Guardiola: Success or failure at Bayern?

It is the 33rd minute at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of the Champions League semi final between Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid. Javi Martinez has just won a penalty for Bayern.

The score is already one nil in a game in which Bayern have so far comprehensively outplayed Atletico, who look unusually unnerved by the occasion and Bayern's devastating performance. Up steps Thomas Muller. If he scores, this tie is surely over, there is no coming back for Diego Simeone's men. But if he misses...

What if Muller had scored?

It is quite timely that I had just finished reading Pep Confidential before this crucial fixture earlier this month. If you haven't already read it (why!?), Marti Perarnau follows Pep Guardiola in his first season at Bayern Munich. It is a fantastic insight into the genius of Guardiola. This is a man with an obsession, but with a fierce passion to deliver success through his ethos and values. In the book, for example, you learn quite how furious he is with himself for betraying his own beliefs in the semi final tie where they are beaten by Real Madrid in that season. 

It can be a fine line between success and failure. When Thomas Muller missed that penalty, it gave Atletico some belief back. Beforehand they had looked hopelessly lost, but this was their reprieve. As it was, Antoine Griezmann's second half goal proved crucial as they won on away goals.

And now, Guardiola has been branded by lots of critics as a 'failure' in his three seasons at Bayern. Here are the raw statistics of his tenure.

Games: 161

Wins: 121

Draws: 21

Defeats: 19

Goals scored: 396

Goals conceded: 110

Trophies: 7

A pretty astonishing record. However, to quote the man himself, "titles are just statistics". I believe we have to look beyond these when judging his time in Munich.

Guardiola seeks to develop his players understanding
of the game

Guardiola was tasked with creating something that would last beyond him, a legacy to make Bayern "a global player", in the words of Uli Hoeness. He has innovated once again with his 'inverted full backs' and Bayern are an incredible team to watch.

No one exemplifies Guardiola's work better than David Alaba. Under him, Alaba has become, in my eyes, the universal footballer. You could play him in practically every position on the pitch and he would give you an eight out of ten performance. He is incredible.

Who better to ask about the head coach's time than the players? Phillip Lahm, a man who had won almost all there is to win before Guardiola even arrived at the club said this:

"You’re always measured by the number of trophies but he developed a lot of players with the way he thinks about tactics, the way he analyses games and prepares teams for particular opponents. He really helps players develop and he even helped me improve at the age of 30. You’re right — with Pep it’s more than just about winning trophies."

Thomas Muller also branded it a disgrace that people might consider Guardiola a failure. The connection he made with his players is quite evident.

What it boils down to, ultimately, is how you define success! For some, Guardiola came into a ready made club who had just won the treble and had it easy. Therefore, anything but winning every trophy available is unacceptable. But how many teams have ever won the treble in succession, or even close together? Not so many, and maybe only when they have been reinvented as a team (see Luis Enrique with Barcelona last season) as Guardiola has also attempted to do. 

For others, success is to implement your beliefs on a team. To develop the players individually and collectively. I believe that this is where Guardiola's philosophy leans towards. Regardless, no one will be more critical of him than himself. He will scrutinise every move he made and what he could have done differently.

As someone who enjoys coaching young children, success to me is seeing them enjoy the game and develop as a player and a person. Quite a different world to working at the elite level, but I like to think that Guardiola tries to be quite brave in having some of the values even at the top level. 

England DNA to come to the fore?

The announcement of the England 26-man provisional squad for European Championships has generated plenty of discussion. Who will go? Which three will be dropped? Who was unfortunate to not make the squad? And that will only continue and increase as the build up to the tournament progresses.

Reading through the list, I am enthused. Since the disastrous World Cup campaign just two years before the squad has really improved. We appear to finally have a squad of players with high levels of technical ability and the tactical awareness to play in different systems of play.

Dan Ashworth - director of elite development

"England teams will play with tactical flexibility, influenced by the profile of the players and the requirements of the match or competition." 

That is the formation statement made in the England DNA document. Should we look back at recent England games, the Germany friendly stands out as a relevant example of this. Upon changing from the 4-3-3 to the 4-4-2 diamond, England increased their control on the centre of the pitch and with the addition of Jamie Vardy to the front two became more of a threat to the German goal. They changed shape due to the requirements of the game and it proved successful.

While the England DNA was only officially launched at the back end of 2014, under 18 months ago, it does appear to be bearing fruit. This report was developed by Dan Ashworth and his team. How accountable Roy Hodgson and his staff are to align the senior team with this philosophy is hard to tell however the signs are certainly there that it is being bought into.

Coming into the tournament England have one of the youngest squads around. Players such as Dele Alli (formerly coached by Dan Michiche - coach in the England youth set up), John Stones, Eric Dier and Raheem Sterling all fit the mould. These are players who can intelligently play in different roles for the team, are comfortable in possession and exude confidence. What better way to showcase the England DNA than with a young vibrant England squad making a fist of it in France this summer?

For those that are sceptical of the new direction the Football Association are looking to take English football in this is the chance to sway opinions. A positive performance - and I don't think anyone is demanding England bring the trophy home - may encourage clubs, coaches, players, to adopt this philosophy.

Alli and Dier are examples of players comfortable
playing in a number of roles 

The production line of talent appears to be working to good effect. England now have teams at every age group from under 15 to under 21. For those starting their 'international journey' , as described in a webinar by Dan Michiche, at just 14 years of age this allows them to experience the England set up. They can begin to develop an understanding of the England DNA and the expectations placed on them from an early age which could benefit the player in years to come.

More age groups allows more players to enter the system. Much has been made of the lack of English talent available to the manager so this could be an interesting way of developing the pool of talent. A glance at the England under 19s squad includes; Patrick Roberts, Reece Oxford, Ademola Lookman, Lewis Cook. It's an impressive looking squad. All players I would have thought could play at higher age groups, further highlighting the talent that is there to be developed.

Coming back to the senior team, this tournament could be very important for the development of English football. If elements of the DNA playing philosophy (In possession, out of possession, transition phase) are evident in the way the England team successfully this summer it will show huge progress and bode well. There will be reason to believe in something that a lot of time and money has gone into.

I myself hope to have the time available to analyse England's games in relation to the playing philosophy that the England DNA presents. It will be interesting to see the difference in style compared to the world cup in Brazil, with the DNA launched just six months after too.

Have you asked the kids?

Those who have attended the FA Youth Module 1 - Developing the Environment - will know that one of the key messages the course delivers is around player led development. In fact 'ownership' became a bit of a buzzword out of it. As an eighteen year old when I was on the course it certainly opened my eyes when thinking about this angle of approach and it helped broaden my sessions for sure. However, I think I became a bit lazy with it and left it to 'here are the cones, you set the size area'.

I asked subs at u7s game to evaluate team
 performance per quarter!

Not that there is anything necessarily anything wrong with this. It's great for kids to feel responsibility and you get to see an insight into what they feel is realistic and appropriate for THEIR needs. For myself anyway, I think it became a bit of a cop out.

This blog takes inspiration from a recent guest article I saw by Stuart Armstrong on rivers of thinking (definitely advise you to read it!).  What I really liked was how Stuart talked about setting time aside for self-directed learning. This is something I am definitely going to be experimenting with. It would be very interesting to see what the under sevens (my current side) come up with! They are a fairly confident, outgoing bunch so I am sure that they will have plenty of ideas in their heads. Further more, I think it would further create an environment in which the players know they are coming to learn in. 

A scenario I found myself in just this week further emphasised the good ideas that children can come up with. At a PE session I do every Wednesday we start our session with a fun arrival activity. It's usually some form of tag game. This week I hadn't necessarily had anything planned so instead of trying to make it up on the spot I thought I would ask the kids. Nearly every single one of them wanted to share a game they like to play!

The game we eventually did go with was 'Grandma's footsteps'. They had a great time, doing something they had chosen to do, whilst also getting great outcomes for agility, balance, co-ordination and speed. We were able to start the session in a positive atmosphere!

What this reinforced to me was that actually, children think in different and interesting ways. If we ignore what is going on inside their heads we could be missing out on some valuable opportunities for their development. 

I am very keen to develop players who can think on their feet. I refrain from commentating during games as I worry that I will stop them from becoming effective decision makers. Self-directed learning could be a really useful tool to add to that. 

For the FA youth award, I am putting together player profiles of the under sevens I am coaching to give a context behind the ten sessions in my logbook. It's important for me for the players to be a part of this. This way, they can understand their own strengths and limitations and plan their development. Another idea I thought might be for each player to take turns each week in organising the arrival activity geared towards the topic. 

If you have ideas around empowering players to give them more of a say in their development - share them by commenting below!