Thierry Henry has lavished praise on to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Speaking to Telefoot, the French legend reflected on his time working with the Spanish tactician at Barcelona.
Thierry Henry lauded Pep Guardiola for how much of a strong influence he had on the way he saw the game.
Thierry Henry says Pep Guardiola ‘opened’ his eyes about football
Branded as ‘amazing’ by Mateo Kovacic, the Catalan has often been credited for teaching experienced professionals more about football than they had ever learned throughout the course of their careers.
Ilkay Gundogan also admitted that he felt he did not know anything about the game until he had the chance to work with the two-time treble-winning coach.
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Now, Thierry Henry has reflected on the same about Pep Guardiola, saying, “Being a manager is about asking the question: Can you make your players more intelligent, and understand football a bit better? Let’s use Guardiola as an example: I thought I was good at football but when I arrived at Barcelona, I just thought, wow! What is he talking about?”
Thierry Henry also gave an insight into the differences he found when being coached by Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola.
“Arsene Wenger when I arrived at Arsenal, opened up my mind in continuity with what I knew from Clairefontaine; Pep Guardiola opened my eyes. He made me understand that pressing was good. Generally speaking, as an attacker, you don’t normally want to do these things. But then I developed a desire for pressing high and appreciating another aspect of the game.”
Pep Guardiola has impacted the game like no other manager
The fact that one of the greatest players of all time in Thierry Henry holds such an opinion about Pep Guardiola speaks volumes about him as a manager.
But such a revelation is not a surprise as Guardiola has had such a transformative impact on football that teams all over the world, from grassroot to Champions League level have employed his philosophy into their system.
The same cannot be said for any other coach throughout the history of football which is perhaps why many consider the Manchester City manager as the greatest of all time.