Pep Confidential : Inside Pep Guardiola's First Season at Bayern Munic

Good product.

… this book is outstanding. There were many, many “football books” that popped up when searching for one to capture my interest when reading on holiday. I chose this one because a) the reviews were v good and b) it promised an insight you don’t normally get into professional football and coaching - and it really didn’t disappoint.Pep is an intriguing character and arguably one of the best coaches ever. Reading how he approaches the game, analyses his opponents and sets up his teams is fascinating from start to finish.

Broad ReflectionThe book takes the reader through Pep’s coaching experiences at Bayern Munich, what he had to overcome after coaching Barcelona and his sabbatical. The book goes over his innovation towards positional soccer by learning not only from the past but from many other sports, even chess. The tactics and philosophy he implemented from the lessons learned is also covered. Pep’s character is revealed by the author, many examples of his innovation, adaptability, ability to teach and critically think, humility, and many of his personality traits are given. The author explains the arduous process of how Pep deals with adversity and how he builds a team culture by staying true to his convictions but not being afraid to change. Finally, a new process at Manchester City, his new job, has to be created. The author explains why Pep will continue to succeed.StrengthsGreat insight into the way Pep thinks and constructs his teams is on point. The detailed explanations of Pep’s tactics and strategic planning command attention. The book makes a strong case why they work. The evolution process on how he came up with such revolutionary ideas are comprehensive; they capture the reader.LimitationsThe book repeats itself in several concepts such as his ability to adapt to any situation, personality traits, and his competitiveness. Perhaps this is done on purpose to cement the authors ideas. However, while the author gives plenty of praise there is not enough criticism.What Was Learned?Perhaps, one of the greatest lessons I learned is summarized in this quote “There is no such thing as a good or a bad coach. There are only coaches with courage and those without.” (Perarnau, 2016, p. 98). Implementing innovative ideas has been difficult for me and for those who I coach. For so long they played a very direct style of soccer, correcting that can be a difficult task. While I have had plenty of success as a coach, oftentimes I feel those who I coach are not ready to play in a different way. I learned that innovation is painful and suffering is what makes the team stronger. The progress of execution of such ideas are possible. Furthermore, I learned suffering sounds scary but it only refers to the continuing realization of goals, through progress and change. If progress if happening everything will be okay. For this reason, patience, perseverance and taking bold risks are necessary traits for this endeavor. Another concept I learned is that strategic planning is essential for coaching, this concept opened my eyes and brought me to a different level of coaching.

10

Loved getting the insight into Pep's first season at Bayern. I read this just after Pep's last season so it was interesting to see how much things have changed in his short time at Bayern. Would recommend​ this to any Bayern fan.

C'est le deuxième livre de ce genre que je lis cette année après le livre de Sir Alex. Je trouve dommage que le journaliste ne soit pas toujours objectif dans sa narration.