Pep Guardiola laughs off Fabio Capello’s claim that he is ‘arrogant’ after the former England boss argued the Spaniard has ‘done enormous damage to football’

Pep Guardiola has laughed off former England manager Fabio Capello’s claim that he is ‘arrogant’ and has done ‘enormous damage to football’.

Capello pulled no punches in his brutal assessment of Guardiola, arguing that the Spaniard too often wishes to be the ‘main character’, citing some of his experimental tactical approaches in big games.

The two worked with one another in the 2002-03 season, when Capello managed Roma and Guardiola played for the Serie A side for one year.

Yet, although there seems to be no love lost from Capello towards the Man City boss, Guardiola issued a dismissive response to his former manager’s verdict.

‘I listen to everything that people say about me, so be careful,’ Guardiola said.

‘It’s not the first time Mr Fabio Capello has said that. I’m not good enough to ruin Italian football, it is very important. A big hug for Fabio.’

Capello argued that Guardiola often tries to steal the spotlight with his experimental tactics

Guardiola and Capello worked together as player and coach respectively at Roma in 2003-04

Guardiola, who is viewed by many fans as one of the best coaches in football history, has won an astonishing 18 trophies as City boss, with six Premier Leagues and a Champions League to his name.

But Capello believes the manager’s tenure is simply a vanity project, and that his intricate tactical approach has cost him silverware in crucial games.

He said: ‘Do you know what I don’t like about Guardiola? His arrogance. The Champions League he won with City was the only one where he didn’t try anything strange in the decisive matches.

‘But in other years, in Manchester and Munich, on crucial days, he always wanted to be the main character.

‘He changed things and made inventions just so he could say: “The players don’t win, I win.” And that arrogance cost him several Champions Leagues. I respect him, but I see it clearly.’

It is possible Capello was nodding to City’s 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea in 2021, when he dropped Fernandinho and Rodri to much puzzlement.

There was also the time he bafflingly went with a back three against Lyon in the quarter-finals in 2020, and the game in the 2017 last-16 tie against Monaco when instead of defending a two-goal advantage from the first leg, he fielded five attackers and left Yaya Toure on the bench.

Guardiola has admitted to overcomplicating things. ‘In the Champions League, always I overthink. I overthink a lot, absolutely,’ he once said. ‘That’s why I’ve had good results. I love to overthink and create stupid tactics.’

Guardiola has previously confessed to ‘overthinking’ things in big Champions League games

Capello went on to argue that Guardiola’s footballing philosophy, which heavily stresses the importance of possession retention, has ‘ruined Italian football’.

The 78-year-old implied that this tactical approach is inaccessible to those who lack the technical ability to withstand pressure on the ball, and that only elite players can get to grips with Guardiola’s playstyle.

‘Furthermore, even though it’s no longer his fault, he has done enormous damage to football,’ Capello continued.

‘Why? Because everyone spent ten years trying to copy him. This ruined Italian football, which lost its identity. I kept saying: “Stop now, you don’t have Guardiola’s players!”‘