Pep Guardiola is without a doubt one of the greatest managers to have ever graced the game.
The Spaniard is currently in his 18th season as a head coach after starting out at Barcelona B, and is in his ninth at Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s time at City has been nothing short of incredible.
After taking the first season to get used to life in the Premier League and clear out a number of players, Guardiola went on to dominate English football.
He won a plethora of major honours, and also implemented tactics that would see other coaches attempt to copy him.
He’s widely acknowledged as a genius, something former City full-back Danilo can attest to.
Danilo says he felt ‘brainwashed’ playing under Pep Guardiola at Man City
In 2017, Manchester City snapped up Brazilian full-back Danilo from Real Madrid for a reported £26.5 million.
He signed at the same time as Kyle Walker and ultimately, he did struggle for minutes in his battle with the Englishman, who arguably went on to become one of the very best right-backs we’ve ever seen in the Premier League.
But Danilo did provide decent cover and could play on both sides.
He looks back on his time at the Etihad Stadium with fondness, and has actually spoken about what it was like working with Guardiola in a new interview.
He suggests Guardiola completely overhauled his understanding of the game.
He told The Guardian: “Pep Guardiola educates his players. That’s the most important thing about his work. He makes all players think about football in the same way. Time, space, movement, possession, taking care of the ball.”
“He makes you understand the spaces on the pitch like no other coach and he lives the game emotionally like no other coach. I was brainwashed by Guardiola, but in a good way.
“It was like I was at university. What I experienced with him allowed me to raise my level and keep that level to this day. It’s not that I was an idiot before I arrived at Manchester City but I realised that I played football in completely the wrong way.
“If I had met him before, he would have made my life a lot easier. I’m so glad I was able to play under him and was able to learn from him.”
Ruben Dias and Phil Foden said similar about Pep Guardiola
Danilo isn’t the first player to talk up how brilliant it is to work with Guardiola, and he certainly won’t be the last.
Plenty of the current City squad have spoken extremely highly of Guardiola, and how he has helped them to develop.
Phil Foden and Ruben Dias both appeared in the BBC documentary about Guardiola last year, and gave verdicts similar to Danilo.
Foden said: “So determined. Always want to improve you as a player. His analysis on games, he’ll tell us about the opponent and what he thinks they’ll do. And it always seems to happen.
“He’s a genius. Definitely a special coach and one of the best in the world.”
Dias added: “All those little bits. In the end, the little details are what push you forward and push us as a team to be at our best ability.
“You can have the best idea in the world, but then if you don’t have the leadership to make it effective, then it’s not really going anywhere and I think that’s where he is really ahead of many others.”
Josko Gvardiol has also hailed Guardiola as a genius, and – even though City are currently in a difficult moment – few would really disagree at this point.
