Xabi Alonso: Pep Guardiola’s important ideological signing for Bayern Munich

 

The Camp Nou. The Gamper Trophy. The 25th of August 2010. A night of flowing narratives. Ronaldinho returns to Barcelona with Milan in what was a sense of what used to be. Zlatan Ibrahimovich plays against his future club, Milan — a sense of what would be.

But hidden on that night was a sense of what might have been.

That was the night Pep Guardiola almost signed Andrea Pirlo. As explained in

Is Universality the Newest Tactical Trend in Football? Part I

Carlos Alberto Perreira’s bold prophecy of football moving towards universality may be coming true.

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. The words of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. hold true when it comes to football’s ever evolutionary tactics.

It was Carlos Alberto Perreira whom once predicted that football tactics were evolving into a state where there would merely be four defenders and six creative players allowed to

The Sign of Four : Pep Guardiola

At Barcelona, he exemplified all the features of Plato’s proverbial philosopher king. Born and bred in Catalunya’s playing fields, he rose to dominance with poetic displays in midfield. Then he left, only to return as manager and build probably the greatest club side in history. Certainly, the greatest this side of the century thus far.

Bayern Munich however provides a totally different challenge to Pep Guardiola.

It is a club steeped in different traditions to those of

Barca rise to their level

Messi and Barca In Victorium *** image courtesy of zimbio ***

For all their brilliance and dominance. For all their trophies and triumphs. For all the records they have broken. All the times they have made us gasp in breathlessness, stand in awe, stare in amazement and applaud in appreciation; one thing remained. That for this generation of Barcelona players, a truly outstanding comeback was missing from the narrative.

Not anymore.

All the recent doubts, the