Jamie Carragher has now weighed in on the debate between whether Pep Guardiola or Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time.
While this has been a constant talking point since the past couple of months, the conversation has taken centrestage ever since Manchester City beat Inter Milan to win the treble on Saturday.
Jamie Carragher, who even faced Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson has now declared in his column for The Telegraph whether he has indeed been bettered by Pep Guardiola.
Jamie Carragher decides who’s greater: Pep Guardiola or Sir Alex Ferguson
Those within the game in particular recognise how much of a visionary the Spaniard is, with Carles Puyol saying he is on ‘another level’ after City’s 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid this season.
However, many still believe the Scot will never be usurped by the Catalan tactician, who remains the standalone best coach in history.
According to Jamie Carragher, however, Pep Guardiola is in a league of his own in comparison to Sir Alex Ferguson.
“For as long as Guardiola is at the Etihad, they will be the side everyone else fears – the best resourced team with the best manager. By adding the European Cup to his City CV, Guardiola has also added weight to the argument he is the greatest coach of all time”, he wrote.
Jamie Carragher doubled down by claiming that Pep Guardiola produced two sides in both Barcelona and Manchester City that are miles better than the Manchester United teams during the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
“Sir Alex Ferguson’s supporters will always suggest otherwise. The reality is it is not even a debate beyond this country. At two different clubs, Guardiola has created a side which has produced the most perfect football I have ever seen live, first with his Barcelona Champions League winners of 2011 and now City in 2023.”
Pep Guardiola is certainly the more influential out of the two
Jamie Carragher makes a fair point and even trophies aside, judging by their respective influences on the game, Pep Guardiola is on a different planet to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Almost every top side in the world has modelled their game on Guardiola’s philosophy, with top managers such as Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Roberto De Zerbi and Erik ten Hag having admitted to have been inspired by him.
From teams at grassroot level to those in the Premier League have taken on board a number of the former Bayern Munich boss’ identifiable tactical ideas.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson is not even wedded to a style of play, which goes to show the contrast in both managers’ influences, which gives Pep Guardiola a serious advantage in this debate.
Having won more Champions Leagues, trebles and been more dominant in a league format as well, Guardiola may have well and truly ended any parallels between the pair.
