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Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has branded Pep Guardiola as a “genius” - although not for the reason many would assume.
The pair were rivals for years as they fought for dominance in Germany - with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively - before battling it out again in England with the Reds and Manchester City.
During the eight-year period Klopp and Guardiola both managed in the Premier League, their teams won seven of the eight titles on offer. Although Liverpool was only crowned champion once in that era, it did finish a single point behind City on two other occasions, underlining the two sides’ dominance.
Klopp would go on to leave Liverpool last year, and has since moved away from management after becoming Red Bull’s head of global soccer earlier this year. Guardiola, meanwhile, has stayed on at City, and even signed a new contract last November to keep him at the club until 2027.
Having admitted he doesn’t have any plans to return to management, and even confessing he doesn’t miss the responsibilities, Klopp has opened up on one aspect in particular that he struggled to get to grips with - the media duties.
“It was never a problem,” Klopp told The Athletic about the countless interviews and media assignments he would have to deal with as a manager.
“Think about your absolute movie star. For me, Daniel Craig, James Bond. And you think, ‘Oh my God, he’s James Bond!’ I would think: Where is he right now? What is he doing?
“But in the end, he gets up in the morning, he brushes his teeth. He’s on a film set and a film set is not what we see later in the cinema. You’re sitting there and you do the same scene 25 times. You don’t think about these things. But I had this life. I know how almost all football managers live. They live for the job, all-in. You can’t be successful in this business without doing it like that.”
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Unlike Klopp though, Guardiola was able to find some time away from the job.
“But then I tell Pep (Guardiola) — he improved his (golf) handicap with age! I didn’t have a f***ing minute of time to play golf! So that’s why he’s a genius and I am not.
“When do you play golf? I cannot believe that.”
Liverpool.com says: It’s clear to see the amount of respect Klopp and Guardiola have for each other. It’s a shame that there’s a real possibility that we’ll never see them go head-to-head again, but it does seem as though Klopp is happy away from management now.
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