PEP GUARDIOLA: OBSESSION DOWN MEMORY LANE
Benjamin YazdanPep Guardiola is oft-lauded as a character of certainly revolutionary manner; with his deployed tactics of choice and on-field innovativity, one could be taken for a fool to presume otherwise. But beyond the surface of wizardry, Catalonia’s number one visionary succumbs to retromania and comes off as a champion of conservatism. By Benjamin Yazdan.
I’ve spent the vast majority of my pieces on Josep Guardiola lauding his genius, ranging from the restrained coolness of pre-match conferences to his near evolutionary tactics, preceding most of the continent’s anyway. Yet it’s merely this very month that I’ve come to realize, that the philosopher best known for racking up titles, now needs acknowledgment for being the footballing world’s equivalent to part conservative, part retro-maniac. All romantic.
Conservatism partly because teamwork is advocated above all else, the retro aspect stemming from an updated throwback to everything beautiful in football history. It may seem modern when it ventures to Wembley, trashes Great Britain’s arguably finest side with impeccable finesse, ventures back, but Barcelona today are all but tastemakers. It’s all rather quite enveloped in a mist of timelessness. In this blend of, say, vintage conservatism, Pep Guardiola emerges, and his style a reply to harsher tides of today.
When the financial crisis struck, predictions of its aftermath, unsurprisingly, followed. Tenfold. Consensus is, well, none, depending on political position solely, but there seemed to be an aura of personal unsureness in the air. Following events as such, society is known to resort to options bordering populism: Simple, steady measures in complex, shaky times. Enter Guardiola, in whose world traditionalism offers consolation.
This is not a new sporting phenomenon, and for an instance it mirrors much of today’s underground scene in music, where a revival of 1980’s pop filtered through lo-fi ambiance seem to appeal to youth not even born when Roxy Music released their last, lush offering.
Speaking of the 80’s, the recent appointment of Kenny Dalglish on Anfield is another prime example of how traditionalism consolidates those in shaky measures. Not only did he bring results, he brought a stoic face to reignite the spark presumably long gone in the northwest. That stoic appearance rested as much on his vintage appeal as it did on his on-pitch triumph and built-in authority, offering older fans a chance to revel in the presence of yesterday’s hero whilst the younger lads of Anfield were able to relive the stories of their fathers and uncles. Looking back doesn’t equal ignoring what’s coming anymore, and retromania as a manner of saving football becomes accepted.
In my native Norway, Rosenborg did something similar a year preceding King Kenny’s return when they reappointed aging cult hero Nils Arne Eggen as their head coach. Only for the remainder of the 2010-season; merely a reminder of his 11 league titles in a row - and boy, did he win the league, all in nostalgic fashion, true to his “Godfot”-theory (translates into something along the lines of “The theory of the good foot”, installing a mentality in the players where they always strive towards making each other better whilst never neglecting individual skill). Fans partly ignored his defensive carelessness when he applied nostalgia to Lerkendal. In the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen take pride in their national cult hero Heynckes.
Guardiola applies a touch of Michels (aspects of total football, where roles on the chalkboard play subordinates to the team itself), a hint of Cruyff (tiqi-taca) and much of the newfound La Furia Roja success (famously, seven Barcelona players won Spain the greatest accolade of them all in Johannesburg). It’s all looking back with nostalgia, and celebratory of Catalan collective consciousness. It’s consolidating, comforting, and it’s quite conservative; no dialectic here although Pep the tactical mastermind often precedes his peers and the rest of La Liga’s coaches.
The appointment of Pep is, perhaps, Joan Laporta’s finest achievement in retrospect. For all his modern pomp and glamour, Catalan separatist Laporta knew that in Guardiola, one would find nostalgia purer, more explicit than in Frank Rijkaard, although that one also cherished his influences, and that following the financial crisis, no coach finer than Guardiola could come to offer a better consolidation of warm nostalgia.
The Catalan developed a love for poetry over the years, Catalan Marti i Pol his very favourite. On the field, he allows the poetry of his own to roam; and whether aware of it or not, we’re all comforted by his retro-conservatism. It quite mirrors football’s obsession down its own memory lane. From Lerkendal through Leverkusen to Camp Nou.
Reader Comments (7)
The appointment of Pep is, perhaps, Joan Laporta’s finest achievement in retrospect. For all his modern pomp and glamour, Catalan separatist Laporta knew that in Guardiola, one would find nostalgia purer, more explicit than in Frank Rijkaard, although that one also cherished his influences, and that following the financial crisis, no coach finer than Guardiola could come to offer a better consolidation of runescape gold
So what's wrong with conservatism? Yazan attacks conservatism but does not offer an alternative to conservatism.
Guardiola's football, although anchored in Michels and Cruiff's images, is the best sort of football to be played out there.
What are the alternatives to this footballing conservatism? His argument would have some heft if you did not attempt to be a quasi-economist and drag in the great financial crisis. The great financial crisis has informed the world of the need for fiscal conservatism. Moreover, while there might be an element of nostalgia in recent lo-fi bands, lo-fi records are much easier to produce and may not necessarily imply a pining for the past. Bewilderingly Yazan tries to tie in many varied subjects: the great financial crisis, lo-fi recording, Guardiola's footballing philosophy and a social issue: conservatism. He as successfully as a bovine attempting figure skating on an ice floe. Crucially, Yazan have not offered an alternative to Guardiola's "conservative" football? Furthermore, speaking of conservatism, the early 1970s German footballing team have not been given due credit since they defeated a liberal, bohemian footballing team who happened to be Dutch. Conservatism, in other words, could be a good thing.
First off, amazing article. Secondly, I must agree with both the author, and "Forebarca." While nostalgia and retrospective culture is definitely rearing its head again, one must always keep its foot in the present, looking towards the future. If we are to incorporate elements of underground music, one look no further than the burgeoning underground hiphop scene (specifically, from L.A.) Over there, they have hiphop nights aptly titled "Future Primitive Sound Sessions." In the music, older records are sampled and presented in newer, more contemporary formats. One eye on the past, one eye on the present, both looking towards the future. And that is what I believe to be Barca's secret weapon. They play Cruyff's Total Football which was dominant in the 70s, and which Guardiola was one of the greatest students. So La Masia hands it down generation after generation, which in turn, inevitably evolves. Messi himself is evolution. A small, quick, strong player. Gone are the days that you have to be large and strong to play football. Its an evolution. Elements of past and present, which prepares for the future. Guardiola= Philosopher, Artist, Poet, Genius...
Really you have to think what having the two best mid-fielders on the planet in Xavi, Iniesta and the best dribbling attacker in Messi has to do with it, as opposed to the system. Without them all the best plays with be less successful and the job only half done. Should they all be injured at the same time we would see a very different Barca.......
Thanks for commenting,
It may have come off the wrong way, as I never intended to interpret conservatism as something of a negative stature here. Rather the opposite; I'm a supporter of Barcelona myself and wouldn't wish for anything but Guardiola's nostalgia. While I regard myself more of a progressive politically, I regard conservatism as a far better option than, say, right-wing populism and "simple measures". Also in football, thus lauding Guardiola by decribing his style as "consolidating, comforting", that he offers consolation, a reply to harsher tides of today. I even call on acknowledgment on his behalf with regard to his conservatism. I'll take Pep's philosophy over, say, Real Madrid's close to hastily charged solutions any day.
@Phalanx: That would be a nice theory... if Guardiola hadn't employed the same system with Barca B and enjoyed incredible success. And, of course, we *have* seen him field a team without two or three of Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi. Are they as brutally dominant? No. But they still crush teams with some regularity.
@ Yazdan
I have no doubt that there is a disenchanting side to conservatism, in the political sense that is. But I thought this is a footballing blog. Why bring in the liberalism versus conservatism debate to a footballing blog? Speaking of liberalism, some would argue that too liberal economic philosophies, such as the dismantling of the conservative looking Glass Stegal Act perpetrated, in part, the great recession. It would have been enough for Yazdan to state that Guardiola's footballing philosophy can, at times, be tedious. But even that view is obsolete since Guardiola has shown an inventiveness such as moving Mascherano to play as left back or, most importantly, reinventing Messi as the inverted 9. How is this conservatism in any sense of the word? Then again, why do people venerate the Dutch 1974 as the apotheosis of Total Football when the West Germans were crowned European Champions in 1972 and World Cup winners in 1974 also playing Total Football? Is it because that the Germans have been seen as stodgy, that is, European conservatism's high priests, at least, in the economic sense of the word?