Guillem Balague predicts Pep Guardiola's next job in management

Pep Guardiola Man City

Balague, who wrote the 2016 biography of Guardiola called Another Way Of Winning, believes the Catalan's next gig will come away from club football after a clutch of previous offers. 

The current Manchester City head coach has won a long list of honours at club level, including domestic league and cup triumphs at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, as well as multiple Champions League titles at Barça. 

But Balague believes Guardiola could switch to managing international nations after his City tenure, and the Premier League-winning manager has already received offers from some countries.

Speaking to FourFourTwo in Barcelona, Balague said: “I’ve got the impression that when he’s done with the big teams, and he’s done what he’s wanted to do with them – and he’s already been at three or four – a national team is of interest to him.

“I know that he’s got a lot of people in the Argentina national team set-up who want him to coach there, but their federation is a disaster.

“There’s been interest from Brazil as well, but I’m not sure if they’ll go for him.

“For me, after he finishes at Manchester City, he has to take over a national side. What about England or Italy?”

The Three Lions are currently managed by Gareth Southgate, who has been in charge since late-2016 and took his country to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.

And while Balague admits that Southgate could remain in the job for years to come, he says Guardiola is perfectly suited to be the next man in line.

He said: “Gareth Southgate needs to finish with his squad and with this cycle as well, so he may be in the job for four or five more years.

“But more players are coming through the England set-up having experienced Pep Guardiola’s style of play. The next generation is so good, so why not give it to him?”

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England have not had a foreign coach since 2012 when Fabio Capello was in charge, with Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Southgate having all taken over since the Italian’s departure.

But Balague has praised Guardiola’s impact on English football, saying that even lower-league clubs are adopting tactics that the former Barcelona coach has brought to the country.

“So many people have been brought up with the Barcelona way, the Spanish way, and the domination of Spanish football in terms of both broadcasting and results," he said. "Now people are starting to think that aspects like building from the back and splitting centre-halves is the way they want to see their team play.

“I know that the coaches who are now taking over in the Championship, those in their early-30s and assistant coaches of Premier League teams – they’re all Pep Guardiola fans.

“I’m a chairman of a football club in England, Biggleswade United in the ninth tier of English football, and even we’ve taken things from him. The funny thing is that we were the first club in our division to start doing that, but now others are doing the same.”

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Sam Blitz is a football writer based in London. Having lived in England, Scotland and Italy throughout his life, he specialises in both British and European football. He has experience writing and producing content for Sky Sports, The Times, MailOnline along with his work for the FourFourTwo magazine and website.

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