Former England manager Fabio Capello has claimed that Man City boss Pep Guardiola has “done tremendous damage to football”.
The Italian didn’t hold back in his assessment of Guardiola – who was previously coached by Capello during his brief spell at Roma – with the current Man City boss one of the best managers the game has ever seen.
Guardiola won three La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and two Champions Leagues during his time at Barcelona, before winning three Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich, as well as two German Cups, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
And the Catalan continued his success at Man City with Guardiola lifting six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite all of that success, former Real Madrid and Juventus boss Capello has criticised the Man City boss for doing “tremendous damage to football”.
When asked in an interview with El Mundo if he was anti-Guardiola, Capello said: “No, no, not at all. I value Guardiola very much as a coach, he has done wonderful things.
“I have lived through three revolutions in football, one every 20 years or so: [Johan] Cruyff’s Ajax, [Arrigo] Sacchi’s Milan and Guardiola’s Barca. I have no problem saying that.”
But Capello added: “Do you know what I don’t like about Guardiola? His arrogance. The Champions League he won with City was the only one in which he didn’t try anything strange in the decisive games. But every other year, in Manchester and Munich, on the key days, he always wanted to be the protagonist.
“He changed things and made up things so he could say: ‘The players don’t win, I win’. And that arrogance has cost him several Champions Leagues. I respect him, but I see that clearly. Also, although it is no longer his fault, he has done tremendous damage to football.”
When pushed on exactly what he meant by the “tremendous damage” that the Man City boss had done, Capello continued: “Everyone has spent ten years trying to copy him. That has ruined Italian football, which has lost its nature. I said: ‘Stop that, you don’t have Guardiola’s players!’. In addition, the absurd idea that playing well was just that. Touch, touch, touch…
“Now, in Italian football, the goalkeeper plays the ball! A disaster and also a bore that has scared many people away from football, they just have to watch the highlights. Why are you going to watch 90 minutes of passes and horizontal passes without fighting, without running…? Luckily, football is changing. It has changed, first of all, Spain by winning the Euro [2024] with two wingers and playing fast.”