Capello: ‘Guardiola’s arrogance cost him several Champions League titles’ | OneFootball

Fabio Capello admitted that Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona marked one of the three ‘football revolutions’ that he experienced in his lifetime, but was also very critical of the current Manchester City manager, suggesting his ‘arrogance’  and desire to be ‘the main character’ ended up damaging his career.

“I really appreciated Guardiola as a coach; he did beautiful things,” Capello told Spanish newspaper El Mundo in an interview.

“I have experienced three revolutions in football, roughly one every twenty years: Cruyff’s Ajax, Sacchi’s Milan, and Guardiola’s Barça. I have no problem saying it.”

Fabio Capello (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)

Capello: Guardiola always wanted to be ‘the main character’, his Barcelona side damaged football

The former Milan and Real Madrid coach first met Guardiola when the latter moved to Roma in his late playing days, with Capello still recalling a debate between the two.

“We never discussed anything,” he explained.

“One day, he came to tell me how I should do my job, and I replied: ‘Start running, and then you can talk.’ The fact is, he would stroll around the pitch, and I had no intention of playing him instead of someone who deserved it more. That was the end of the debate.

“Do you know what I don’t like about Guardiola? His arrogance. The Champions League he won with City was the only one where he didn’t try anything strange in the decisive matches.

“But in other years, in Manchester and Munich, on crucial days, he always wanted to be the main character. He changed things and made inventions just so he could say: ‘The players don’t win, I win.’ And that arrogance cost him several Champions Leagues. I respect him, but I see it clearly.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Inter Milan and Manchester City at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, on June 10, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Guardiola’s Champions League triumph with Manchester City in 2023 marked his first major European trophy as a coach in 11 years, despite consistently managing teams that were contenders for the title.

He had previously won the Champions League twice with Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011, with a team that, according to Capello, did ‘enormous damage to football’.

“Furthermore, even though it’s no longer his fault, he has done enormous damage to football,” Capello continued.

“Why? Because everyone spent ten years trying to copy him. This ruined Italian football, which lost its identity. I kept saying: ‘Stop now, you don’t have Guardiola’s players!’

“Moreover, the absurd idea prevailed that playing well meant precisely that. Touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, touch… Nowadays, in Italian football, it’s the goalkeeper who plays the ball! A disaster, and also a bore that scared many people away from football—just look at the highlights. Why watch 90 minutes of passing and passing sideways without battles, without running?

Luckily, football is changing. For the first time, Spain changed things by winning the European Championship with two wingers and playing fast in Spain.”

Capello had already slammed Guardiola before Manchester City met with Juventus in the Champions League in December, describing him as ‘too arrogant and presumptuous’.