Sir Alex Ferguson greets Pep Guardiola at Wembley Stadium
Sir Alex Ferguson greets Pep Guardiola at Wembley Stadium
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy insists Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is better than Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson because the Catalonian has changed the sport.
Both Guardiola and Ferguson hold a lot of respect for each other and both hold legendary status' at their respective clubs. They have both won the treble, lifted the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Club World Cup during their tenures at City and United.
Despite Ferguson having longevity on his side, Guardiola has often been credited for revolutionising how teams play football in England. Clubs up and down the pyramid tend to favour a passing system, sometimes to their detriment, thanks to the success of Guardiola at City.
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Writing in his Daily Mail column, Murphy believes that this reason sets the Catalonian apart from Ferguson. "Sir Alex Ferguson was the ultimate boss," he wrote.
"Everybody wanted to emulate his Manchester United team, including us at Liverpool. Fergie’s biggest strength was motivating these great players to stay hungry all the time.
"When Pep Guardiola struggled in his first season at City, I thought the intensity of English football would stop him replicating his Barcelona success. But I was wrong.
"Guardiola shares Fergie’s attributes for man-management and making big decisions. But more than Fergie, he’s changed our sport.
"It’s not only other Premier League teams who build from defence, press to win it back and use tactical innovations like false nines and inverted full-backs – they’re doing it in Leagues One and Two and even at grassroots level. The Pep philosophy has spread to so many parts of the game."
Guardiola will be hoping his philosophy eventually wins out at the Etihad Stadium as the Blues currently find themselves suffering one of their worst runs ever under their iconic boss. City are six games winless in all competitions ahead of tomorrow's trip to Liverpool in the Premier League.
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