The Premier League: A Stage for Contesting Football Philosophies

The English Premier League has become the most exciting football competition on Earth due to its highly competitive nature and attractive style of play. However, this image of the Premier League is not solely built by the star players, but also by the roles of the managers or coaches, each with their own philosophy. They have contributed to transforming the face of the Premier League over time.

In the last decade, the color of the English Premier League has been significantly influenced by the expansion of coaches from Spain and Portugal. They have instilled a highly organized style of play characterized by ball dominance and maximum control in every area of the field. This pattern successfully developed with the arrival of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in 2016.

The major change brought by Guardiola was a playing philosophy focused on possession, short passes, and a finishing style, employing a false nine. He successfully implemented this system at Barcelona and adapted it slightly at Bayern Munich. In fact, this system became the defining characteristic of the Spanish national team during the Vicente del Bosque era, particularly at Euro 2012.

Consider the final match between Spain and Italy. "La Furia Roja" started the match in a 4-6-0 formation, lacking a natural striker. Del Bosque's front line consisted of three midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and David Silva. The match was watched live by Kompas at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Spain's 4-0 victory over Italy was a spectacular climax.

The playing philosophy of Barcelona, nurtured by Guardiola, has finally arrived in the English Premier League. He transformed Manchester City from the status of a "noisy neighbor" to a much louder neighbor by winning numerous championship titles. Guardiola has proven that it is not impossible to change the playing style of English clubs that previously oriented themselves towards the philosophy of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

In his first season at City, Guardiola faced severe criticism. At that time, it was deemed impossible for him to implement his playing philosophy. Before Guardiola's arrival, the English Premier League was synonymous with fast wing play and crosses into the opponent's defense, characteristic of Ferguson's 4-4-2 formation.

This pattern has gained global recognition and is still capable of addressing the emergence of the 4-3-3 playing style that has become prevalent in Europe. Ferguson responded by improving game control through ball possession in the midfield, without sacrificing the speed of his wingers.

Nowadays, modern football isn't positional and it's not. You have to raise the tempo tremendously. - Pep Guardiola -

Ferguson's playing philosophy was overturned by Guardiola in the UEFA Champions League finals of 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. Guardiola's philosophy then infected the modern football world, which he brought to the English League. City, under Guardiola's management, dominated the English League and secured six championship titles.

During the Guardiola era, the only club capable of causing trouble was Liverpool, with their heavy-metal playing style, exemplified by Jurgen Klopp. The meeting of these two tacticians with differing philosophies influenced each other's playing styles.

Guardiola began modifying his positional play to counter Klopp's gegenpressing. Early in their encounter, City were often overwhelmed by Liverpool's constant pressure to gain possession and launch lightning-fast counterattacks.

Guardiola tried several schemes to counter Liverpool's pressing and rapid attacks, pushing both wing-backs into midfield when City had possession. This pattern was then further developed by deploying John Stones in a dual role as a defensive midfielder. He countered pressure with pressure, albeit with less intensity than Liverpool's heavy-handed attack.

"His team helped me become a better manager. That's why I'm still in this business. There are some managers who challenge you to step up," Guardiola said in 2024, as quoted by The Guardian.

Meanwhile, Klopp began to enhance ball possession when facing teams with very tight defenses. Liverpool took longer to circulate the ball in search of gaps to attack. "The Reds" are striving to control the game more through ball possession.

This hybrid philosophy increased Liverpool's average ball possession from 55 percent to 63 percent in Klopp's first five seasons. The championship title won by Liverpool in the 2019-2020 season marked its peak.

The philosophy of play among English Premier League clubs continues to change and evolve. Over the past decade, coaches from Spain and Portugal have been the dominant influence. This season, there are four coaches from Spain and four from Portugal. In addition to Guardiola at City, the Spanish managers in the Premier League are Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Unai Emery (Aston Villa), and Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth).

Meanwhile, the tacticians from Portugal are Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest), Marco Silva (Fulham), and Vitor Pereira (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

They are motivated to train in the English League, even with mid-table teams, because the financial capabilities of the clubs are very strong. This is not a matter of salary, but rather the passion and ability of English clubs to spend on players is substantial.

This phenomenon is important for coaches because they need clubs that are willing to fulfill the list of players they desire. It is this atmosphere that allows mid-table teams to disrupt the competition at the top and dismantle the "Big Six" that has long been the image of the English League.

Two managers who led their teams to exceed expectations last season were Iraola and Espirito Santo. Iraola, who arrived in 2023-2024 from Rayo Valecano, transformed Bournemouth into a high-intensity team. They created a chaos that surprised teams that prized order and organization.

Iraola's playing philosophy is "managing chaos." They don't employ a positional system, but instead strive to create chaos for their opponents. Bournemouth presses with high intensity, forcing opponents to play quickly and aggressively, then skip the build-up phase. This aggressive pressing creates chaos for teams that build their play from the back in an organized manner.

Iraola's philosophy is closely influenced by his mentor during his playing days at Athletic Bilbao, Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine tactical maestro is known for his aggressive style of play, where his players continuously move and press the opponents.

"I always tell my players that our style of play is movement. Players must always be in motion. In football, there is no reason not to move," said Bielsa.

Iraola acknowledged that he was influenced by Bielsa's playing philosophy during their two seasons together in Bilbao. The Spanish League club is also very unique with its squad of Basque players, necessitating a determination as strong as steel and an exceptionally solid cohesion. The Bielsa factor and the uniqueness of Bilbao have become a strong foundation for Iraola to develop Bournemouth into a solid team with the players at his disposal.

"It is true that we enjoy and perform better in high-tempo matches. We need to run a lot. We do not need too much control, not in every game, but I believe we have strong legs. We have the will to move forward and backward," said Iraola to Sky Sports.

Iraola gave his players the freedom to take risks, a paradox of positional systems that attack with minimal risk. The game had a surprising effect. When Bournemouth gained possession and encountered a solid defense, they didn't start over from scratch. This is where players with dribbling skills became the backbone of Iraola's attack.

"I sometimes appreciate players who dribble and force things. I think when you play too positionally—one or two touches to find a free player—sometimes you lose the initiative for your teammates to get into position and attack the space," Iraola said.

Bournemouth has become a very solid team capable of defeating major clubs, such as winning 2-0 against Arsenal, 3-0 against Manchester United, and 2-1 against Manchester City. Iraola has been able to unite his players to create chaos through collective strength and the freedom to take risks.

They are not rigid in their positions. The playing pattern serves more as a reference for developing a 'crazy' style of play reminiscent of the Bielsa era. Players such as Justin Kluivert, Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook, and Antoine Semenyo often become nightmares for opposing defenders, as they dictate the rhythm and are difficult to predict.

Guardiola views Bournemouth's style of play as the epitome of modern football. He is preparing to create an antidote, similar to the one he faced against Klopp.

"Currently, the way modern football is played is similar to the style of Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton, and as you know, Liverpool. It has always been like that, like us. That is modern football," Guardiola said to TNT Sports.

"Modern football today isn't positional and it's not going to stay that way. You have to raise the tempo incredibly. I can't do that because we don't have the players," Guardiola said.

He responded to Bournemouth's playing style by recruiting former Klopp assistant at Liverpool, Pepijn Lijnders. The Dutch coach, according to the BBC, was the one fully responsible for leading the daily training of the Liverpool squad while with Klopp.

Lijnders' arrival suggests a change in City's playing pattern following Kevin De Bruyne, characterized by an aggressive style and quick counterattacks, as well as pressing as swiftly as possible upon losing the ball.

To that end, Guardiola has brought in players such as Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders, who thrive in a high-tempo game. Cherki and Reijnders also have high scores in dribbling, which is crucial in the new playing style that Guardiola will implement.

The dribbling ability of attacking players becomes a solution when facing opponents with tight defenses, such as Nottingham Forest. The team coached by Nuno Espirito Santo made a surprise last season by being in third place from the 10th week to the 30th week. Espirito Santo, who enjoyed his peak as a goalkeeper with FC Porto during the Jose Mourinho era, is greatly influenced by a defensive playing style.

The philosophy of Espirito Santo's game at Forest is to maintain a tight defense with the defensive midfielder dropping back to closely align with the four defenders. The presence of defender Nikola Milenkovic, who was brought in from Fiorentina in the summer of 2023, has become the backbone of Forest's defensive philosophy.

They neutralized the opponent's attacks to create space in front that could be exploited by counterattacking wing players. This style of play enabled Forest to become the first team to defeat Liverpool at Anfield last season.

Espirito Santo implemented a very tight game scheme, also fostering a fluid pattern with dynamic positional changes to break through the opponent's defense. When building attacks, they also occasionally applied direct passes forward to striker Chris Wood, who was already waiting. The flow of attacks from the wings also became a variation of Forest's offense.

The varied gameplay of Premier League clubs creates a dynamic and rapid adaptation of playing styles. They compete to create antidotes to become the strongest team and claim the championship crown. This season, City's style of play under Guardiola is highly anticipated, taking modern football to a new level: more aggressive, fast, and with a rock 'n' roll rhythm.