Pep Guardiola

[Mattshark]

I'm not sure if Mourinho did that as much to be honest, yeah he went to Chelsea but he still had to fight off United which to be fair is no easy task.

Inter again wasn't a cert and he won the CL there which was unbelievable when you consider how bad they've been in that competition.

And now Madrid, yeah they've got loads of money and world class players, but, they're up against arguably the greatest side ever and the greatest ever player.

Pep's career has been much much easier, Barcelona and Bayern. It would only get easier if he took over Celtic and PSG next.

Post calciopoli? Inter where absolutely a cert!

[Shaggy]

He did have one of the greatest club sides ever assembled though

And he pretty much assembled it!

Amazing how people forget the mess they were in when Rijkaard got the boot.

Barca had won nothing for two seasons and before Pep came in finished on 67 points - 18 points behind Real.

Guardiola sold Ronaldinho (their star player at the time), Deco, Zambrotta, Thuram.....he sold Eto'o in his prime!! Decisions that took huge bollocks. He brought in Busquets and Pedro from the B team, he signed Pique, changed Messi's role and helped him become the player he is today.

Treble in his first season, and won something ludicrous like 16 of 19 trophies contended for, and all the while competing against the most expensively-assembled squad in the history of football - managed latterly by Mourinho who everyone tells us "guarantees trophies". Well Pep blew them and him away.

His achievements cannot be denigrated in any way.

[RichC]

And he pretty much assembled it!

Amazing how people forget the mess they were in when Rijkaard got the boot.

Barca had won nothing for two seasons and before Pep came in finished on 67 points - 18 points behind Real.

Guardiola sold Ronaldinho (their star player at the time), Deco, Zambrotta, Thuram.....he sold Eto'o in his prime!! Decisions that took huge bollocks. He brought in Busquets and Pedro from the B team, he signed Pique, changed Messi's role and helped him become the player he is today.

Treble in his first season, and won something ludicrous like 16 of 19 trophies contended for, and all the while competing against the most expensively-assembled squad in the history of football - managed latterly by Mourinho who everyone tells us "guarantees trophies". Well Pep blew them and him away.

His achievements cannot be denigrated in any way.

unbelievable managerial record and Barca certainly didn't play as they do now prior to Pep coming in either.

[DannyMan2006]

I'm not sure if Mourinho did that as much to be honest, yeah he went to Chelsea but he still had to fight off United which to be fair is no easy task.

Inter again wasn't a cert and he won the CL there which was unbelievable when you consider how bad they've been in that competition.

And now Madrid, yeah they've got loads of money and world class players, but, they're up against arguably the greatest side ever and the greatest ever player.

Pep's career has been much much easier, Barcelona and Bayern. It would only get easier if he took over Celtic and PSG next.

Jose went to Inter where he was expected to win the league. They'd already won it three years on the spin I think and there biggest rivals were a mess. Winning the CL is what cemented his reputation. Pep needs to do the same.

No question Pep would have had a bigger challenge elsewhere. But why should he? It's like saying RVP should have moved to West Brom..........

[DannyMan2006]

hard to judge how good a manager he is, certainly nowhere near Mourinho's level yet IMO.

He's better than Jose until proven otherwise. Jose had to employ Stoke style football to beat Barca and even then it took him a good while. And that's with a bottomless pit of cash.

[G]

And he pretty much assembled it!

Amazing how people forget the mess they were in when Rijkaard got the boot.

Barca had won nothing for two seasons and before Pep came in finished on 67 points - 18 points behind Real.

Guardiola sold Ronaldinho (their star player at the time), Deco, Zambrotta, Thuram.....he sold Eto'o in his prime!! Decisions that took huge bollocks. He brought in Busquets and Pedro from the B team, he signed Pique, changed Messi's role and helped him become the player he is today.

Treble in his first season, and won something ludicrous like 16 of 19 trophies contended for, and all the while competing against the most expensively-assembled squad in the history of football - managed latterly by Mourinho who everyone tells us "guarantees trophies". Well Pep blew them and him away.

His achievements cannot be denigrated in any way.

Graham Hunters book is a terrific insight into his achievements.

I'm on Ballagues one about Pep now, great stuff.

Jose isn't fit to lace Peps boots, built a winning team and left a legacy for years to come, something Jose can't say.

And he did it all with Class and Dignity.

[Shaggy]

Hunter's book is a fantastic read - incredibly well researched.

[Imy]

Interesting to see how he does at Bayern.
Bayern has some good young players but it's no La Masia.
His record buying players is a mixed bag - possibly more fail the hit.
He hasn't got the goodwill that he had Barca, how will he deal with the Bayern politics?
Will he try to implement a Barca style of play or play to the strengths of the players already there?

All said and done i'm still rooting for Dortmund

[Muddled]

I know Guardiola's record as a manager is tremendous, but I can't help *kinda* question his ability. Well, coz it was Barcelona, innit!

I hope he does well at Bayern and maybe goes about his business in a different way to show how **** hot he really is.

[danperkins]

He's better than Jose until proven otherwise. Jose had to employ Stoke style football to beat Barca and even then it took him a good while. And that's with a bottomless pit of cash.

Have to disagree mate.

Guardiola did a tremendous job with Barca no doubts, but to be fair with that crop of players a chimpanzee could have sat on the bench and still would have won most games. The pressing of play and work ethic he introduced were superb though.

Mourinho has won everywhere he has gone, many people done like him as a person and i can understand that, others will say he goes to cushy jobs with blank cheque books etc and i can see that to a certain extent.

Porto winning champs league was a great feat, Chelsea although they had the tycoon.... he still won in his first season which others money bags like Man City,PSG etc can testify isn't always a banker. Also the treble with Inter in 2009/10 season was incredible. As regards Madrid, i agree he used henchmen tactics vs Barca, but the fact remains they still ended up 9 points ahead of one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

The fact being he has won the league in each of the 4 countries he has managed in & the champs league with two teams that were no where near favourites in those particular seasons, surely he has to get enormous credit for that? Mourinho is what he is, but if people put their person opinions of him asid he is a winner and one of the best managers in the game today.

I really would have loved to see Guardiola go to a more challenging appointment, was only having chat with mates about it too. Bayern are 9 points ahead and cruising this year. Loads of money and usually tend to poach most of the young german talent from other domestic opposition & also have massive pull in Europe. I am not denying that Pep didn't do an absolutely fantastic job at Barca, but IMO it is hard to judge how good of a manager he really is just by his Barca managerial days.

[Shaggy]

But you love Mourinho and he's never taken a challenging position in his life?

[Kenneth]

This is a silly partisan discussion (imo). Two top managers; what else needs saying?

[DannyMan2006]

Jose took over Chelsea who were close runners up to Man Utd in the league. They spent a ton of money to elevate themselves to top dogs.

Talking of chimpanzees, Avram Grant & Robbie Di Matteo both did better in the CL than Jose did with the Chavs.

At Inter he took over by far the best team in Italy. In Spain he took over the richest club in the world. He would be classed as a failure were he to leave Real in the summer having won nothing this season - which is likely.

Top class manager, no doubt. But Pep built a top class team that won games in their own style. As we can see at Liverpool now, winning in a style pleasing to the eye is not easy.

[DannyMan2006]

This is a silly partisan discussion (imo). Two top managers; what else needs saying?

Is the right answer tbh. But could be said of a lot of debates on this site

[Fredo]

have to disagree mate.

Guardiola did a tremendous job with barca no doubts, but to be fair with that crop of players a chimpanzee could have sat on the bench and still would have won most games. The pressing of play and work ethic he introduced were superb though.

Mourinho has won everywhere he has gone, many people done like him as a person and i can understand that, others will say he goes to cushy jobs with blank cheque books etc and i can see that to a certain extent.

Porto winning champs league was a great feat, chelsea although they had the tycoon.... He still won in his first season which others money bags like man city,psg etc can testify isn't always a banker. Also the treble with inter in 2009/10 season was incredible. As regards madrid, i agree he used henchmen tactics vs barca, but the fact remains they still ended up 9 points ahead of one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

The fact being he has won the league in each of the 4 countries he has managed in & the champs league with two teams that were no where near favourites in those particular seasons, surely he has to get enormous credit for that? Mourinho is what he is, but if people put their person opinions of him asid he is a winner and one of the best managers in the game today.

I really would have loved to see guardiola go to a more challenging appointment, was only having chat with mates about it too. Bayern are 9 points ahead and cruising this year. Loads of money and usually tend to poach most of the young german talent from other domestic opposition & also have massive pull in europe. I am not denying that pep didn't do an absolutely fantastic job at barca, but imo it is hard to judge how good of a manager he really is just by his barca managerial days.

ffs.