Guardiola hails Cruyff role

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola revealed that Johan Cruyff has been his greatest influence in football.

Guardiola played under Cruyff during the Dutch legend’s spell in charge of the La Liga outfit in the early 1990s, and the 40-year-old has nothing but respect for his mentor.

He also spoke highly of former Almeria coach Juan Manuel Lillo.

“Johan Cruyff has been my biggest influence. I spent six years with him and I learned an awful lot,” Guardiola told FIFA.com.

“Juan Manuel Lillo has also been an essential figure. He was my coach for just six months (with Dorados) in Culiacan, Mexico, but we had a great time and I learned a lot. I think highly of him and I’m very grateful to him, because he was very generous and passed his knowledge on to me. And he knows a lot too.”

Guardiola then went on to explain his penchant for using midfielders such as Javier Mascherano in other positions, saying it allowed him to work with a smaller squad.

“The midfield is a crucial part of any team. Midfielders are intelligent players who have to think about the team as a whole. They’re selfless players who understand the game better than anyone and the more midfielders you have, the easier it is to slot them into other positions,” he said.

“That’s how they become versatile and that helps us to have smaller squads that are still able to offer more options.”

“I’ve never been worried about having a small squad. In fact, being a little short on options is probably better for us than having a lot, especially as I’ve got players with so much quality to call on. I’ve got complete faith in the team and my philosophy is that there’s a solution to every problem.”

Barcelona – the La Liga and Champions League title holders – are in Japan to take part in the Club World Cup. They lock horns with Qatari club Al Sadd on Thursday in the semi-finals of the tournament.