Long before the English forgot how to play football, they invented it. So it stands to reason that until a manager grabs the Premier League by its globally branded neck, he hasn't accomplished jack-no matter how many La Liga, Champions League and Bundesliga titles he's won. After all, old bean, how much tactical and technical acumen is required to lead teams stacked with as much talent as Barcelona and Bayern Munich?
This is why the 2016-17 season will be the ultimate test for Pep Guardiola. He will finally have the opportunity to show one and all that it wasn't simply Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben and Philipp Lahm who accounted for all that success in Spain and Germany -- it was his coaching genius, and you've got to admit that he's off to a promising start.