Ange Postecoglou has heaped praise on Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, and shared details on when the two first met each other.
After a successful spell in charge of Celtic, who he joined from Yokohama F. Marinos, who are part of the City Football Group, the Australian was appointed as the new Tottenham head coach back in June.
Having now had the chance to address the media as his side prepare for their upcoming season, the 57-year-old has shared his thoughts on one manager he’ll be coming up against over the campaign.
Postecoglou praises Guardiola
In his first press conference as the new Spurs boss, Postecoglou had this to say when it was suggested that Guardiola had been a mentor and friend to him.
He said: “It was very gracious of him but I spent about 20 minutes in his company [when Yokohama played City in a pre-season friendly a few years back].
“I have not spoken to him otherwise. If you are asking me, will he go down as one of the greatest managers of all time, yes.
“He has had an unbelievable influence on football. All of us involved. Whether it was consciously or unconsciously influenced by him, absolutely.
“An unbelievable manager but check my phone mate, he’s not in it under Pep! I met him [in Japan]. He was great. He was very generous. Most of the top managers are.”
Not long after the former Celtic boss was appointed at the north London club, Guardiola described Postecoglou as an “exceptional” manager who did an “incredible” job at Parkhead.
Having won 11 league titles in total with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, as well as three Champions Leagues and numerous other trophies, it’s easy to see why Postecoglou considers the Spaniard to be one of the greatest managers of all time.
While many in the football world will know how much of a top manager the City boss is, it’s interesting to hear how impressed Postecoglou was with Guardiola as a person and how generous he was when they first met each other.
Moving forward, while there’s a clear admiration and respect between the two managers, when it comes to business, they will undoubtedly only want to see their respective sides do all they can to win.
