With all of his successes over the last two seasons, it’s easy to forget some of the criticism that Pep Guardiola faced during the Spaniard’s first season in charge in England. In almost his first move, Guardiola opted to sign Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to replace one of City’s fan favorites — and longest-tenured player at the time — Joe Hart. Pep made the move because Hart, a renowned shot-stopper, was markedly poor with the ball at his feet. At the time, it seemed a little unnecessary since goalies didn’t receive the ball that often at their feet, but Guardiola wanted his City side to play out of the back and retain possession, and having a keeper competent with his feet was of the utmost importance to that system.[…]

This article first appeared in The Tufts Daily on October 2, 2019