Five Pep Guardiola highlights as he hits landmark

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola today celebrates his 50th birthday.

Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the highlights of his outstanding managerial career.

Incredible first Barcelona season

When Guardiola took over at Barcelona in 2008 after being promoted from their B team, the club were at a – relatively – low ebb.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Pic by PA.Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Pic by PA.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Pic by PA.

They had gone two years without a trophy and their play had become stale.

Guardiola changed that dramatically.

He cleared out some ageing pros – including Ronaldinho – transformed their playing style and put the formidable triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi at the heart of the team.

The resulting football was exhilarating and Barca swept almost all before them as they won a LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble.

Second Barcelona Champions League win

Barcelona powered on under Guardiola, going on to win the Club World Cup and LaLiga again in 2010 and 2011, among other successes.

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Their high-intensity brand of possession-based football, now widely known as tiki-taka, was the envy of the world game.

His reign reached its peak as Messi-inspired Barca delivered a masterclass to beat Manchester United 3-1 in the 2011 Champions League final.

German doubles

Guardiola successfully took his footballing philosophy and winning mentality to Bayern Munich after deciding to leave Barcelona and take a year out of the game.

He did not quite scale the same heights as the German club did not win the Champions League under his guidance, but they were dominant on the domestic front.

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They won the Bundesliga three years in succession under Guardiola and capped his time in Bavaria by claiming the double – for a second time – in 2016.

City break the 100-point barrier

After taking a year to find his feet in the English game, Guardiola spectacularly began to justify the hype that accompanied his move to Manchester City during an astounding 2017-18 campaign.

City broke a whole host of records as they powered to the Premier League.