“30 Passes and 16 Heart Attacks Later…” – Pep Guardiola’s ‘Rondo’ Tactics Critiqued by Chelsea Legend, Echoing Jose Mourinho’s Advice

If Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominate the GOAT debate of soccer players, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have been at the epicenter of the manager’s GOAT debate. Having won 37 titles to Mourinho’s 26, Guardiola has an edge on the books. But on the field, certain tactics of the less-successful Mourinho prove more potent than those of the City boss. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech believes building the game from the defense is one area where Guardiola’s tactics lack the cutting edge.

Building a game from behind means the goalkeeper’s involvement is paramount. Having guarded Chelsea’s post in its years of success and failure, Čech knows quite a bit about picking rhythm from the defensive third. And he is not a fan of Guardiola’s strategy that heavily relies on extensive passing.

Petr Čech reveals what he dislikes about Pep Guardiola’s tactics in the defensive third

Petr Čech recently sat down with fellow Chelsea legend John Obi-Mikel in a recent episode of the ‘Obi One Podcast.’ Obi-Mikel asked Čech to comment on goalkeepers’ evolution from being solely shot-stoppers to both short passers and shot-stoppers in a given game. Speaking of goalkeepers’ increased involvement in short passing, Čech touched up on Pep Guardiola’s tactics. “With Pep Guardiola, you see they played from the back. But at every opportunity you stop the game when the goalkeeper has the ball at their feet. It’s like a big rondo inside that area,” said Čech. He added, “What I don’t like about it is you see so many teams start playing from the back. 30 passes and 16 heart attacks later, they end up in the same spot.”

Soon the veteran goalie revealed Jose Mourinho’s advice to him, exposing how the ex-Chelsea boss differed from Guardiola. “Jose always said. You kick the ball 90 yards, you have Drogba who holds the ball. And in two seconds you’re in the position box, why would you have to make 35 passes,” Čech said. The veteran goalie just doubled down on a fact known to soccer fans. Mourinho has always preferred a quick-paced counter-attacking style as opposed to Guardiola’s possession-heavy style. Čech also lamented Guardiola’s style, stressing it might wear out goalkeepers.

Čech calls out Guardiola’s style with a Manchester City example

Later in the podcast, Petr Čech highlighted that veteran Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo perished under Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Bravo’s shot-stopping prowess was undisputed back then. However, switching to Guardiola’s pass-heavy style of play took a toll on him and his goal-saving skill set. Thereafter, the Czechian GK also highlighted City’s current goalie Ederson’s struggles in the UEFA Champions League final they won in 2023.

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According to Čech, Ederson struggled to hold the ball and make many passes like Guardiola wanted. However, the Brazilian notably stopped around four shots from target to secure City’s close 1-0 win final win against Inter Milan. Hence, Petr Čech stressed a goalkeeper’s prime focus is to stop shots on any given day, rather than play rondo with fellow players at the back.

Do you agree with Petr Čech’s take? Sound off in the comments below.

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