Pep Guardiola bow out as Manchester City manager afta 10 years - how e transform English Premier League tactically

If you ask Premier League managers who be dia biggest influences for football, di majority dey likely to mention Pep Guardiola.

Wen Guardiola comot fron Manchester City, e go leave behind ogbonge legacy wey extend beyond di team wey e don manage for 10 years.

Im tactics don make waves from di Premier League through non-league football and into di grassroots game.

Yet no be all of dem bin dey planned in advance. Yes, Guardiola bin create systems and tactics based on how e view football, but im tactics also dey determined by di players e get for im disposal.

Hia we go take closer look at how Guardiola take transform di Premier League.

Shot-stoppers to ball-playing keepers

Wen Guardiola start di City job, one of im first decisions na to comot fan favourite Joe Hart and instead dey play Claudio Bravo, den Ederson.

Guardiola bin want goalkeeper wey sabi play football, and dis no be common practice for di Premier League - and dem criticise am bicos of dat

Ten years afta, e go dey more controversial to suggest say top-flight team no need No 1 wey dey comfortable wit di ball for dia feet.

By di early 2020s, most Premier League teams don replace traditional shot-stoppers wit impressive passers - and di statistics show say e dey work.

For Manchester United, Andre Onana replace David de Gea. David Raya replace Aaron Ramsdale for Arsenal, and Chelsea go from Edouard Mendy to Kepa Arrizabalaga to Robert Sanchez. Di list plenti.

Yet Guardiola don dey for City so long, we don dey see as di trend dey reverse.

As man-to-man high pressing from goal-kicks dey increase, di risk of building out from di back dey higher dan bitor.

At City, Ederson - a player wey embody Guardiola tactics - bin dey replaced by Gianluigi Donnarumma, wey no too be good passer.

Donnarumma get beta one-against-one goalkeeping skill, and e bin help Paris St-Germain to win Champions League last season, and Guardiola believe say e go good to sign am, to change im style.

Against high-pressing sides, City still dey build up short sometimes by asking midfielders like Bernardo Silva and Rodri to drop deep and pick up di ball directly from di goalkeeper.

E just be like five-a-side football - and na trend wey oda teams fit start to dey copy ova di next few seasons.

For City mind, di advantage of having beta goalkeeper dey more valuable for tight games, and rivals don take di same view, wit Manchester United replacing Onana wit Senne Lammens - a more traditional keeper - in wetin be like decade-long full-circle moment.

Di use of full-backs

City bin break di record for Premier League points for 2018 - wen dem gada 100 points as Guardiola win di competition for di first time.

Injuries to big-money signings bin leave City witout options for full-back early in di season, so Guardiola gatz adapt.

Though pipo dey tok about di squads wey e bin inherit for im previous jobs, arguably Guardiola biggest strength na to create new and viable tactical set-ups wit di players wey e get for im disposal - often bicos of injuries.

Wit no natural left-back available, Guardiola look at di left-footers for im squad - Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph - and, bicos of dia qualities as technical passers, e invert im left-back next to di defensive midfielder.

Dis tactics come give City beta security for di centre of di pitch, improve dia build-up, suit di left-back, and allow di left-winger to dey close to di touchline.

Di jigsaw come togeda brilliantly, wit opposition teams struggling to adapt to City build-up. And wen Mikel Arteta bin sign Zinchenko to Arsenal, dem play some of dia most free-flowing football wit inverted full-backs.

Ange Postecoglu - anoda admirer of Guardiola - also use di tactic wen e be Tottenham manager, wit Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie narrow for di build-up alongside dia defensive midfielder.

Going back to 2018-19, wen Zinchenko bin get injury, left-footed centre-back Laporte bin dey play for left-back.

For dia treble-winning season for 2022-23, centre-backs Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake bin also play for right-back and left-back respectively - either side of Ruben Dias and John Stones, wit Stones moving into midfield.

E open up di idea of using more traditional centre-backs out wide, to make di defence stronger in a unique manner.

Newcastle 6ft 7 defender Dan Burn don since dey play as left-back, tucking in to form back three on di ball and defending as left-back wen out of possession.

Wit more attack-minded defenders, Guardiola don do experiment wit Joao Cancelo and now Nico O'Reilly for full-back, moving dem centrally but higher up di pitch - allowing dem to arrive for di box and contribute to goals.

Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori for Arsenal, and Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella for Chelsea, don also play in similarly attacking fashion for Arteta and former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca - both of dem bin don work as Guardiola assistants.

From fast breaks to controlled possession

Guardiola don always be manager wey dey like to dominate possession. Early for im managerial career wit Barcelona, e tok say e betray imsef for one match against Inter Milan.

E select Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, and e make dem play wit less possession dan normal and try to attack quickly. Soon afta, e promise imsef say even if e go fail, e go abide by im own principles.

Tthough Guardiola use of midfielders as inverted full-backs and having technical players across di pitch, City don always dominate possession under im.

For di 2017-18 season, dem bin get average 71.9% possession of di ball per game. Since den dem neva drop below 60% across di season.

Winning six Premier League titles in seven seasons wit dat approach mean say controlled, positional, high-possession football bicom di normal.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot win di Premier League for im first season playing closer to dis principles dan Jurgen Klopp wey prefer more intense style of play.

While Arsenal get impressive defensive records dis season, dem dey also try to keep di ball during games.

And Brighton sustainable model of success also come from hiring coaches wey dey like to impose diasef on di game through possession, wit Roberto de Zerbi and Fabian Hurzeler doing well for dem.

Scott Parker, Vincent Kompany, and Russell Martin don also remain wit dis philosophy for di Premier League - but dem sha no too succeed sake of player quality and dia reluctance to change approach.

Dis underline di impact wey Guardiola don get on coaches throughout di league.

Bifor Guardiola, English football dey known for intensity, directness and fast attacks, wit Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United dominating.

United under Michael Carrick don lean into dis traditional counter-attacking roots, but one of Guardiola most impressive impact na to come into league wey get Ferguson tactical fingerprints all ova am and change di approach of many of di best clubs dia.

First-mover advantage

Guardiola don change di tactical landscape for di Premier League, but e don also adapt to di many challenges too.

E get misconception say e impose one particular style on di league, forcing opponents to copy. But even though e get fundamental principles wey don serve am well for many decades, e still dey able to quickly tweak im tactics to best suit new signings and deal wit unexpected challenges.

For Guardiola, to dey able to adapt to di quality of im players - while exploiting di weaknesses wey e see for di league - don allow am to always dey win, weda na to use traditional or inverted wingers and full-backs, or wit false nines or natural nines.

Wen results come, oda managers go copy di Guardiola plan sharp-sharp.

Dia problem dey usually be say by di time dem dey copy wetin bin work, Guardiola and Manchester City don already move on.