Pep Guardiola, Mohamed Salah redefined greatness in the Premier League era

Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah: two names that revolutionised the English Premier League. One a tactical genius, the other a goal-scoring machine. But they both left an indelible mark on the league and reshaped what people thought was possible.

Records tumbled at every turn when they were involved, and matches featuring Guardiola’s Manchester City side and a Salah-led Liverpool under the guidance of Jürgen Klopp were usually titanic battles. Now both Salah and Guardiola have bid farewell to the Premier League, after a decade and nine years respectively.

The Guardiola odyssey

Manchester City appointed Guardiola at the start of the 2016/17 season, replacing Manuel Pellegrini. That season they finished second to Chelsea, but then claimed back-to-back titles over the next two seasons and hit the mythical 100-point mark in the 2017/18 campaign. They finished a distant second to Liverpool in 2019/20.

However, Guardiola must have taken that league loss to his friendly rival, Klopp, personally, with City going on to dominate the domestic league for the next four seasons after Liverpool’s maiden league win in the Premier League era.

Under Guardiola, the Cityzens are the sole English side to win four Premier Leagues in succession. Additionally, the former Spain midfielder is the only manager to clinch a domestic treble in England’s top flight after leading City to the league, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in 2019.

The Spanish tactician, who has been labelled a “mad genius” by both his allies and soccer foes, went on to secure the most coveted treble in the sport by masterminding success in the Premier League, the European Champions League and FA Cup.

With those historic trophy victories in the 2022/23 campaign, City joined neighbours Manchester United as the only other team from England to win such a treble.

The GOAT?

An example of Guardiola’s genius that season was the former Barcelona midfielder’s deployment of traditional central defender John Stones as a midfield pivot-cum-centre back in the second half of that memorable treble campaign.

“At two different clubs, Guardiola has created a side which has produced the most perfect football I have ever seen live – first with his Barcelona Champions League winners of 2011, and now City in 2023,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said in 2023.

“The argument about whether City’s treble winners are better than Ferguson’s of 1999 should be over too. This City team is on a different level.”

In addition to winning all the major trophies on offer during his decade in England, Guardiola’s influence transcends just silverware. Currently a healthy number of soccer managers are where they are thanks in part to the impact of Guardiola.

The list includes coaches such as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, as well as former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and Bayern Munich mentor Vincent Kompany, to name a few. Arteta and Maresca both worked with Guardiola at Manchester City, serving as his assistants at different periods. Kompany played under him at the English champions.

The Cruyff influence

In 2023, Arteta (who recently guided Arsenal to their first league title since 2004) went as far as likening Guardiola’s impact on modern soccer to that of the late Dutch great Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff ventured into coaching after an illustrious playing career. His decision to go into coa­ching would forever alter how soccer was played, as he enjoyed successful stints with Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona.

It was at the latter club that Cruyff coached Guardiola, sh­a­­­ping him into one of the best deep-lying playmakers and also planting a seed for management that Guardiola has nourished.

“The influence that Pep had in football in the past 20 years is just incredibly powerful,” said Arteta. “He changed the game like Johan did in the past. He did it like other managers who will go down in history. So, we have learned a lot from him; we have been inspired by a lot of things he’s done. Now everyone has to build his own career and his own pathway.”

Guardiola etched his name deeply into soccer history by building one of the greatest and most aesthetically pleasing sports teams when he was in charge of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012. His Blaugrana team was highly successful, winning numerous titles including two European Champions League trophies.

So dominant was that Barcelona side that it even clinched a sextuple of trophies in 2009, claiming every trophy possible. Guardiola added to his legacy by taking his tiki-taka, possession-based style to Germany when he took over Bayern Munich in 2013.

Even though they picked up domestic silverware with relative ease, the Champions League proved elusive for the Bavarians and their Spanish tactician – hence his departure for City in 2016.

Africa’s best in Europe

Then there is Salah. When Salah arrived at Liverpool in 2017, there were questions about whether he could finally fulfil his potential as a Premier League player. He had arrived in England via London, having left Swiss club Basel to join Chelsea three years before he moved to Merseyside.

Salah’s time at Chelsea saw him struggle to command a place in the starting line-
up, and he was twice sent on loan to Italian clubs, first with Fiorentina and then with Roma.

The latter club eventually signed him permanently in 2016, but he remained in Italy for just that season before the Reds came marching in, asking for his services. Suddenly, he could redeem his disappointing first stint in English football. As the cliché says, the rest is history.

The Egyptian attacker leaves Liverpool as a player who helped deliver the club’s maiden Premier League title at the end of the 2019/20 season. He also won the European Champions League with Liverpool in 2019.

When the Reds added a second Premier League title in the 2024/25 season, Salah was in exceptional form. The winger set a record for the most goal contributions in a 38-game league season in England, with 47. This included 29 goals and 18 assists, showcasing his all-round skills.

“Mo always thinks he has to prove something every three days. That hunger never stops, and that is something that I find most special about him,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot told Liverpool’s media department in a tribute to Salah.

“There have been so many good players around the world. He’s definitely one of them in the last 10 years, that everybody talks about being one of the best there is. To show that hunger every three days, that professionalism, that commitment to the club, to the team. To wanting to score again, always wanting to play – when you take him out three minutes before the end, he’s like, ‘Maybe I could have scored one extra.’ That is what stands out for me,” Slot said.

Salah leaves Liverpool and the Premier League as one of Africa’s best exports and someone who reshaped the future ambitions of players from his continent. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.