So here we are: The Invincibles vs The Invincibles on Matchday 7 on Sunday of the Premier League. Manchester City, top of the table, and Tottenham Hotspur, second, in watered down, if not ridicule, versions, of that marvellously talented 2004 Arsenal eleven, who, under Arsene Wenger – who still does his thing, still talks about “the quality and desire” of his team, still puts his faith in pure football and players that have disappointed too often after 20 years at the north London club – achieved near-footballing perfection.
The words and nickname “The Invincibles” carry weight. They resonate in football’s history. They muse, bewitch and thrill. They even frighten. Can any club today aspire to emulate Arsenal’s celebrated feat in the unhinged and frantic world of the Premier League, where players and coaches, in an ever faster rat race, are but puppets in the machinations of global capital and vain owners?
At present, Manchester City still do have the requisite record to – mutter it – go a season unbeaten in the Premier League. And, of course, they have Pep Guardiola, the world’s best coach and an exquisite object of desire for every leading club in Europe. Guardiola is young and sexy, everything his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini was not. He has come to the north of England with a singular goal: to win the Champions League with Manchester City. And the league title?
Guardiola has brought his adaptability to Manchester
The first six games suggest City will stroll to domestic glory. They have scored 18 goals to obtain the exact number of points and maintain a 100% record. The manner in which Manchester City have dominated, is impressive – courtesy of Guardiola’s greatest quality as a manager: his adaptability according to the opposition and the circumstances.
Many club coaches stick to their own world views. Guardiola is a philosopher, who carries his dogmas everywhere, shackled to an ideological straightjacket. He belongs to a rarefied circle of zealots, who systematically present the same big idea: attacking football as the only solution to the problems plaguing the footballing universe.
But that does not imply that the Spaniard is a stuck-up gnome, who since his coaching days at FC Barcelona has done nothing but to seek refuge in his beloved 4-3-3 formation, a recluse manically depressed about tactics outside a ‘‘Cruffyian” formation. No, Johan Cruyff’s disciple has invented a superior version of the modern game, at each step of his way, first at FC Barcelona, then at FC Bayern Munich.
Now, he wants to pursue his road of footballing refinement at City. His arrival in England has been fascinating, because, seemingly, Guardiola has mocked the much-invoked cliche that new coaches and new players, City 2.0, need time to adapt. Guardiola’s adaptability has almost nullified adaptation.
The Spaniard has dealt with the natural traits of the Premier League: the speed, the physicality and the volume of games, which all contrive to subvert one of the cornerstones of his philosophy: pressing. Guardiola has reacted with formational tweaks. In Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, he plays with two number eights, who operate in a creative role from the centre of midfield. Raheem Sterling and Nolito then function as wingers.
The right men for the right gaps
The danger is the pockets of space that appear in behind the midfield, but in possession, Barcary Sagna and Gael Clichy counter that exposure by drifting infield into holding midfield roles as Philipp Lahm and David Alaba did at Bayern Munich. In turn, Fernandinho drops deeper to protect the central defenders.
The result is often superlative. There is collective movement from City; pace, precision, possession and pressing, all in teeming, hunting packs of baby-blue players. They have spatial awareness that was missing last season, when City began with five consecutive wins – the words Invincibles were mumbled – before imploding.
Not that everything is hunky-dory at City. Last weekend, a midfield of Fernandinho and new acquisition İlkay Gündoğan was abject. In the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers and Celtic almost played City at their own game - pressing opponents as high as possible and attacking in numbers when possible. They earned a well-deserved 3-3 draw.
Tottenham have the best defence in the Premier League. Their coach Mauricio Pochettino is a complex mirror of Guardiola, who was mentored by Cruyff but grew to admire Marcelo Bielsa. The reverse applies to the Tottenham coach. City, without an injured Kevin De Bruyne, cannot be lax against the London club, a benchmark for City to see if they are anywhere near invincible.
