“I’m just copying Pep, mate.”
Uttered with a backdrop of sarcasm, there’s no doubt Ange Postecoglou would have taken offence to claims that the Australian’s methodology has been taken straight out of the Pep Guardiola playbook.
Like so many, Postecoglou has undoubtedly taken inspiration from the current Manchester City boss. Leaning towards Guardiola in the ideological spectrum is seemingly a prerequisite for managers to succeed at the elite level.
Nevertheless, Ange’s influences transcend the great Guardiola and can be traced back to the revolutionary Mighty Magyars of the 1950s given his close relationship with Ferenc Puskas. Unlike his Spanish counterpart, the Australian has been pushed back and doubted throughout his managerial career, but he’s now arrived in the big time after taking on the daunting Spurs job.
The early signs suggest we’ll enjoy our fair share of duels between the two managers on English shores. Here’s a reminder of how every Guardiola vs Postecoglou clash has played out so far.
Man City beat Postecoglou’s Yokohama side in a 2019 pre-season friendly / Koji Watanabe/GettyImages
Postecoglou had already overseen a quite remarkable turnaround at Yokohama by the time they faced Manchester City in the summer of 2019 as part of City’s pre-season Asia tour.
The Japanese side were in the middle of a majestic title-winning campaign when they faced Guardiola’s juggernaut. City had claimed back-to-back Premier League titles and the boss deployed an incredibly strong starting XI for this fixture.
The official City website described Yokohama, who are part of the City Football Group, as ‘excellent’, adding that their ‘commitment to playing open, attractive football was impressive.’ The hosts competed admirably against Guardiola’s men with Keita Endo cancelling out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener, but goals from Raheem Sterling and Lukas Nmecha saw City prevail in a rare instance where they enjoyed less possession than their opponents.