The Most Influential Person On AIB This Week Is Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola, born on January 18, 1971, in the small town of Santpedor, Spain, is a renowned Spanish football manager. He grew up with two elder sisters and a younger brother; his father was a bricklayer, and his mother was a homemaker.

Throughout his career, Guardiola made 40 appearances for the Spanish national team. As a player, he was a defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona from 1990 to 2001, a club he later managed from 2008 to 2012. He also managed Bayern Munich (2013-2016) and Manchester City (2016-present). He is widely recognized for his tiki-taka style of football, which he developed at Barcelona.
 
Guardiola’s passion for football began at an early age. At 13, he moved from a local team to Barcelona’s under-16 squad. Progressing through the youth system, he joined the main squad in 1990, making 479 appearances and scoring 16 goals for Barcelona.
 
From 1991 to 1997, Guardiola helped Barcelona win six La Liga titles, one European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League), two Copa del Rey trophies, a Spanish Super Cup, and several runner-up finishes. He captained the team from 1997 until his departure in 2001.
 
After leaving Barcelona, he played for Brescia Calcio and Roma in Italy, Al-Ahli in Qatar, and Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico before retiring on July 1, 2006.
 
Guardiola began his managerial career with Barcelona B (now Barcelona Atletic) in the 2007-2008 season, leading the under-20 squad to promotion from the fourth to the third division of Spanish football.

As Barcelona’s first-team manager, he led the club to a historic treble, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League in a single season, making Barcelona the first Spanish club to achieve this feat.
 
During his tenure at Bayern Munich in the 2013-2014 season, Bayern won two German Cups, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
 
He is the present manager of  Manchester City FC. They won the English League Cup, and the Premier League in the 2016-2017 season.
 
He is married to Cristina, and they both have three children together.