I thought I knew football under Jurgen Klopp – but Pep Guardiola and Man City changed everything
Only five players have played under current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and outgoing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp – with the pair facing each other for the final time in the Premier League on Sunday.
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ByJoe BrayManchester City writer
06:00, 8 MAR 2024
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts the last time the Blues faced Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts the last time the Blues faced Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
It’s the end of an era at Anfield on Sunday. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will stand next to each other on the touchline for the final time in the Premier League.
Klopp is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, with half of Merseyside desperate to sign him off with a second Premier League title. Manchester City and Guardiola are probably the most likely side who can stop that happening, and City want to make history with a fourth-successive Premier League title and potential double treble.
There is far more than three points on offer this weekend, with the legacies of both managers on the line in some respect. The build-up will also draw the inevitable comparisons between Guardiola and Klopp – although it’s fair to say only five players are able to truly compare how the two elite coaches work.
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Incredibly, just five have played under both Klopp and Guardiola. World Cup winner Mario Gotze and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski moved from Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund to Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, while Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri played for Guardiola at Bayern before later moving to Liverpool under Klopp.
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Then there is City legend Ilkay Gundogan, who was Guardiola’s first captain after a stellar spell at Dortmund under Klopp. Gundogan has always been full of praise for Klopp, but has made his feelings towards Guardiola clear over the years.
“Before I joined Man City I thought ‘I know football’,” Gundogan told ESPN last year after leaving City. “I was 25, 26 years old so I thought I’ve seen a lot, I’ve won league titles, cup titles.
“But now, standing here after seven years of Pep’s school, I probably would say I didn’t know anything about football before. His influence, not just on the team, also on me personally, was just immense. The aspects, the little details of the game that he has taught me and showed to us I think is very special.”
Expanding on the difference between the two managers, Gundogan told Turkish TV channel Tivibu Spor in 2022 that Klopp’s man-management made him stand out as a coach. “When I came to Dortmund at the age of 20, I had an adaptation problem. The first six months were tough for me,” he said.
“But Klopp helped me because he treated his players like a father figure, like a friend. He was always with me, gave me confidence. I spent five successful years with him. I became a national player. I started working with [Joachim] Low. Then I had an incredible season with [Thomas] Tuchel in Dortmund. Then I had the opportunity to work with Guardiola.
“As I have always been a fan of Guardiola, I always wanted to work with him. In 2016, the opportunity arose and we had a phone call with him. We talked, we argued, and I finally came to Manchester City. I have been very happy here for five-six years. I am very happy with Pep, even my neighbour himself. He is a coach who has given me a lot. I am very satisfied with the coaches I have worked with so far.”
When leaving City last summer, Gundogan made sure to personally thank Guardiola for his support and guidance during his seven years at the Etihad.
“One of the hardest calls I had to make was to Pep, telling him that I was going to leave. All I could do was to say thank you,” he wrote in the Player’s Tribune.
“Not just for this season, or for all the trophies, but for bringing me here in the first place. I will never forget when I hurt my knee at the end of the season with Dortmund and I had to get surgery, I was so worried that City would pull out of the deal for me.
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“But Pep called me on the phone and said, ‘Don’t worry, it doesn’t change anything. We want you here. We will wait for you no matter how long it takes.'”
Gundogan has even admitted that he had the chance to reunite with Klopp at Liverpool instead of moving to City. “I had a great four years with Jurgen and I love him as a person and a manager but I felt it was time for something else,” he recalled.
“I wanted to leave Dortmund in Dortmund and didn’t want to think about the time that I had with him when I was joining a new club. That was a bit of the reason why I didn’t want to join Liverpool.”
“Obviously, on the other side there was Pep Guardiola who I loved watching when he was at Barcelona – the way he made his team play. When he was with Bayern Munich, I played against him and you felt on the pitch how strong his sides were and it was always a dream to call him my manager one day. At that point, I had the possibility to train and play for him and the combination with Man City was perfect.”
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