The start of an era
The Catalan inherited an ageing defence when he joined The Blues in 2016. On the left was a 31 year old Gael Clichy and Aleksandr Kolarov, and on the right was Jesus Navas (31), Pablo Zabaleta (32) and Bacary Sagna (34). Guardiola was left with a few fullbacks to choose from, but traditional ones, the ones that run up and down the line - something he wasn’t used to after leaving his beloved inverted fullbacks of Philip Lahm and David Alaba at Bayern Munich.
Guardiola’s first seasons’ fullbacks were capable in a defensive manner but they weren’t good technically nor did they have the passing ability of his previous fullbacks, and that's all whilst looking past their age. Following a 3rd place finish in his first season at CIty, Pep welcomed Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker to his side in the summer window of the 2017/18 season - plus Oleksandr Zinchenko who returned from a loan spell in The Netherlands. Clearly impressed by the Frenchman during his side's defeat to AS Monaco in the Champions League, Mendy was brought in to replace the departures of Clichy and Kolarov. On the right hand side, it was Walker’s job to replace Zabaleta and Navas. However, Walker was deployed as an attacking wing back under Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs but of course it’s Pep Guardiola’s job to reinvent a player, and that he did - forging one of the best defensive right backs in world football.
A midfielder has entered the defence
Unfortunately, Ben Mendy’s first season was cut very short through injury and with a lack of left backs to fill his role, in stepped Fabian Delph. The English midfielder was pushed out to left back for the majority of the 17/18 season but it wasn’t the typical up-and-down left back role, of course, this is Pep Guardiola we’re talking about. Without the ball it was a typical back four for the Citizens, Walker holding down the right flank, Vincent Kompany would partner Nicolas Otamendi in the middle, and Delph would take up the left side. However, City fans saw what would be somewhat of a revolution for the blue side of Manchester when their team had the ball - Delph would step up into midfield alongside Fernandinho and the three remaining defenders would turn into a makeshift back three. It worked brilliantly for City as they became The Centurions that season, reaching 100 points in the Premier League.
It was also Fabian Delph’s best ever Premier League season, statistically. Across City’s squad, Delph had completed the most passes, the 2nd most tackles and the 2nd most interceptions. Additionally, he finished off the longest sequence of passes leading to a Premier League goal since 2015 (31 passes).
Although I still don’t think this quite explains just how good he was that season. This was a central defensive midfielder from Leeds United and Aston Villa who was thrown into a super technical left back role, a role which he adapted to with ease. He left the dogged route one football that he was so used to behind him and enrolled in not just a new role for himself but a role that was new to the rest of the league. English football hadn’t seen anything like it before.
(Via @OptaJoe, 𝕩)
Pep’s side also had a record breaking 72% possession on average across the season, with Delph playing a huge part in it. At the end of the season he recognised Guardiola’s excellence as he stated, “He [Guardiola] has completely reinvented me!”.
A defender has entered the midfield
It quickly became apparent that Walker wasn’t quite up to the job when it came to a ball-playing fullback, or a fullback that enters the midfield for that matter. Furthermore, the 19/20 summer transfer window saw the departures of Delph and the swiss knife defender of Danilo. To counteract this, Joao Cancelo was brought in from Juventus. The Portugueseman could play either side of the defence and was not afraid to move with the ball - the perfect Guardiola defender. Cancelo would often be deployed at rightback or leftback and then move into the midfield when The Blues were on the ball. For a bit of stability for when he played on the right and then moved into midfield, Aymeric Laporte would sometimes come in at leftback, opposed to his usual left sided centre back position. On paper this sounded great, but it wasn’t to be for Pep’s side in the Premier League, losing out to Liverpool.
The 2020/21 season was a unique one for City as halfway through the campaign, via injuries, they struggled to field a typical striker and in came the use of the false 9 with Ilkay Gundogan. This also created a new role for Joao Cancelo. Instead of just inverting during build-up play to help City play out from the back, he became a genuine creator within the final third. During the season, within the City rank, Cancelo had the 2nd most carries into the box, the 2nd most passes into the box and the 2nd most ball recoveries. He took becoming an inverted fullback to the extreme. It was also made easier for him to leave his defensive duties behind as Ruben Dias was brought in to partner John Stones, a defensive duo that proved crucial in Manchester City’s regaining of the Premier League title.
A defensive change
Despite both Cancelo and Zinchenko’s technical excellence, they struggled in a defensive manner, with many fans losing hope with Cancelo following his defensive blunder against Liverpool early into the 22/23 season. In January of the same season, Cancelo was exiled to Bayern Munich on loan. That summer also saw Zinchenko leave for Arsenal in the hope of more game time. Welcome, Manuel Akanji.
Many were unsure with Akanji as he wasn’t loved by many Borussia Dortmund fans and his low price tag brought worries. However, he turned out to be one of the best signings of the window, perhaps slightly overshadowed by the arrival of one Erling Haaland.
That season saw Akanji thrown into the deep end as he played all across the backline. Most notably he played leftback during City’s 4-1 thrashing of title contenders Arsenal. The 22/23 season also saw the emergence of wonderkid Rico Lewis as an overhaul of City’s defence continued. The Bury local played on both the left and right, and the occasional appearance in the defensive midfield role.
The following season also saw changes in the defence as Josko Gvardiol joined the ranks. The Croatian was one of the best central defenders at the 2022 World Cup so of course Pep Guardiola would play him at left back for the majority of the season. Although it’s easy to see why he’d be shipped out to the left following the World Cup campaign as he racked up the 2nd most distance in forward passes from central defenders. Funnily enough the top five list are completed by current or ex Pep Guardiola defenders (Rodri, Otamendi, Stones and Laporte).
To complete the very ‘central defenders’ defence, Stones was often seen at rightback for the 23/24 season. With Walker being out of contention for parts of the season, it wasn’t unusual to see a full backline of central defenders, whether it be made up of Gvardiol, Dias, Stones, Akanji or Ake.
Let’s talk about Stones
John Stones has allowed the drastic change of defensive approaches by Guardiola. He’s more than defensively capable yet has the technical ability of a marauding fullback or cultured midfielder. Whether he’s playing at centre back, rightback or in the midfield, he’s capable of near enough everything.
In January 2023, Stones started against Chelsea at centre back. At the end of that game he had the most touches of any player (102), completed 98% of his passes (85/87), won all of his aerial duels (4/4) and made the most clearances of any City player (4). That season was groundbreaking for the Englishman as his role within the squad was redefined and his full ability was unlocked.
(Via @OptaJoe, 𝕩)
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City defence has changed drastically throughout his tenure at the club. He’s redefined the roles of fullbacks in the modern game. The world was aware of inverted fullbacks before he joined City in 2016, but not in the manner at which he uses them. However, it is fair to say that his newlook City defence wouldn’t be possible without John Stones. His ability both on and off the ball unlocks new potentials for the club, both now and going forward.
Pep Conclude-iola
If you can manage to look past the abhorrent pun, and focus on the greatness and joy that Guardiola has brought to English football, it’s so easy to see why me and every other City fan has fallen in love with the Catalan. He has reinvented Manchester City and has loved it so much that he has stayed for almost ten years, whilst his tenures at Barcelona and Bayern lasted just four, respectively. He’s become an honorary Mancunian and sealed himself as a legend, not just across Manchester or England for that matter, but the whole of football. Something Johan Cruyff would be proud of.
