How Pep Guardiola has recreated ‘total football’ to make Man City the clear best team in the world

Amongst cries of “overthinking” from critics, Pep Guardiola has overhauled Manchester City’s tactics to bring the side to a level of form that the world of football has not seen in years. But what has led to this point? The story goes back further than you might think.

Total Football

Like many of the greatest football stories, this one just might start with Johan Cruyff. One of the game’s greatest players and managers, the Dutchman is best known for his days at Ajax and Barcelona at the club level, and his of course, his career for the Netherlands. Cruyff’s connections with Pep start at Barcelona, where he would manage the Spaniard during his playing career from 1989–1996. Cruyff is often hailed as the inventor of many of the pillars of modern football. In the 1990’s, his Barcelona team laid the groundwork for the era of tiki-taka, which would be made famous by Guardiola’s Barcelona side, featuring Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi Hernandez.

But during Cruyff’s playing career, he was famous for a tactical system, known as ‘total football’. This can be loosely defined as a positionless style of play in which any one outfield player can replace any other, blurring the lines between forward, midfielder, and defender, and prioritizing adaptability by the players. Ajax experienced incredible success under these principles in the early 1970’s, and it took the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup Final. While some had already drawn connections between total football and tiki-taka, the similarities were relatively mild during Pep’s time at Barca and Bayern. Over the course of the 2022/23 season, Guardiola has begun to introduce new principles into his Man City side that has led to a beautiful blend of tiki-taka, Guardiola ball, and total football.

Guardiola Ball

To truly understand the beauty and complexity of Pep Guardiola and his tactics, I would recommend watching the Netflix documentary Take the Ball, Pass the Ball which goes into further detail about Cruyff, Pep, Messi, and Barca. Pep’s tactical outlook has always been based around intelligent players and possession-based play. While there are certainly times for 1v1 dribbling skill or other forms of individual brilliance, Guardiola is known for his system of organization and player responsibility.

Since Pep took over at Barcelona, coaches at all levels have implemented pieces of his tactics and created their own versions of his system. His influence on the game is difficult to overstate. Tiki-taka is most commonly known as a system built on short passing, where a team retains possession by finding the smart pass and working their way up the field slowly, rather than simply kicking it long and hoping to win the ball.

The primary goal of tiki-taka was to create a numbers advantage, especially in the center of the pitch, which Barcelona would use to create a free man who could get in on goal. Lionel Messi was often key to this plan… at Barca, Pep would sometimes use Messi as a false 9, dropping an extra man into midfield to create that numerical advantage. Little did Guardiola know (or maybe he did), this idea of putting an extra man in the midfield would be so critical to his career success, especially at City, a decade in the future.

As with any system of tactics, there is a domino effect at play. With possession prioritized, Guardiola’s side began to press high up the pitch, trying to win the ball back in an excellent position to score. This would lead to a high defensive line, leaving space in behind and requiring center backs with more pace than the traditional bruisers that specialized in aerial battles.

The 4–3–3

From Barca to Bayern to Manchester, Pep Guardiola has always been known to play in a 4–3–3 formation — four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards. Be warned, however, it is always dangerous to confine a team’s tactical setup just to a simple shape… and this is especially true of a Guardiola-led side.

The oldest traditional football formation is the 4–4–2, where the two central midfielders are typically tasked with defense, not buildup play, and the team’s primary goal is to sit back and absorb the opponent, then send the ball long, either straight into one of the two central forwards, or to a wide area, where a winger can cross it in. This is entirely opposite to Guardiola’s style, and that which has been adopted and adapted by many of the world’s best teams in the 2010’s and 2020’s. This is where the 4–3–3 comes in. During Pep’s emergence at Barcelona, the use of a three-man midfield was somewhat progressive, because a 4–4–2 really features only two men in the middle. The 4–3–3 became the standard for possession-based, attacking teams that play with high lines.

Guardiola would take the 4–3–3 with him to Munich, and then to Manchester, when he signed for City in 2016. The three-man midfield and Pep’s system brought Man City incredible success in his first three years with the team, culminating in the 2017/18 season, where the blues became the first ever side to register 100 points in a top-flight season in England. They posted a +79 goal differential, scoring 106 and conceding 27, and finished the season with 32 wins, 4 draws, and just 2 losses. Highlighted by players like Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Ederson, Fernandinho, Nicolas Otamendi, and Kyle Walker, one of the most important had to be the man up top, Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, who would score 247 career goals for City in all competitions and go down as an undeniable club legend.

“We Cannot Replace Him”

When Manchester City secured the 2020/21 title, Pep Guardiola broke down in tears speaking of Sergio Aguero’s upcoming departure. How can one forget the famous quote, which has been meme’d and recycled numerous times over the few years since, “We cannot replace him. We cannot”. Of course, now City boast the world’s best goalscorer, and one of the greatest ever, a 22-year old Norweigan who has 45 goals in all competitions (It’s only mid-April and he’s missed games due to injury) and is well on his way to the Premier League record. But Pep wasn’t lying… at first, City did not replace Aguero. They played the 2021/22 with no striker.

In the traditional sense, a striker, or a number 9, is a big and strong bloke who can use his brawn to muscle off defenders, win long balls, and score towering headers off crosses from the wings. In 2021/22, Man City took Pep’s style to the extreme. They did not bring in a replacement for Aguero, but fully committed to the false 9. The central role was passed around by a wide variety of characters like Sterling, Phil Foden, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Ferran Torres, and Gabriel Jesus. This worked out just fine for City, who dramatically captured the Premier League title on the final day, scoring three goals in five minutes to come back from 2–0 down and beat Villa 3–2, surpassing Liverpool and regaining their position on top of the table.

There is one aspect of Pep Guardiola’s Man City tenure that some might consider a black mark on an otherwise spotless resume… and that is his inability to win the Champions League. While he did so three times at Barca, he still has not won the ultimate European trophy since leaving for Bayern Munich, despite having immensely talented teams, especially at City. In 2021, Pep benched Aguero in the final against Chelsea, which City lost. Then in 2022, his side conceded two goals in stoppage time, bottling a two-goal aggregate lead, and lost in extra time to Real Madrid in the semis.

Despite their striker-less success in 2021/22, Guardiola and the City board made a monumental move in the summer of 2022, spending only £51.2 to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Reactions were mixed. Haaland was known as one of the world’s best strikers, but how would he adapt to the Premier League? And how would City adapt after playing an entire season with a false 9?

Haaland Arrives

Critics argued that Haaland would be a flop in England. The funniest example is Rory Jennings insisting Haaland would “do well” to get 15 league goals. Meanwhile, others argued that even with Haaland’s talent, it would take City some time to adapt their style, and that adjustment period could cost them the Premier League.

The former point was never, ever in doubt. He scored twice in his first City game away to West Ham, then again in his third, and then went on to wow the world with back-to-back hat tricks in his fourth and fifth games.

However, the latter argument proved more tenable. City’s form was not living up to their 2021/22 pace. While Arsenal won match after match, City stumbled periodically. Entering the World Cup break in mid-November, they were five points back. Post-World Cup, things got even worse. After a draw to Everton on the 31st of December, City found themselves seven points behind Arsenal entering 2023. Still, Haaland was clearly running away with the golden boot. The prevailing discussion soon became… Has Haaland made Man City worse?

Amidst all the criticism and discussion, Pep Guardiola was plotting behind the scenes. He had already begun to implement new tactics that would pair with Haaland’s arrival, but many dismissed them as ‘Pep overthinking again’, as Rico Lewis replaced Kyle Walker and began to play in the midfield, and Joao Cancelo forced his way to Bayern Munich, citing discontentment with playing time.

Still, Pep had a plan. He tinkered and tinkered with the team until things finally clicked…

The Box Midfield

The most important pillar of City’s current side just might be the box midfield. When Haaland joined the team, there was one thing that many pundits and fans did not realize about the team he was joining. With that false 9 approach in 2021/22, Pep had quietly abandoned the old three-man midfield in exchange for a FOUR-man midfield, or box midfield, characterized by the square (or box) shape.

Remember how, in the early 2010’s, Guardiola’s Barcelona side used the progressive tactic of a three-man midfield, which fueled their possession-based system via that numerical advantage? Well, while Pep was managing Bayern, moving to City, and experiencing success with Aguero, Sterling, and Sane, the rest of the footballing world was catching up. By 2021, the time of Aguero’s departure, a version of the possession-based 4–3–3 had been adopted by most of Europe’s top clubs — Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and more.

This is one of the big reasons for City’s false 9 success in 2021/22. With Foden, De Bruyne, Sterling, or Bernardo dropping back into the midfield, Guardiola’s side had an advantage again. Four-man midfield trumps three-man, at least in Pep’s world, where possession and control are king.

When Erling Haaland arrived in 2022, something was going to change. With the big man up top, City were losing one of the four men in that four-man midfield. So Pep adapted…

City’s Final Form

Today, City are in a position to win the Premier League, if they defeat Arsenal on April 26th, otherwise better the Gunners’ results, and retain their goal differential advantage. FiveThirtyEight gives them a 60% chance to do so.

On Tuesday, the blues absolutely dismantled Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, looking better than they ever have in European competition, and heavily favored to finally hoist the Champions League trophy. How did Guardiola and the team turn things around? These are the principles that have made City the clear top team in the world today, and they’re eerily reminiscent of… total football.

The Inverted Fullback / Second Holding Midfielder

This concept was originally referred to as the “inverted fullback”, when viewers noticed City’s right or left back tucking into an inside position. Since its inception, pundits have begun to redefine it, now convinced that this new position is actually a second defensive midfielder, and City are playing in a 3–2–4–1, not a 4–3–3. See how fluid this terminology can be?

Whatever you choose to call it, this is Pep’s way of recapturing that midfield numerical advantage. They’ve got three midfielders, but now the striker isn’t dropping back, so instead, one of the fullbacks will drop in. Once again, the box midfield has been formed. Against Bayern, it was John Stones playing the role (see below), creating the box midfield of Stone and Rodri behind De Bruyne and Gundogan… In this photo, Haaland looks to be on the same line as those two, but he’ll try to get in behind.

Remember, that numerical advantage in the midfield is one of the pillars of Pep’s tactical setup. Stones’ positioning in this game is the perfect example of how he has regained that advantage and still had the world’s most prolific goal scoring machine on the field.

The Fullback / Center Back / Sometimes Wide Attacker?

Of course, with one of the back four moved into midfield, City’s defensive setup must be adjusted. This is that domino effect I was talking about. Look back up at the screenshot from the past section, it’s very clearly a back three in that photo, not a back four, right?

One of the most important aspects of Pep’s new system… whoever is playing in that inverted fullback / second def mid / John-Stones- on-Tuesday role must get back into the back four line quickly when City are defending. But because he’s so often scurrying back in recovery, it’s difficult to get back to the right back position each time. To combat this, City have implemented a positionally fluid (see ‘total football’) tactic… sometimes, Stones gets back to the right, other times, Akanji goes out wide to cover, and Stones takes up his position at center back. First, here’s a time when Stones looks like the right back.

Now, it sure looks like Akanji is the right back, and Stones is the center back, doesn’t it?

In this case, Akanji was hurrying out to cover the winger (who then beat him), but in other cases, this is just the way that the back four settles. Ake is out of frame in this next screenshot, and Dias is barely in, but you can see Akanji looking like the fullback, and Stones the center back.

Meanwhile, Nathan Ake is playing left back, sometimes looking like the third center back of a back three, but other times joining the attack so aggressively that he takes a shot on goal, like this one, where Jack Grealish tucked in and laid it off for Ake.

The Inverted Winger / De Bruyne Overlap

Inverted wingers have been taking over world football in recent years. Across many of the best leagues, we see left-footed players on the right and right-footed players on the left, because these wide attackers are more likely to cut inside than they are to cross the ball from out wide.

Man City have been using this tactic for some time, too, but it’s been especially effective this season for one reason… well maybe two: Erling Haaland, and Kevin De Bruyne. When you have the world’s best goal scorer, a 6'4" left-footed monster in the box, it’s pretty convenient to have the world’s best right-footed playmaker, who can whip a ball right into Haaland at will. When the right winger tucks in, you’ll often see De Bruyne fill into his position, dribble out wide, and look for a chance to get a ball into the box.

Here’s an example from the Bayern game. Silva and De Bruyne essentially swap positions for a bit, so KDB can get into the best position for a cross.

In this instance, the cross was deflected, so it went over Haaland towards Grealish, but after a punch from the goalkeeper it was Gundogan who got a shot on goal. This is a pattern you’ll see multiple times each City game, De Bruyne making an overlapping run to put it in for Haaland and bring this meme to life. This is one of the most common examples of positional fluidity in the City team.

The Press Perfected / 4–2–4

For years now, the high press has been one of the primary ingredients of the Pep Guardiola recipe. In the last couple of seasons, Man City may just have perfected it. When you watch City press, it looks like some kind of 4–2–4 shape, as the screenshot shows. One of the midfielders (usually De Bruyne, Alvarez in this case) comes forward alongside Haaland, and Rodri and Gundogan support from behind.

City’s press gave Bayern fits on Tuesday, and did even more unspeakable things to RB Leipzig in the round of 16. At times, players like Rodri, Stones, and Ake can be found even higher up the pitch, whatever is necessary to apply maximum pressure on the opposition, and each time there is another player that fills in behind. This is just another example of the fluidity of the side’s shape and the way players replace one another.

If forced to put a label on City’s formation, it might be fair to say they use a 3–2–4–1 in possession, a 4–2–4 in the press, and defend in a 4–3–3. Still, even those are very blurry lines.

While 2022/23 Manchester City are no carbon copy of the 1974 Netherlands side, or any Ajax team of that era, Cruyff’s influence on Guardiola is clearly apparent. Take a little tiki-taka, the brilliance of the City players, add a little Guardiola spice, and toss Erling Haaland on top of that, and you’ll get a team that’s closer to ‘total football’ than anything we’ve seen in decades.