Leader and Leadership: Pep Guardiola Effect to the world football

Leader and Leadership: Pep Guardiola Effect to the world football

If your action inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

~John Quincy Adams.

Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

~ Vince Lombardi

Possession-based football was not the dominant influence at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, certainly compared to the 2010 edition in South Africa. Indeed, the fact that holders Spain fell at the first hurdle in Brazil now appears highly symbolic. Nevertheless, the style of play and approach developed by Spain and Barcelona, and maintained by such personalities as Pep Guardiola, has taken root throughout the footballing world.

The Guardiola Effect (FIFA Magazine): In a fast-moving world, Barcelona established a school of tiki-taka that has since been embraced across the globe – despite the dwindling appeal of possession football (Jordi Punti, Barcelona)

Guardiola and his assistant Tito Vilanova based their playing concept on a philosophy originally introduced by Johan Cruyff to Barcelona’s academy from youth sides all the way through to the first team, and modernized these principles to fit the requirements of contemporary football with the help of a generation of exceptional players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and even Seydou Keita.

By artfully advocating a playing style based on possession, short passing play and attack in which the ball is played forward from defense all the way to goal by means of pinpoint combination play, Barça captivated the footballing world.

Guardiola was also assisted in his endeavors by a Spanish national team that relied on a similar system known as tiki-taka, which ultimately led them to victory in two successive European Championships and at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

From almost the very beginning, clubs on every continent began converting to the teachings of ‘Guardiolism’, signing players and – most importantly – coaches who were able to implement Barcelona’s playing philosophy.

Every effort was made to find Guardiola’s disciples – former team-mates, colleagues or even erstwhile teachers who had worked with him in the past and aspired to a similar brand of football. It could be argued that this was the first time implementing a particular playing style was considered more important than good results.

The task of a football manger is to make players perform to the best of theirs ability.

Josep Guardiola by a manager and a creative leader of FC Barcelona has achieved incredible result during 4 years (14 titles)

He did not have famous fame by a football coach when he became a new manager but he showed his extraordinary ability to rebuild and to improve the spoiled team.

“I was chosen, any other coach could have been chosen by F.C. Barcelona, but they chose me, the credit goes for the people who chose me”

“My knowledge is also inherited, it is not entirely mine, it belongs to all the coaches I have had in the past, some more than others, obviously, but all of them have taught me something”

“I claim just one thing for myself: I love what I do. I am passionate about it. I love it, I loved it when I was a player, and I love it now that I am a coach, I love to speak about it, and I love it when I can share it with people chatting about this and that”

“At the end, everything is about moments in each of our careers everything comes to those moments when we enjoy what we do”(Speech at the Catalan parliament)

By a new leader of team, Guardiola has struggled to know the value of collective maximize the virtues of the best and make everyone share in the same goals.

He was a perfectionist, he studies his rival and take of small details and He used risky tacktics to surprise his rival.

He teaches, supports, defines a clear direcion, obtains, resources, explains the teams development and state and its project.

He not only considers the football talent of each player but also his personaity and ability to adapt to the team

Like a great leader and leadership, he created new leadership style by a football manager. His leadership has very emtional and motivative characters than anthorative or charismatic leadership styles of other famous coaches.

He respectes all palyers, supporters, moreover rival teams and players.

He has the great belief to what to do, and always he thanks for that by a football manager.

His leadership style is a kind of philosopher style like that Phil Jackson who was a heroic manager of NBA(Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers). But he is more passionate and emotional than Phil Jackson.

Even though he learned many things from Johan Cruyff, he created a new leadership style that more democratic and distributed power than his old leader.

His staff and players loved him with all their heart and he made FC Barcelona “more than a club” in the football world.

Like a great leader of management, His management process showed good way as follows;

First, He analysed efficiently the team and players.

Second, He made a excellent strategy for achieving objectives.

Third, He and his management staff achieved goals with a team.

Forth, He produced his successor and young players for sustainability and competence advantage of a team for the future.

Nowadays, we can find two advanced great football managers like Josep Guardiola andJose Mourinho.

They achieved great results for a team and showed great leadership through their football management and achievement..

Wherein, they have similar leadership style but showed very different personality.

Guardiola always showed respecting to other teams and referee so that his players also followed his discipline.

But Mourinho was aggressive to competition teams and players; moreover he provoked some troubles with others. But he always protected his players and a team from outside barriers like media, supporters, and administration members.

However,

Players respect two leaders and feel fatherhood from them. By a coach and a leader, perfectly they managed a team and players to reach goals.

As a result, they could perform the great achievement with a team.

Style	Josep Guardiola	Jose Mourinho
Working style	Perfectionist	Perfectionist
Emotional style	Generous	Outspoken
Methodology	Idealistic process	Realistic result
Team operation	Team than one	Team than one
Spirit motivation	Emotional	Passionate
Philosophy	Beautiful football	Winning football
Nick name	Pep	Special one

 

Conclusion

There are a variety of ways a mountain climb. How to climb a mountain is up to people who choose it. The secret of leadership is that they had an excellent insight into human potentiality. Therefore, the methodology is not the main key of great leadership. The style of leadership has evolved with the social change and development. The present society asks more distracted and soft power to the organization.

An Orchestra has many persons and instruments. Great leader and leadership looks like that the orchestra conductor. A conductor makes characteristics of each member to be integrated harmoniously in a team. A conductor takes out the potential of each member for identified harmony.

Pep Guardiola as the football field conductor showed his awesome leadership and developed innovative football strategy through 2 times’ world cup, moreover he have proofed the attacking football philosophy (Progressive Total Football) to the world football.

In future, Pep Guardiola is going to challenge the new football tactics and exploit the new frontier for revolutionary football world.

 

The real leader has no need to lead – he is content to point the way.~Henry Miller

 

 

Reference

 

• Teambuilding: the road to success” by Rinus Michels, 2013
• Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff by by Frits Barend (Author), Henk Van Dorp (Author), 1999
• Barca: “the Making the great team in the world”by Graham Hunter, 2013
• Pep Guardiola: “Another Way of Winning” by Guillem Balague, 2012
• “Messi” by Guillem Balague, 2014
• “The Manager” by Mike Carson, 2013
• “Mourinho: Further Anatomy of a Winner” by Patrick Barclay, 2011
• “Eleven Rings” by Phil Jackson, 2013