Guardiola's genius makes Man City unstoppable, and how to protect players from pitch invaders? - ESPN

Each week, Luis Miguel Echegaray discusses the latest from the soccer world, including standout performances, what you might have missed and what to keep an eye on in the coming days.

Pep Guardiola's genius

On Wednesday, Manchester City delivered one of the most scintillating performances from an English team in this history of European competition. Pep Guardiola's side dismantled Real Madrid — the most successful club of this tournament with 14 titles. They were that good. Fifteen minutes had gone and not a single Real Madrid player had entered City's half with the ball. In that timeframe, Madrid had only made 13 passes. The goals arrived as easy as the breeze and City's 4-0 victory (5-1 in aggregate) could have been much more. It wasn't a victory, it was a parade: one that sealed their place in the final against Inter Milan on June 10 while they continue the hunt for the treble with the Premier League title and FA Cup final against Manchester United within their reach.

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It was Pep Guardiola's 100th Champions League win, joining Man United legend Sir Alex Ferguson and last night's opposing manager, Carlo Ancelotti. It only took him 160 matches to do it.

That's how we begin this week's column, by paying homage to one of the greatest footballing minds the game has ever seen. At Barcelona, Johan Cruyff coached Guardiola into becoming one of the best decision-makers in the world and that instinct never left him. Guardiola thinks of the pitch as a chess board where the way to achieve victory is by knowing where to be on the board. Passing, in his world, must have meaning. But it's not only chess. Football to him is the game of risk, where conquest is achieved by