Pep Guardiola has said that Jurgen Klopp is the toughest manager he has ever faced in his career.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Catalan tactician sang Klopp’s praises and reflected on his sides’ hotly-contested battles against him in Germany and England.
Recently as well, Pep Guardiola credited the German coach for playing a part in the improvement of his managerial ability after years of the pair going toe-to-toe with each other.
Pep Guardiola names Jurgen Klopp as his toughest-ever opponent
Especially in the Premier League, Guardiola and Klopp’s rivalry over the years will go down in English football’s history books as one of the most legendary head-to-heads between two managers.
Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the league for years, with the former coming out on top in terms of the silverware they have won during the Spaniard’s time in charge.
However, it has been far from a simple task and Pep Guardiola has acknowledged how Jurgen Klopp has always managed to keep him on his toes.
“Jurgen Klopp”, Guardiola told Sky Sports when quizzed about his toughest-ever managerial opponent.
“First, we’ve faced [each other] a thousand million times at [Borussia] Dortmund and here [Manchester City].”
Pep Guardiola also highlighted what has impressed him about Jurgen Klopp over the years, saying, “Second, because, he beat me a lot and that was always a challenge to do it again and again, and again so, I respect him a lot, because I think his teams always play in Dortmund or in Mainz before or now, in Liverpool, it’s so attractive for spectators, it’s so positive.”
He added, “We respect each other, at least from my point of view, I respect him a lot and of course, we have argued, I don’t like to be beaten by him but [he] has been my biggest rival for [the] amount of times we’ve played, how difficult it was and the pleasure when you beat him, beat them because you know how difficult it is.”
“Not for the pleasure because it’s football and you can win or lose it, it’s part of the game, it’s how difficult it is and we can play bad, good and I like it, that’s all.”
Classy from Pep Guardiola
Despite the rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool, Pep Guardiola has put the sporting enmity aside between both clubs to laud the brilliance of Jurgen Klopp.
Often, managers tend to make sly digs towards their fiercest foes due to being wrapped up in the moment of the rivalry between them and the teams in question.
But Pep Guardiola has clearly been impressed by Jurgen Klopp’s impact at various clubs and how much he has pushed his own sides in both individual encounters and league seasons.
For an all-time great like Guardiola to be as respectful of his opponents sets a great example for former, current and future managers and players on how to conduct themselves like a role model.
