MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Hugo Viana, Sporting Director for Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off xxx Leg Training And Press Conference at Manchester City Football Academy on February 10, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Txiki Begiristain and Hugo Viana observe Manchester City training
Pep Guardiola is rightly hailed for the way he has conquered and changed world football, but critical to his success at two of his three clubs has been sporting director Txiki Begiristain. Having anointed him as Barcelona coach when Jose Mourinho was the more established pick, Begiristain has also been at Guardiola's side for every second of his time at Manchester City after convincing him to move to England.
In words that are as relevant about the club's difficulties now as they have been about the immense successes that have been enjoyed, Guardiola spoke in 2019 about the importance of the recruitment team.
“I think the most important department in the club is the scouting department," he said. "Much more than managers and players. When they choose well 80 per cent of the job is done.
“When we don’t choose well, or they don’t choose the players we need for the way we want to play or the quality they have, you spend a lot of time and energy and sometimes you don’t have enough time, with the number of fixtures, to improve.”
Recruitment has been the theme of the season. Where the departure of manager Jurgen Klopp was seen as a blow to Liverpool, the subsequent return of Michael Edwards as the club's chief of football has allowed them to catapult past their rivals.
It was Edwards, sporting director Richard Hughes and Liverpool's recruitment team who ignored the sentimental idea of Xabi Alonso to replace Klopp and picked a coach from the Dutch league in Arne Slot, and the coach has been able to breathe new life into signings that had not fully taken off.
Meanwhile, City have belatedly realised their squad wasn't big enough for the demands of the season after an injury crisis wrecked their hopes of success, and Arsenal are also facing scrutiny for their calls in the transfer market as they struggle without a recognised striker.
Begiristain's long-expected departure was announced earlier this season and City acted quickly to bring in Hugo Viana from Sporting. He will officially take over after the Club World Cup but has already started to help out with his influence clear in some of the January activity.
Andrea Berto is reported to become Arsenal's new sporting director, replacing Edu after the Brazilian left in November 2024.
Liverpool have shown how a change at executive level can bring immediate rewards, and that will be the ambition for both City and Arsenal next season as they look to improve on a year that has left the fanbases of both clubs frustrated.
If Berto's arrival at the Emirates is a sign of how important it is for serious clubs to have a sporting director, City will hope that Viana's headstart in getting accustomed to his new club will give them a crucial jump on Arsenal ahead of a summer transfer window that could do much of the work in deciding where the Premier League title ends up next season.