Former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has named the best manager he has ever played for in his career.
Carles Puyol had an incredibly successful time at Barcelona and won multiple Champions League titles, and his side dominated La Liga.
One man who was key to this is current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Guardiola was promoted from Barcelona’s B side to the first team in 2009 following Frank Rijkaard’s dismissal as manager of the Catalan club and it’s fair to say the ex-midfielder was revolutionary.
He won Barcelona the treble in his first full season, including a victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final and a memorable La Liga title victory.
In the 2010/2011 season, Guardiola’s side won the league and Champions League again before the Spaniard departed the club at the end of the 2011/2012 campaign.
Puyol on Guardiola
Speaking on the BBC’s documentary about the iconic manager, Puyol was full of praise for Guardiola, who won another treble with his current side City last season.
“For me, he’s the best by far. I think we’ll be remembered forever because of how we won,” Puyol said. “I think everyone who has been trained by him is very lucky.
“You see a team…if you held a match and took away the strips, you could tell which team was Pep’s because they have a certain playing style, a method and you can spot them easily.”
As well as this, the Spanish defender revealed his teammates attempted to convince Guardiola to stay at the club: “Being Barcelona coach isn’t easy. We’d had a very intense few years.”
“I told him the players wanted him to stay but he’d already made up his mind.”
Guardiola’s legacy
The Spanish manager is surely rivaling Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Bill Shankly as one of the best managers this sport has ever seen.
His City team are in the mix for their fourth title in a row and there is no sign that Guardiola is slowing down. He has built consistently brilliant squads at the Etihad Stadium and is developing the academy players there, too.
He deserves immense credit and the question may well now turn to who can replace the Spaniard if his eight-year trophy-laden spell in Manchester comes to an end anytime soon.
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