Guardiola out to tame the monster he created

On first glance, not a lot has changed since Pep Guardiola said his goodbyes at the Camp Nou. Barcelona are again threatening to conquer all that appear before them, they still rely heavily on that giant of an Argentine, they still look to play attacking football based on dominating possession and close down opponents harrying them into mistakes.

But look a bit deeper and this Barcelona is far removed from the one Guardiola left behind as his legacy. Lionel Messi — famously turned into a false 9 by Guardiola to much success — has now found joy dropping deeper and dictating play from midfield in the increasing absence of Xavi. The Catalans are more direct in attack, increasing tempo much more often than Guardiola’s side did, going from defence to attack more quickly. They defend deeper than the class of 08 and have a much more solid defensive base.



Guardiola will be aware of all these changes when he returns to the Camp Nou, looking to conquer the fortress he defended for 11 years as a player and for four years as a coach. He knows this is not the side he left behind but he would be well aware of what they can do to a diminished Bayern Munich missing some of their best players.

Of possession and attack

The potential of Barcelona’s front trident would not have gone unnoticed to a man as obsessed with the game as Guardiola, especially if he once again opts to play a high backline.

While both sides are used to dominating possession, Barcelona’s speed on the counter can hurt Bayern the way Carlo Ancelotti’s side did last year, especially if Luis Suarez is in the clinical mood that he was against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. In Neymar and Suarez, Barcelona have two intelligent runners and midfielders who are more than capable of finding them, even if Guardiola does manage to curtail Messi — the man he propelled to otherworldly heights during his four years at the club.

Manuel Neuer, who shut out Messi in the World Cup final, has said he wants a repeat of that performance and wants to show the Argentine ‘who’s boss’. However, the World Cup winner knows just how difficult a task that will be. “I have a lot of respect for Messi and for everything that he has achieved,” he said.

Without the threat of Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery to worry about, Barcelona’s fullbacks have more license to bomb forward and provide width at every opportunity to add another dimension to Barcelona’s attack. However, this will leave gaps for the likes of Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski to exploit, with La Masia graduate Thiago pulling the strings in midfield.

Dreaming of the treble

Luis Enrique — Guardiola’s teammate at Barcelona for five years and his successor at Barcelona B — can emulate the Catalan with a treble in his first year, with the Champions League posing as his biggest challenge.



While Guardiola’s dreams of a second treble were quashed by a woeful shootout display against Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup semi-final, he knows that just winning the Bundesliga — already in the bag — would not be enough for a side that had just won the treble when he took over.

Wounds of the past still fresh

Last season’s 5-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid at the same stage would still be fresh in Guardiola’s mind — the 4-0
defeat at the Allianz Arena being dubbed as the worst match of his life by Pep himself.



Barcelona, on the other hand, will not have forgotten the 7-0 drubbing that they suffered at the hands of that treble-winning Bayern side coached by Jupp Heynckes, but that was a different Bayern. “That hurt a lot, but a lot of time has passed,” said Messi, referring to the humiliating defeat.

Barca favourites against a bruised Bayern

Facing perhaps the best attack in world football, Bayern have much cause to fear Enrique and his men and will be looking to come out of the Camp Nou still in the tie.

Considering the way they dismantled both Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto at the Allianz Arena, Guardiola may just look for
damage control at the Camp Nou — easier said than done.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th,  2015.

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