How Guardiola’s Proteges Are Excelling at Arsenal, Barcelona and Burnley

How Guardiola’s Proteges Are Excelling at Arsenal, Barcelona and Burnley

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:23 PM
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  • Pep Guardiola is arguably the best football manager of the current generation
  • He redefined a style of football and built winning teams who dominate leagues
  • After years in the game, he inspired some of his former players and assistants

Pep Guardiola was trusted by Barcelona in 2008, when he was promoted from their team B manager to managing the senior team. He never disappointed, winning a massive 14 trophies in four years.

He also spent three successful years at Bayern Munich, and started a league winning streak that is still on to this date and saw the Bavarians win 11 consecutive titles.

Pep Guardiola, Vincent Kompany, Mikel Arteta, Xavi Hernandez, Manchester City, Barcelona, Arsenal, Burnley, Premier League, Championship, La Liga.
All of Pep Guardiola's proteges are leading their respective leagues. Photos by Diego Souto/Marc Atkins/Michael Steele.
Source: Getty Images

His longest role so far is at current club, Manchester City where he has dominated English football. Some of his past captains and assistants are currently doing well at their respective clubs, as noted by the Sun.

Mikel Arteta

Arteta was Guardiola's assistant at Man City for three years, before his former club Arsenal came calling in 2019.

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He won the FA Cup and Community Shield in his first few games and with patience, he has built a team that is currently top of the Premier League, eight points ahead of the Citizens.

Arteta has gone on record to express how much Guardiola taught him.

“The standards that are set at the club are not only to win, but to win in a certain way every three days, and be extremely demanding and critical, and at the same time supportive, so it’s a good mixture,” he told Mirror.
“It was incredible to be part of that team and the evolution, and how that team was built. I will always be grateful.”

Xavi Hernandez

One of the cores of Guardiola's Barcelona team was Xavi Hernandez, alongside Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi. Xavi left the club in 2015 and played at Al Sadd, where he also had his first managerial job and won seven trophies, before returning to Barca.

The Spaniard recently won the Spanish Super Cup, beating Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid 3-1 in the final. The club also sits top of La Liga, three points ahead of their rivals.

''I said I didn't speak with him but if it's finally agreed, then of course the best wishes. I'm pretty sure he'll do a good job,'' Guardiola told Marca about Xavi at that time.

Vincent Kompany

The big Belgian defender was Guardiola's captain at Manchester City and won seven trophies, including two Premier League titles. He signed as a player coach at Anderlecht after leaving England.

He was announced as Championship side, Burnley's manager in June last year, as reported by Sky Sports. Kompany has masterminded a change in philosophy at the club atop the standings, as they aim for promotion back to the Premier League.

“He has definitely been someone who triggered me wanting to become a manager, and he meant so much to my career as a football player. He was very important in me looking at the game in a different way” Kompany said as quoted by Man City's official website.

Guardiola concedes Premier League title

Sports Brief earlier reported that Guardiola conceded the EPL title, after Man Ciy lost in the cross-town derby to rivals Man United last weekend.

City collapsed in the final stages of the match and conceded two late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, despite dominating most of the game.

Guadiola is not worried if they don't win this season however, saying the Citizens have won many times in the past, including four of the last five league titles.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.
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Mikel ArtetaPep GuardiolaXavi