Why Pep Guardiola was one of Barcelona's best ever midfield players

Pep Guardiola had a successful 16-year senior career before his retirement in 2006

Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse. – Winston Churchill

Tradition and innovation! These have been the two supporting pillars of the massive giant called Barcelona throughout their distinguished 115 year history, a fact that has been integrated into their incredible slogan ‘Mes que un club’. These two elements are also the not-so-secret ingredients that have made Barcelona tick over the years.

Pillars and foundations can only be set by the pioneer generation, with the responsibility of building on it falling on their successors. One such pioneer is Pep Guardiola, who was a youth product of the Catalan club and one of the best midfielders of his time.

What Pep Guardiola did as Barcelona’s coach is nothing short of phenomenal, but while his coaching feats have been lauded numerous times, his time as a player has been all but forgotten by the new generation of fans and that’s more than a tad bit unfair.

Guardiola was a pioneer as a player too, with his dynamic exploits in the Blaugrana’s engine room serving as an example and a source of enlightenment to fellow Barca greats – Xavi and Iniesta. Without Guardiola as a source of inspiration, Xavi and Iniesta would probably have never blossomed into the players they are today.

The ‘Dream Team’ members Michael Laudrup, Ronald Koeman, Jose Bakero and Txiki Begiristain were far more flashier midfielders than Guardiola, but what people often fail to notice is that Guardiola’s work in the engine room was what made these superstars tick and brought out the best in them.

The Making of a Superstar

However, it didn’t start all rosy for a young Guardiola, who joined Barcelona at the age of 13, and spent his formative years as a right sided midfielder before being spotted by legendary Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff, who rightly predicted that the youngster would be way more effective as a holding midfielder.

Pep Guardiola was a part of the ‘Dream Team’ that won Barcelona’s first ever European Cup in 1992

The result of the change took hardly any time to be felt and in 1991, just one year after making his first team debut for Barcelona, Guardiola was already a vital cog in the Barcelona machine that triumphed in the La Liga and won the 1992 European Cup.

And the best part is that Guardiola achieved all this at the tender age of 20.

The world began to take notice of this dynamic young midfielder too, who was named as the finest player in the world under the age of 21 by esteemed Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo.

There was no looking back for the youngster after an incredible season, as he cemented a permanent place in the heart of Barcelona’s midfield.

The seasons post 1994 was a little bleak for Barcelona, with the club failing to win the La Liga for two years. But things soon picked up and the Blaugrana soon returned to their glory days.

Changes Set In

The 1996-97 campaign saw a few changes at Barcelona, who were now managed by another legend – Bobby Robson, and by then had seen the break-up of the ‘Dream Team’.

Guardiola took no time to adapt to the new team as well as the new manager, and was once again critical in bringing out the best in players like Luis Figo and Rivaldo. The result was a Copa Del Rey, a Spanish Supercup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup – all in one season.

The 1997-98 season was probably one of the most crucial seasons for Guardiola at Barcelona. The midfielder was made captain of the side by the new manager Louis van Gaal, who complimented his extraordinary vision of the game as well as his leadership skills.

Despite winning the league and cup double under the Dutchman, Guardiola unfortunately missed out on most of the season due to a calf injury.

More success came to Barcelona in the 1998-99 season courtesy of Guardiola’s midfield driven performances which inspired Luis Figo and Rivaldo while also enabling Barcelona to retain their La Liga crown.

Things went downhill for Guardiola after this season. Following two injury-ravaged years at the club, he decided to leave the club he loved and served for 18 years on 11th April, 2001.

The goodbye was emotional and the loss was certainly felt, but the club’s adoring fans would always be eternally grateful to the lanky midfielder who was way ahead of his peers in terms of his reading of the game and penchant for perfect passes.

If it wasn’t for him, ‘the Dream Team’ may not have created their fairytale.

The Eternal Learner

Guardiola was the mastermind behind two Champions League titles in his four years at Barcelona

Guardiola’s passion for constantly striving to learn something new was also something that made him a success as both a player and a manager. It’s hard to forget his first press conference as manager of Bayern Munich, which he conducted in near flawless German after just around four weeks of practice.

His desire to be a perfectionist enabled him to transform from a winger to a highly successful holding midfielder.

While talking about how Guardiola built one of the greatest teams in the world, fellow Barcelona great and fellow ‘Dream Team’ member Ronald Koeman recalled how Guardiola, who was the Dutchman’s roommate on the instructions of Cruyff, constantly asked questions that would help improve his game as well as the style of training conducted by Ajax, who boasts of one of football’s most successful academies.

His knack for remaining humble, despite being surrounded by superstars also contributed to the making of a great player.