Patrick Vieira has revealed that he has not been influenced by Pep Guardiola as a manager.
Considering Vieira’s teams also play a possession-dominant style of play, one would assume he has been inspired by the Manchester City boss. Due to the Frenchman’s time working for the City Group as well, it would make sense if he aspired for his teams to play Guardiola’s brand of football.
Patrick Vieira reveals why Pep Guardiola is not his influence as a manager
Pep Guardiola seems to have become a reference point for most managers in the game — even Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt, whose team currently play in League One.
The fact that the £378,846-a-week man manages to win trophies at an astounding rate while playing the way he wishes to would naturally capture the imaginations of up-and-coming managers in the world.
However, when quizzed about whether he views Pep Guardiola as his influence as a manager, Patrick Vieira said no, elaborating on why that is the case.
“No, no, because when you look at Pep [Guardiola] and the teams he achieved trophies that he won, with the players that he had, we all don’t have those players.”
Vieira said on The Overlap’s Stick To Football: “So, it will be impossible to play or to try to play like Pep, because he’s got the quality players to do it.”
The Champions League winner went on to reveal that his biggest influence as a coach is Arsene Wenger, having played under his guidance at Arsenal for nine years.
As a result, one can understand why Patrick Vieira views his countryman rather than Pep Guardiola.
While Guardiola has had several elite players at his disposal at every club, his tactical genius is undeniable.
However, Vieira seemingly feels that he lacks the quality of players at his disposal Guardiola has throughout his career to implement such specific tactical ideas.
Regardless of that being the case, in our view, Pep Guardiola should be a reference point for Patrick Vieira in terms of how he adapts his tactics, his player profiling and his man-management.
Ultimately, every aspiring world-class manager must have these qualities to reach the top; traits that Guardiola and Vieira’s former boss, Wenger had in abundance.