Didi Hamann claims Manchester City figure is no longer the best in the world

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Didi Hamann has claimed that Pep Guardiola should not be considered the best manager in the world ahead of Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

Speaking to Solinger Tageblat, the former Liverpool star criticised Guardiola’s relative lack of success in Europe’s premier club competition despite often being branded as the best manager in the world, with the City boss only winning the Champions League once in his career.

With the Manchester giants set to take on Bayern tonight against Thomas Tuchel, Guardiola will want revenge against his German counterpart who beat City in the 2020 Champions League final with Chelsea, with many bookmarking this season as the Cityzen’s best chance to win the competition.

Erling Haaland’s form has made City a favourite for the Champions League, yet for Hamann, Guardiola could be the factor that sees the reigning Premier League champions once again lose out on European success, the one trophy the Etihad Stadium side are yet to win since the 2008 takeover.

Indeed, Guardiola has been criticised for some how his tactics in Europe with City, with the decision to play no defensive midfielder in the final in 2020 one that many supporters and pundits consider a move that cost the Manchester side the final. And Hamann is aware of these mistakes.

Hamann said on Guardiola: “Guardiola has not managed anything that others have not managed. Everybody tells you that Pep Guardiola is the super father of coaches. But he was in a Champions League final in with Man City, and he lost that himself. And now people tell me he’s the best manager in the world, I’m sorry.”

Guardiola has proved more than enough to Hamann why he is the best

The debate of ‘who is the best manager in the world’ is one of the most subjective in all of football, with 100 fans potentially giving you 100 different answers depending on who is top of certain leagues or how international teams are fairing. However, Guardiola has more than proved that he could be the outlier in such a conversation.

Whilst success in Europe has been disappointing, Guardiola has continued to dominate English football over the years with City, and this year could finally be the season that the Catalan coach finally breaks his Champions League duck if he sticks to his match-winning plan.