BURNING Guardiola needs total resp
PEP GUARDIOLA admits Manchester City will not get the same recognition as his famous Barcelona team until they conquer the Champions League. And as Premier League leaders City take on six-time European champions Liverpool in a critical title clash at the Etihad today, the Spaniard believes that for all his stars have achieved – winning 10 titles in five years – total respect is still missing.
Between 2008 and 2011, Barcelona were widely lauded as the best team of their generation under Guardiola.
The Nou Camp giants won two Champions Leagues, three La Liga crowns, two FIFA Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups among a haul of 14 trophies in four seasons.
But despite dominating the English game, Guardiola doesn’t feel the same global adulation at City.
And he believes it’s because they have no big Euro history like
Barcelona or title rivals Liverpool.
But the City boss believes it’s ‘stupid’ to think his stars should feel inferior because they don’t get affirmation of their greatness from outside the Etihad.
He said: “We have an incredible history and we don’t deny the history of the 1970s and ’80s, even though this club was not always in the championship.
“What we feel together inside is that we will remember that period with big satisfaction with what we’ve done.
“I think we’ve had incredible words and compliments. Sometimes we need the proof from outside to be happy inside and that is stupid.
“What we want is proof from the outside that what we’ve done is right. I know it’s right, what we’ve done and what we’re doing.
“But I agree with most people who said that we’ve not achieved in Europe, we’ve not won the Champions League.
“Maybe they are right – to get the recognition of everyone in the world outside, we need to conquer Europe.”
JURGEN KLOPP says he is driven by a burning ambition to knock Pep Guardiola off his perch. The Liverpool boss paid rich tribute to Guardiola and his Manchester City team before the showdown at the Etihad by calling them the “best in the world”.
But Klopp qualified his praise by insisting: “I always wanted to be the coach of the team who can beat the best team in the world.” There have been no mind games between the managers of the top two teams in the Premier League.
But Klopp sounded like a man who feels he has Guardiola’s number, despite boasting just one win in his last eight visits to the Etihad.
“What I say about City, I really mean,” said
Klopp. “Pep is the best coach in the world – no problem with that – but I always wanted to be the coach of the team who can beat the best team in the world.
“And actually I achieved that as well somehow and now we have to make sure Sunday is the day.
“There is a little bit of work to do but we have time and nothing else to do, so let’s give it a try.”
Liverpool were 14 points behind the champions in
January but won their two games in hand and have reeled City in over the last few weeks, closing the gap to just a single point.
The teams will meet again in the semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday after completing their Champions League quarter-finals – both lead after the first leg.
Having already lifted the Carabao Cup, the Merseysiders have a Quadruple in their sights, while City can still win the Treble.
Klopp said: “We knew it was 14 points but we didn’t care.we just had to win as many points as possible until the end of the season. If we hadn’t tried I would be disappointed.
“Not winning the league will be disappointing but there are other things to go for, like other cup competitions and the Champions League.
“For those you need momentum and you need rhythm. In these moments I really appreciate my job.”
Klopp has another two seasons left on his Anfield contract, while Guardiola’s deal at the Etihad expires in the summer of 2023.
Both men have produced a rivalry over the past five years as good as anything ever seen in the English game.