Julien Laurens has lavished praise on to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Speaking on ESPN UK, the French journalist and pundit reflected on the website’s top 10 rankings of the best managers in the world, in which the Spaniard finished at the top of the pile.
Now, Julien Laurens has lauded Pep Guardiola, who silenced his critics forever last season by becoming the only coach the game has ever seen to have won two trebles in his career.
Julien Laurens raves about Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola
Branded as ‘ruthless’ by the i Newspaper, the Catalan boss was often slated for his inability to win the Champions League at a club apart from Barcelona and in Lionel Messi’s absence.
However, during the 2022/2023 campaign, Guardiola put any and every doubt about him to bed, masterminding his side’s league triumph, a second FA Cup win during his time in England and of course, reigning over Europe.
Julien Laurens heaped praise on to Pep Guardiola, who he undoubtedly believes is the best manager in the world.
“As you’ve [Gab Marcotti] have often said, he’s probably have been No.1 even if he hadn’t won the treble, even if he hadn’t won the Champions League. But now that he has, Pep Guardiola has cemented even more than that No.1 position.”
Julien Laurens also made a case for Pep Guardiola potentially being the greatest manager in the history of the sport, saying, “He’s the best right now, he might even be the greatest of all time. There’s not many who would be in the conversation with him anyway, apart from maybe [Arrigo] Sacchi and [Johan] Cruyff anyway, and this is it. Maybe Sir Alex [Ferguson], if you want or another one of the British guys. But Pep right now, outstanding, No.1 of course.”
Pep Guardiola is the greatest manager of all time
Julien Laurens is right to claim that Pep Guardiola may well be the greatest manager of all time at this point.
Aside from his enviable list of accolades, no manager, apart from Johan Cruyff has influenced the game in such a widespread manner in the same way as the Manchester City legend.
Down to grassroots levels and right up to every country he has managed in, Guardiola’s style of play and ideas have become the tactical zeitgeist in football, as he continues to somehow find new ways to change the game and elevate his status as a coach.
