Pep Guardiola's Manchester City arrival in 2016 was greeted by many with a scepticism that the methods that made him so successful in Spain and Germany might not work in England.
A visit to a non-league game, a youth match or even a five-a-side pitch in England would once have been a guarantee of seeing a brand of football focused mainly on winning, with style not an important factor.
But that has changed and Guardiola is arguably the main reason for that. Because of him, we live in different tactical times. Traits such as building from the back, the encouragement to be brave when going forward and the continual 'possession obsession' are there for all to see. Not just among the elite but right through the footballing pyramid, all the way down to the youngest of players.
It is no exaggeration to say Guardiola has transformed football.
But what is perhaps less discussed is how English football has changed Guardiola.
The methods honed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich have evolved and will continue to do so following the signing of Erling Haaland. That deal alone says a lot about how Manchester City's manager has adapted his footballing vision over the past six years.
For City, the Norwegian's arrival is a sign Guardiola is ready for the next chapter in what is fast becoming a dynasty. The manager's long-term future is far from certain but he has relished life in Manchester and, despite arriving as arguably the pre-eminent coach of his generation, he has had to adapt to his new surroundings and English football has made him change some of his own views.
He arrived confident in his conviction that you could control a game and set the rhythm for your team with a central midfielder who was neither particularly strong nor overly physical. This is what he had done in the past with Xavi at Barcelona and Joshua Kimmich at Bayern.
But he quickly found out that approach did not work in the Premier League. In England, you need a central midfielder who is powerful in aerial battles and wins 50-50s. Rodri is a good example of what he thinks he needs. Also, he expects his central midfielders to act as a defender when a centre-back moves forward, so they must have the physicality to cope with being in that position.
His view on refereeing is also well known - he is firmly of the belief English referees are far more lenient than their continental counterparts. This has also affected his decision making, as he feels you need players who are physically bigger and stronger to cope with it. If you get knocked down, you'd better get up and be ready to go again as clashes do not get rewarded with fouls as often as they do anywhere else.
Full-backs have been added to help the central midfield, something he started using in Germany. English football has shown him that sometimes you need an extra midfielder and that full-backs can help you take control of the central area of the pitch with the ball, and also help with second balls in central areas when you have to recover possession.
And then there is something Guardiola was concerned about, but is gradually realising he has to accept - that English football, full of the-high octane emotion that comes from the stands, is often played amid a general lack of control, not unlike two heavyweight boxers hitting each other in the knowledge that someone is going to go down, and that more often than not the one with the most quality will prevail.
In the recent game against Newcastle, Guardiola decided to let Joao Cancelo attack and stay very high, forcing his opponent Allan Saint-Maximin to drop deeper. This meant the Magpies winger also had the opportunity to attack the space left in behind by Cancelo. Punch after punch, in the hope that City's man would win the fight. He did. The champions won 5-0, with Cancelo claiming an assist. It is a tactic that comes from years of experience in the Premier League.
As a perfectionist, Guardiola has focused on eradicating flaws in Manchester City's game this season.
One of the main areas where he has worked hardest over the past year, and with the greatest success, has been on set-pieces at both ends of the pitch.
In 2021-22, Manchester City have conceded just one goal from such scenarios in the Premier League - a corner against Aston Villa in December - and scored 21 at the other end from dead-ball situations.
But despite the stats, there remains a perception there is a vulnerability to this team. If that is not so much at set-pieces, then what about counter attacks? Their 2-2 draw at West Ham in their penultimate game of the season was a good example of this. Time and again, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen burst through and threatened, with mixed results.
For Guardiola, this is a risk worth taking and comes with the territory if you have so many players in front of the ball. He does set the team up to stop these counters and he has learned to do it well - City have the meanest defence in the Premier League.
In truth, much of the blame for the lack of full control of games can be laid at the door of English football. A scoreline of 2-0 in Spain or Germany is perceived as game over. Not in England.
This is something he has had to get his players to understand - but only after he managed to get a grip on it himself.
Keeping the ball well is not a guarantee that a bizarre turn of events will not occur.
There have been some strange games, not least the 6-3 victory over Leicester in which his side went 4-0 up after just 25 minutes and then conceded three goals in a 10-minute spell in the second half. In the end, a goal from Aymeric Laporte settled everyone's nerves before Raheem Sterling added a sixth.
One thing Guardiola has come to appreciate over the past six years is that the pressure put on teams by fans in England is unlike anywhere else in the world and how you deal with it ultimately defines you.
In moments such as these, it is possible that there is nothing that can be done to stop a change of dynamic. The Real Madrid game in the Champions League semi-final was a case in point - if one of the six chances City had at Etihad Stadium, or one of the two Grealish had late on at the Bernabeu, had been converted, the story would have been different. Guardiola accepts that sometimes control and possession is not enough. Tactical acumen takes a temporary back seat to raw courage as emotions take over and it becomes a case of 'all hands to the pump' as an opponent piles forward.
This is one area where he knows things can be improved. Ruben Dias displays a calmness and clarity in his decision making in moments of stress and panic. He is an example to follow.
What about Kevin de Bruyne? He is a truly brilliant player who knows what he has to do and does it with consummate skill, but to reach the level of Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, he should be more present in the sharpest, most brutal of moments.
Up until now, Guardiola has tended to favour intelligence, adaptability and technique over huge personalities when building teams.