The Guardiola Influence: Can England do a ‘Spain’, ‘Germany’ in Russia 2018?

With Adebayo Olodan

With less than two months to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, football aficionados world over are already soaked in the argument of which country is the favourite for the trophy.
Topping the list of favourites for the 2018 World Cup is the German machines and the Samba Boys of Brazil. On paper, the two teams have the deepest squad going into the tournament.
For every position, both Germany and Brazil have at least three world class players to compete and this simply means they will always remain strong sides even in the case of injuries and suspension.
Spain, France and Argentina are the other teams to watch out for. Many will argue why Argentina among the favourites? Well, it will be suicidal to rule the South American team out not when they have Lionel Messi and 10 other players in their starting line-up. As long as the Barcelona star remains fit, it will be very hard for any team to secure a win against them. Remember, Messi needs the World Cup trophy more than any other player that will be travelling to Russia.
However, for anyone who may want to place a bet on the likely winner of the 2018 World Cup, you need no soothsayer to tell you that England may be the champions in-waiting.
Not that Gareth Southgate’s boys are being considered as favourites after beating Holland 1-0 in last month’s friendly. Far from that, for those who care to know, England’s possibility of emerging champions in Russia is borne out of what could be termed ‘the Pep Guadiola influence’.
The Spanish coach, in the last two World Cups had played the role of a kingmaker. Guardiaola had the unique distinction of coaching the league champions in the countries which won the last two World Cups (2010 and 2014). Every World Cup year that Guardiola has won the league, the country went on to win the most prized trophy in the globe. This is more than coincidence as the Spaniard has consistently provided the template for national team managers to tweak if they are seeking to learn.
In 2009/2010 season, Guardiola won the Spanish league title for Barcelona with the likes of Xavi Hernandes, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquet, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, David Villa, Pedro, Victor Valdes and Cesc Fabregas in his squad. A month later, the aforementioned players went on to win  the 2010 World Cup for Spain under the guidance of Vicente Del Bosque.
Fast forward four years, Guardiola in only his first season in Germany, won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich by miles. The national team coach of Germany, Joachim Low thereafter won the 2014 World Cup by using the playing staff and playing style at Bayern under Pep’s leadership. Bayern no doubt provided the bedrock for the German success in Brazil with no fewer than six of their players in the squad. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller, Mario Goetze and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer are all players of Bayern Munich who turned on the screw en route Germany’s World Cup glory,
Low’s decision to utilise the veteran Lahm as a central midfielder instead of his full back role was a strategy straight from Guardiola’s playbook.
This term, with five matches to spare in the English Premier League and in another World Cup, Guardiola has won the title with Manchester City. His team’s 3-1 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur at the Wembley Stadium and Manchester United’s 0-1 capitulation at home to relegation strugglers, West Brom, last weekend, meant the Spaniard has won the league in only his second attempt.
Now that Pep has won another league in a World Cup year, England manager, Gareth Southgate will hope the Spaniard’s record as the kingmaker is sustained as he leads the Three Lions to Russia.
Unlike the last two World Cups where Spain and Germany can boast of having at least six players from Barcelona and Germany respectively in their first team, this time only three English players were part of Manchester City’s title triumph. Nonetheless, Southgate will expect the success of Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and John Stones to have a spillover effect on their 2018 World Cup fate.
Regrettably, to win the World Cup, a coach will need at least two or three world class players in his squad but Southgate has only Tottenham’s Harry Kane in that cadre. More worrying is the fact that the Three Lions lacked creativity in the middle of the pack. Basically, I doubt if there is any player in the current England set-up that can break open the defence of opposing team.