Page 190 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

And Pep’s decision-making affected the Spanish national side as well. National coach Luis
Aragonés decided to give the team’s leadership to the midfielders and Vicente del Bosque introduced
little change, paving the way for the Barcelona idea to be at the core of the national team. Eventually
the side that became twice European Champions and World Cup-winners was based upon the

principles introduced by the Barcelona players. It was a style Guardiola had shown could be
effective, but also an astonishing cocktail which incorporated the strong characters of Real Madrid,
represented by Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, the resilient emigrants (Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso,
Fernando Torres, David Silva, Juan Mata) and the brushstrokes of the periphery (Jesús Navas,
Fernando Llorente).
Before Euro 2012, del Bosque wanted to add to the voices that were saying farewell to Guardiola:
‘My regards to my colleague. It is impossible for anybody else to repeat what he did in four years. I

am happy and proud that we have Spanish coaches with that much human quality. He has all my
appreciation. His story is unique.’
At the successful 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine, del Bosque applied solutions that were
successful at Barcelona, including the false striker role that became the only tactical innovation of the
summer competition. And it was effective, too, despite the criticisms. Spain had been facing similar
problems to Barcelona: teams defended deep, closed down spaces and tried to prevent the ball

circulating quickly. It was time, then, to reinvent themselves – when Spain played with no striker, the
opposing centre backs did not know whom to defend. The maximum expression of that style was the
wonderful final against Italy, that explosive 4-0 that killed off so many debates.
An interesting conundrum would appear if Guardiola were offered the opportunity to follow in the
footsteps of del Bosque in the future. As a player, he was once asked what national team he would
choose, if he could, between Spain and Catalonia. ‘I played with Spain because at that time there was
no possibility of doing it for Catalonia and because I was happy to join Spain and play as well as I

could as the professional I was. I was ecstatic to be able to participate in World Cups and European
Championships, and I wish I could have played more. But I was born in Catalonia and if possible I
would have played for Catalonia; the question answers itself.’ Given the chance to coach Spain he
would probably do it with the same passion he would coach Argentina or Qatar, the difference being
that some of the players he will have under his orders are also Catalan or from FC Barcelona.
Guardiola was voted best coach in the world in 2011 by FIFA. ‘But don’t let him deceive you, he

never thought all this would arrive so suddenly, so quickly,’ his friend Estiarte jokes. When he
received the trophy, Pep wanted to share the moment with the other two candidates, Alex Ferguson
and José Mourinho. ‘It is an honour to be your colleague,’ he said. That was the day Sir Alex was
asked if Pep could replace him at Manchester United: ‘Why? If I was in his place, I would stay at
Barça.’
The trophy recognised the titles but also left a question hanging. What he had done at his club: was
it revolution or evolution? Changing an answer is evolution; replacing the question is revolution.

Guardiola didn’t start from scratch, but has evolved the style by reinforcing the idea and introducing
subtle and not so subtle variations. And he did so in the middle of a successful era, which is a brave
thing to do. ‘He gave the team a touch more of intensity, virtue, effective. He used extremely well a
great generation of players,’ adds Rafa Benítez.
But Guardiola also replaced the question with a touch of boldness and imagination – no striker,
sometimes defending with two, no pre-match hotel stays, moving to the new training ground, training

behind closed doors, travelling the same day, analysis of players’ diets and rearranging meal times
and places and so on and so forth.