Has Pep Guardiola truly ‘ruined’ football?

Pep Guardiola has changed the game of football, but not everyone is a fan of the Spanish manager.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard has claimed Pep Guardiola has “ruined football” as teams across the footballing world attempt to parrot his style.

Howard made the comments on CBS Sports, where the former Everton keeper claimed teams were attempting to copy Pep’s “expansive style” despite not having the players to do so.

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As Howard claimed, “Pep Guardiola has taught everybody that they can play expansive football. They can’t.” Before adding, “Not everybody can do it. Three teams in the world can do it really well and so I think you have to be resolute at times.”

Howard’s comments came in relation to the US Men’s National Team’s appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who Howard believes needs to rely on his principles rather than become another Pep-regen.

As Howard said, “when I look at his [Pochettino] Tottenham teams, it was two banks of four plus two at the top and then when they broke, they broke with four players, they allowed them to express themselves and then ultimately they were rock-solid defensively or at least tried to be.”

The US team has struggled in recent years, despite having more players at high-profile teams than in previous eras. Howard’s suggestions that these players may not fit Pep’s intricate style is probably accurate, with a more direct, physical approach needed.

There is certainly an argument that Pep has made football more cookie-cutter, with teams across football looking to him for inspiration. Gone are the days of direct passing and long shots, replaced by steady build up, inverted fullbacks and cutbacks.

Pep’s style, which influences so much of modern football, has certainly taken some of the inherent joy out of the game, with ruthless efficiency replacing the emotion that came in previous eras.

However, as the recent Arsenal vs Man City game showed, players and fans are as emotionally invested as ever, with play style not impacting the relief City players must have felt when they grabbed a 98th minute equaliser.

It is also fair to suggest that given the pervasiveness of Pep’s system, European football has become less individualistic, with players now conditioned to play within the system rather than express themselves. There are obviously many exceptions to this, but there is a marked change from 10-20 years ago.

Do you agree that Pep has “ruined football”, or is Tim Howard being hyperbolic? Let us know in the comments!

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