Fabio Capello Claims Pep Guardiola Has Done ‘Tremendous Damage’ to Football

Fabio Capello, the former manager of AC Milan and England, has attacked Pep Guardiola harshly, saying the Manchester City manager has caused “tremendous damage” to football. When speaking about a man who is considered to be among the best managers in the history of the sport, the 78-year-old Italian, who previously served as Guardiola’s coach during his tenure at Roma in the early 2000s, didn’t mince words.

Guardiola has now been at the Etihad Stadium for almost ten years, turning City into a powerful force that few could have predicted at the beginning of the century. He orchestrated a historic treble in the 2022–2023 season, winning the FA Cup, the ninth of City’s ten Premier League championships, and their eagerly anticipated first-ever Champions League victory.
Guardiola’s arrival from Bayern Munich in 2016 signalled the beginning of a golden age for City supporters, and his influence has been nothing short of legendary. Not everyone, though, feels the same admiration. The Spanish strategist, who has failed to maintain the good times this term, was the target of some scathing comments from Capello, for example.

Fabio Capello Takes Brutal Swipe at Pep Guardiola

He didn’t hold back in claiming the Spaniard has left a scar on football

According to 90min, the Italian gave a scathing evaluation of Guardiola in an interview with El Mundo, but not before stating that he had no personal problems with the 54-year-old. “Not at all, no, no. When questioned whether he was anti-Pep, Capello responded, “I think Guardiola is a great coach who has done amazing things.”

“I have witnessed three football revolutions, roughly every 20 years: Guardiola’s Barcelona, [Arrigo] Sacchi’s Milan, and [Johan] Cruyff’s Ajax. It doesn’t bother me to say that. He nevertheless wanted to take a moment to mention one aspect of the Spaniard that he found objectionable:

“You know what it is about Guardiola that I dislike? His conceit. The only Champions League he didn’t try anything out of the ordinary in the final games was the one he won with City. However, he always aspired to be the main character on the important days in Manchester and Munich every other year.

In order to say, ‘The players don’t win, I win,’ he made things up and altered the facts. And he has lost multiple Champions Leagues as a result of his conceit. I understand that well, but I still respect him. Additionally, he has caused significant harm to football, even though it is no longer his fault.

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Capello went on, “Everyone has spent ten years trying to copy him,” after being pressed about the “tremendous damage” Guardiola has done to the beautiful game. Italian football has lost its essence as a result of that. ‘Stop that, you don’t have Guardiola’s players,’ I remarked. And the ridiculous notion that playing well was just that. Touch, touch, touch, touch…

“The goalie now plays the ball in Italian football! Many people have been turned off by football because it is both a disaster and boring; they only have to watch the highlights. Why will you watch ninety minutes of passes and horizontal passes without running or fighting? Fortunately, football is evolving. First and foremost, it has transformed Spain by winning the 2024 European Championship with two wingers and playing quickly.