Okay. The other where chumps too. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi were going to be chumps without him.
Messi and the rest being too young/inexperienced? I don't know, it's not like they didn't win trophies back and forth after he left. No wonder, with that squad I might add.
They just won the CL, what you expect? To talk shit? I mean, be serious.
Pep IS great, but won with two powerhouses and couldn't with another one who actually won CL after he left. Undoubtedly there's merit, but again, he gets every bit of credit he deserves... And then some.
You can argue that money don't matter that much but I feel that giving a boring performance against a defense made up of a PL reject (not even in his natural role!) and a 35yo journeyman who pocketed the supposedly best player on the planet, didn't really look like a masterclass.
Put Pep managing Inter and he'd scrap to get into the knockout stages IMHO. But we will never know, he'd never ever join a broke club who can't afford the top talent on the market.
PS: Yeah, in Italy no manager is considered better than Pep and his Legendary status. Also, whenever mentioned, pips reminds of when he played in Brescia and how Carletto Mazzone influenced him... Not kidding.