Jorge Sampaoli describes how Barcelona have changed since Pep Guardiola
The coach thinks in Pep's day he had players who were in extremely good form
Before the midfield used to dominate matches but now the style has changed
Barcelona has changed with the passing of the years. With Pep Guardiola the team played in one way, with Tito Vilanova another, Tata Martino was different, then Luis Enrique changed again. They have all followed the same line but the change Barcelona has suffered with the passing of the years has been notorious.
Sampaoli was an admirer of Barcelona’s game under Guardiola and is faithful to that style. He spoke to Goal.com about how the team’s game has changed. “Guardiola’s style is very different to the current one. That team is difficult to equal. They had players who were in extremely good form and an idea that had been kept for many years at the club and it was respected.
“This Barcelona is totally different, much more practical. Leo [Messi] is comfortable in this Barcelona to be an assist giver and not to be a positional player. This team doesn’t dominate as much. Guardiola’s side had Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi and Messi, they always had it. It was very hard to beat a team with so much possession.”
Sampaoli also said that he wanted to coach Messi every single day.
