Liverpool will face Manchester City in comparatively different circumstances from the previous campaign in which they were denied a second league title under Jurgen Klopp by one point.
However, the 55-year-old wanted to emphasize his admiration for Pep Guardiola and all he has achieved with the reigning champions.
“I don’t know how often I have to say it, but he is the best coach in the world and he is proving it all the time, every day. What he is doing is special, really special, and I respect that,” the German told reporters at his pre-match press conference (via Goal).
“Pep and I are not the best of friends because we don’t know each other, but I respect him and I know that he also respects what we are doing. It’s okay.
“For a rivalry, you don’t have to be disrespectful. I can always admit brilliance when I see it, and that’s the case here.”
There is no doubt that the Catalan is one of the two best managers in world football, and certainly has been for the last decade, although we would say that our head coach is a bit wrong when it comes to labeling his competitor. The best in the business.
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A stat shared by Goal’s Neil Jones would illustrate otherwise: “Against Pep Guardiola’s teams, Jurgen Klopp has won 11 times and lost nine as manager of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.”
Considering the teams his counterpart has looked after in the blue half of Manchester (not to mention their comparative budgets), it’s no small feat for the two-time Bundesliga winner.
Admittedly, it would take an ego the size of a planet to claim one was the tactical leader of our time, so we’re pleased to see our manager lacks the requisite arrogance.
Although the trophy case will of course argue for Guardiola, we have to pay tribute to the achievements of our ‘Normal One’ under the constraints he has been forced to work under during his time in Germany and England.
To have maintained such an impressive head-to-head record with such contrasting realities and fortunes in mind should say a lot about where the two trainers rank in the manager standings as far as we are concerned here at Empire of the Kop.
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