Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection review – might have been better if he was actually interviewed

25/01/2024 01:40

This documentary about the Man City manager is a gripping look at his achievements. But his absence is a real shame – even if we do get to see him in lederhosen

Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection is a documentary for the many people who believe the Spanish football manager has already achieved it. More casual viewers – and forgive me for being such a basic, hun-loving celebrity documentary fiend – will not find another Beckham-on-Netflix here. This is a relatively dry, straightforward account of Guardiola's working life, from his early days as a Barcelona player under his great friend and mentor Johan Cruyff, through his managerial career and huge successes. This documentary cuts him off just as Manchester City bag the treble, lifting the Champion's League trophy in 2023.

Its working thesis is that there was football before Guardiola, and there is football after him, but the modern game was forged in Guardiola's image and through his cerebral approach. "He changed the game of football. That makes him special," says celebrity City fan Noel Gallagher, who also casually drops in that he and Pep would chat on the phone about the club's prospects and what they were going to win. With the exception of Gallagher and a handful of players – Phil Foden, Rodri and Kyle Walker offer their support to the boss – the best-value talking heads here are more behind the scenes than front-facing. It's likely that their analysis is more insightful, and it is certainly more frank. There is a consensus among the contributors, who use the same kinds of words to describe him. He thinks, he uses his brain and his mind. He is a genius, or a crazy genius, or variants thereof. He is groundbreaking. He has cracked the code of football. He is the greatest football manager in the world.