Following reports of Pep Guardiola agreeing a new contract at Man City, Sports Mole picks out some of the Catalan’s greatest moments during his nine-year reign as manager of the Citizens.
After enjoying two hugely successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola has since enhanced his coaching credentials at the Etihad Stadium, etching his name into Manchester City folklore by becoming the most successful manager in the club’s history.
The Catalan succeeded Manuel Pellegrini in the summer of 2016, and during his legendary nine-year career in charge of the Citizens, he has won a total of 18 trophies across seven different competitions, while he also boasts a 72% win rate from 490 matches at the helm.
Guardiola has transformed Man City into the dominant force in English football and has also steered them to glory on the continental and world stages, while implementing a unique ever-evolving philosophy that other coaches now attempt to replicate at all levels of the beautiful game.
Having achieved everything and more that Man City fans could have asked for since arriving at the club, Guardiola’s future became the subject of much speculation in the summer and has remained rife for several months, with Citizens supporters aware that his current contract is due to expire in June 2025.
However, instead of seeking a fresh challenge, multiple reports now claim that Guardiola has opted to sign a new one-year contract extension, with the option of an additional year, to take his stay at the Etihad to 10 years, and it is understood that an official announcement confirming his new contract is expected ‘in the coming days’.
Ahead of that announcement, Sports Mole picks out some of Guardiola’s greatest moments as Man City manager.
Centurions season and Guardiola’s first Premier League title
After failing to win a single trophy in his first season as Man City manager, Guardiola certainly made his mark in English football the following campaign by winning a memorable Premier League and EFL Cup double, securing his first top-flight title as Citizens boss in record-breaking fashion.
In 2017-18, Man City became the first English top-flight team in history to reach 100 points in a season after winning 32, drawing four and losing just two of their 38 Premier League matches, finishing a whopping 19 points clear of their bitter rivals Manchester United in second place – the biggest title-winning margin in PL history.
Guardiola’s men, who defeated ever other Premier League team at least once, wrapped up the title on April 15 with a record-equalling five matches to spare, but they made sure that they ended the campaign on a high, as Gabriel Jesus netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner to seal a 1-0 away victory over Southampton on the final day of the season.
That victory moved City into triple figures for points – completing the first-ever ‘Centurions’ season – with exactly 50 of those points picked up away from home across a record-breaking 16 away wins and two draws from 18 fixtures on the road. Man City’s 106 goals in the 38-game campaign is also a PL record.
First ‘Fourmidables’ season in English football
© Imago
Man City’s thirst for further success under Guardiola was there for all to see in the 2018-19 campaign when the Citizens became the first men’s team in history to win every available honour in the English game in one season.
Guardiola’s side became ‘Fourmidables’ after securing the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Community Shield during a truly remarkable campaign for the ages.
The Citizens became the first Premier League team in 10 years to win back-to-back titles. Despite being pushed all the way by Liverpool, Guardiola’s relentless outfit won each of their final 14 league matches to finish at the summit with an impressive 98 points, just one clear of Jurgen Klopp‘s side in second.
Man City also won all six FA Cup matches en route to glory, including a thumping 6-0 victory over Watford in the final at Wembley – the biggest FA Cup final win since Bury beat Derby County by the same scoreline back in 1903.
The Citizens edged past Chelsea on penalties to win the EFL Cup a few months earlier, while they began the campaign with a 2-0 Wembley win over the West Londoners in the Community Shield.
Treble-winning campaign including first-ever Champions League triumph
© Imago
Twenty-four years after watched on from the third tier of English football as rivals Man United became the first English club to win the continental treble, Man City celebrated a historic trophy triple of their own in 2022-23.
The Citizens proudly puffed out their chests in the upper echelons of English and European football after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and their first-ever Champions League, and it was all part of Guardiola’s masterplan – the Catalan conductor behind a well-organised and exceptionally talented orchestra that blessed City supporters with memories they will cherish forever.
Guardiola got the very best out of summer signing Erling Haaland, who scored an impressive 52 goals in his debut campaign at Man City, including a record-breaking 36 goals in just 35 Premier League appearances to fire the Citizens to the title, finishing five points clear of their nearest challengers Arsenal.
Captain marvel Ilkay Gundogan inspired Man City to a 2-1 victory in the very first Manchester derby FA Cup final at Wembley, with the German scoring twice including a stunning 12-second opener – the fastest-ever FA Cup final goal.
Just a week later, Man City ended their painful wait to claim an elusive Champions League trophy – the one piece of silverware required for Guardiola and co to enter the conversation as one of the greatest teams to have ever graced the beautiful game – as they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul courtesy of a second-half strike from midfield maestro Rodri.
Man City’s memorable triumph in Turkey ended Guardiola’s 12-year wait to win the prestigious tournament again after claiming two Champions League titles as manager of Barcelona.
Man City win unprecedented fourth PL title in a row
© Imago
Another momentous campaign followed for Guardiola’s Man City, who clinched the 2023-24 Premier League crown to become the first men’s team in the history of English football to win four top-flight titles in a row.
The Citizens, who won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup earlier in the campaign, may have missed out on a domestic double, after Man United pulled off a surprising FA Cup final win at Wembley, but nothing can take away from the brilliance shown by Guardiola’s side once again across a 38-game Premier League season.
A run of just four league wins in 11 games gave title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool a major boost heading into Christmas, but Man City’s harmonious dressing room, coupled with the return from injury of star players including Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, helped the reigning champions complete the rest of the season unbeaten over a 23-week period (W19 D4).
Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal took the fight for supremacy right up to the final day last season, but they ultimately came up short as a ruthless Man City side won their final nine matches, scoring at least four goals in six of those games, to secure the title by two points – Guardiola’s sixth title in seven seasons at the Etihad which makes him the second-most successful manager in Premier League history.
