Page 89 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

forwards had recovered possession at some point, suffocating Sporting. Barça had a total of 22 shots,
9 on target and 14 corners, compared to Sporting’s 5 attempts. But there was something else that gave
Pep a lift: defensively, the young Busquets, promoted from the B team, had been the best player on the
field. He had recovered 10 balls. And 48 out of his 50 passes had reached their intended target.

Without Henry, there were seven players involved in the game who had progressed through the
academy system (Valdés, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Bojan), two less than the previous
game against Racing. Xavi was involved in all the goals.
It was the third game of the season and Barça had already established themselves as the La Liga
side with the most shots on goal and received the fewest.
The result did more than present the team with a much needed three points. It also showed
Guardiola was right. It showed that they had to give it time, that there were tactics and rules to

follow: a philosophy that could succeed.
‘Where would we be if we hadn’t beaten Sporting?’ Iniesta says now. The victory proved to be a
sign of things to come.