who has led Manchester City to this point is also viewed by many as a potential barrier at the finish line as they are only one game away from glory.
Such is the story that has developed around Pep Guardiola’s tendency to overthink his strategy in crucial contests. Manchester City has already won the domestic double, but they both have baggage going into this competition, as does their manager.
The majority of it is derived from their most recent final appearance. The same as they are today against Inter Milan, City were heavy favorites to defeat Chelsea in 2021, but Guardiola’s decision to play without a natural holding midfielder resulted in a defeat that felt self-inflicted.
It was the most recent in a string of unexpected Guardiola tactical shifts on the European stage and added to his reputation for over-explaining, which both amuses and irritates him. He sarcastically remarked last year, “I love to overthink and invent foolish methods.
Since he rarely changed from his favoured 4-3-3 shape while at Barcelona, where he won two Champions Leagues in four years, the charges of overthinking actually started during his tenure as manager of Bayern Munich.
When he decided to play four strikers instead of three for the home leg of their semi-final match against Real Madrid in his first season, the improved tactical flexibility helped Bayern dominate domestically but it started to be perceived as a weakness in Europe.
Where there was once flexibility, Erling Haaland has offered a focal point, and Silva, Jack Grealish, Gundogan, and De Bruyne are all definitely favorites to back him up in the major matches.
So perhaps this is the year when everything goes off without a hitch. Manchester City is now two thirds of the road to a historic treble under Guardiola. The likelihood of any self-harm at the finish line feels slimmer than it has ever been this time.
