‘By Far’ – Pep Guardiola Named the Toughest Managers He Has Ever Faced in His Career

Pep Guardiola is considered one of the greatest managers of all-time. He’s trailing only Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to the legacy that he’s forged in the Premier League, but he has also tasted huge success in both Spain and Germany with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively. The Manchester City manager has won just about everything there is to win with every club he’s been in charge of. He’s worked with incredible players and he’s gone toe to toe with some of the greatest coaches that football has ever seen.Guardiola has competed against the likes of Ferguson, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti and Arsene Wenger over the years, but one manager in particular stood out to him as the toughest opponent of his career. Considering their battles against one another on the grandest of stages, it shouldn’t be too surprising who he chose either.Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola applaudingRelatedPep Guardiola Named Two Players He Managed Who ‘Deserved’ to Win the Ballon d’OrBy James O’ReillyGuardiola Named Jurgen Klopp the Toughest Manager He FacedThe two competed against each other in Germany and EnglandManchester City manager Pep Guardiola with Liverpool manager Juergen KloppManchester City manager Pep Guardiola with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp before the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason CairnduffWhile they competed against one another in Germany with Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, it was their rivalry in England with City and Liverpool respectively that likely earned the German his status as the toughest manager that Guardiola ever faced off against. The two Premier League sides battled at the top of the table for several years and during City’s reign of dominance, no one made them work harder for their success than Liverpool. As a result, it’s not entirely surprising to see that the coach believes Klopp is his toughest opposing manager.During a lecture that he was delivering for the UEFA Pro course in Spain, Guardiola spoke about Klopp and that Liverpool side and named them his toughest opponent. He said:”Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have been the toughest I’ve ever faced in my life. There were days when I thought ‘I’ve got him’ and the next day he’d [Klopp] destroy me again. He was the toughest by far. Because of his way of playing, his transitions, because he was very direct, because he attacked with a lot of players. The inside midfielders are usually support players, but Klopp’s midfielders were about attacking space.”So, he’d force the full-backs to close down a lot, then he’d open you up on the outside with his full-backs. They continually sprinted inside. Firmino would drop back. Salah and Mane’s runs behind him were unstoppable. It was very, very difficult to counteract. I give a lot of credit to what we’ve done these years to the incredible quality of the opponent we’ve had to face. Those three or four league titles we won against Klopp are the greatest success we’ve achieved. There hasn’t been a tougher opponent I’ve ever faced.”