2 weeks ago
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Former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has reluctantly chosen Pep Guardiola ahead of former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp when asked to name the finest manager he's played under.
The German flourished under his fellow countryman during his time at Borussia Dortmund. Under Klopp's guidance, he secured the Bundesliga title and the German Cup before making the switch to Manchester to work with former Barcelona boss Guardiola.
Gundogan's career soared to unprecedented levels at the Etihad, where he claimed countless honors, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League. The midfielder has now revealed his choice between the two competing managers.
"I need to be honest and answer Pep because of what we achieved together, the dominance," Gundogan told The Athletic in an interview.
"We had enormous success at Dortmund and I loved the type of football. I appreciate Jurgen so much as a manager and human being. Every time we saw each other, even with Liverpool, we hugged strongly like a father and son.
"Both had a big influence on the way I turned out, but with Pep I feel the tactical point of view, the possession game, is a bit clearer to me than transitional football."
He added: "I describe myself as a simple player because that is how I like to keep the game.
"I feel like it's enough to make the simple things as perfect as possible... Watch us in the treble-winning season, the build-up, and everything looks so easy, but it was simple things executed perfectly.
"There is no better football I can remember being played by anyone - maybe apart from the Barcelona team with (Sergio) Busquets, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta and [Lionel] Messi - than we played that year."
Gundogan made his second exit from City this summer, returning to the club after a season with Barcelona.
He transferred to Turkish team Galatasaray, penning a two-year contract.
He's already hinted at a desire to transition into management once his playing days are over. Gundogan stated: "We've discussed it very seriously, to be honest.
"I really consider it, and I've already finished my first badge. I will do the others. It feels natural to me to go into that space... I am grateful and feel lucky that I have had amazing managers in my career so far.
"I really feel a motivation inside myself to go ahead with that. It would be a mistake not to try."
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