Former Manchester City player Neil Lennon has hailed Pep Guardiola as one of the best managers around.
The Spaniard won the second treble of his managerial career at the end of last season as City won their fifth Premier League titles in six years, as well as the FA Cup and their first Champions League.
Now in the midst of his eighth season in charge of the Manchester club, one former City player, who knows what it takes to manage a big club and win trophies, has shared his thoughts on the City boss.
Lennon raves over Guardiola
Speaking in a recent interview with the club, published as a feature on their website, Lennon had this to say about Guardiola.
He said: “Pep is one of the greatest managers of all time – if not the greatest. Whenever his Barcelona team were on the TV, you just couldn’t help but watch them. They were mesmerising. I got to manage against them the year after Pep left when his assistant Tito Vilanova was in charge. Everything that Pep had put in place was still there.
“That 2010/11 team was the best club side I’ve ever seen. However, when you look at what he did at Bayern Munich and what he’s doing now at City, the bar has been raised so high over the last few years. There have been challenges from Liverpool and now Arsenal domestically, but Pep just seems to find a way.
“There’s a method to what he’s doing and how he’s doing it, and the players are on board. He’s tough as teak, too. People don’t realise that about him. He’s a huge character and he has to manage huge personalities, but you never hear any stories of unrest. He can be tough when he wants to be, and I love that about him. And the way he plays the game, he brings in innovative ideas. Look at the inverted full-back, for example, where John Stones goes and plays in midfield.
“He’s reinventing a way of playing which I’m sure a lot of other teams will plagiarise in the next few years. That’s what he does – he’s a trendsetter. But, not only that, he also wins. That’s the bottom line – he wins. He wins with a style that everyone can’t help but be complimentary about.”
After having very successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the 52-year-old took charge of the Citizens back in 2016.
Since then, the Spaniard has overlooked 426 games with City across all competitions, winning 314, drawing 49 and losing 63 along the way.
In terms of the silverware Guardiola has picked up at the Etihad Stadium, City have won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, a Super Cup and a Champions League.
With all of that taken into account, it’s easy to see why Lennon thinks so highly of the City manager and what he’s done throughout his career in the dugout.
Moving forward, if Guardiola can guide his side to regaining the titles they picked up at the end of their historic previous campaign, this will further strengthen the argument that he is the best manager around right now.
