Chelsea winger Pedro believes former manager Pep Guardiola could struggle to implement his brand of football in the English Premier League with Manchester City next season.
Pep Guardiola is set to officially begin his duties as Manchester City manager next month. This will be the third top-flight club managed by the 45-year-old in his short yet extremely successful managerial career. Guardiola has managed to win three league titles each with Barcelona and Bayern Munich as a manager, while also winning two Champions League titles with a Barcelona side widely acknowledged as one of the best club teams in history.
However, Chelsea winger Pedro has reservations about whether Guardiola’s style of football can be a success in England. The Spain international is quoted by Sky Sports as saying, “Although we know he is a great coach, Pep is not going to have it easy. It’s a difficult league, complicated. I don’t think he will be able to express his football.”
Pedro, who played under Guardiola for four seasons at Barcelona, acknowledged that Guardiola could face significant challenges at Manchester City with the extreme differences in terms of style of play and tempo of football between England and Spain. However, the 28-year-old predicts that Guardiola’s fierce rival Jose Mourinho will be back to winning ways at Old Trafford.
What Pep needs to do to ensure continued success in England
It is important that as the season begins, Manchester City fans have realistic expectations from their new boss Pep Guardiola. It might take the 45-year-old a few months or maybe even a year to get used to the ways of English football, which may not be as technical as the Spanish or Italian league, but is fiercely competitive. One thing Pep Guardiola hasn’t faced yet in his managerial career is a league where there are five or six realistic contenders to win the title.
Guardiola needs to make sure that he has a core of players who have played in the Premier League before for a considerable amount of time. If he makes too many new signings too soon, he could run risk of being found out massively in the first season. Home-grown talent always comes through to perform in the league, and that is where Guardiola also needs to put his attention, particularly given the quality of Manchester City’s academy.
