Man City vs Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola: How EPL’s two best managers are driving each other to greatness

 ‘Is Pep going?” “Is Jürgen coming?” When the Football Writers’ Association was arranging its Northern Managers Awards dinner in November, 2019, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola each had only one question.

Both attended, because if the other was there they weren’t going to miss it, and on stage they joked affectionately about wanting to swap trophies, Klopp being the reigning Champions League winner, Guardiola the Premier League title-holder.

Four days later they met for dinner in Manchester, and got matier still. The occasion this time was a League Managers’ Association (LMA) gala evening at the Midland Hotel, where both were inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame.

Guardiola wore a sharp suit and neat waistcoat, Klopp a more casual number plus black shirt and trainers and they sat on the same table with their wives as well as Gareth Southgate, Alex Ferguson and Walter Smith.

On neighbouring tables were their children and coaching staff and German and Spanish food was on the menu. When he arrived, Klopp had made a beeline for Guardiola, patted him on the back with a big smile, kissed his wife, Cristina, on both cheeks and posed for a selfie with Guardiola’s daughter, Maria – taken by Guardiola’s closest assistant, Manuel Estiarte.

Later, when they sat side by side for a Q&A with Sky’s Dave Jones, Klopp and Guardiola transfixed 400 fellow guests – who included a number of rival Premier League managers – as they spoke about their careers, referencing each other.

 Guardiola said: “As Jürgen has said many times before, titles are just like numbers, it’s the emotion that people feel during the 90 minutes that they’re watching us that’s the real reason we’re in the job.”

Klopp said: “No, football isn’t the most important thing in the world – but for that 95 minutes it is. Like Pep, I feel very blessed – especially tonight.”

November 2019, which also included an afternoon together at the Uefa Elite Club Coaches Forum in Nyon, represents the high watermark of the social relationship between a pair who – now Messi and Ronaldo are waning – form the greatest rivalry in football.

The LMA event made a particular impression on both, Guardiola referencing it warmly in interviews, Klopp describing his counterpart as “a good man, his missus and the kids outstanding”.

It was a period when the two moved from mutual professional admiration to a more personal appreciation. “They’re not exactly ‘friends’ but have really genuine respect for each other,” said a source close to Guardiola. “When Jürgen says nice things about Pep it’s not for the cameras – he means them,” said a source close to Klopp.

On Friday, speaking to both managers before their 23rd and most defining clash to date, their enthusiasm – almost joy – in their rivalry was striking. Guardiola spoke of what he has learned from taking on Klopp. “I would love to be there [in Liverpool’s training] to know him better,” he said. What I see is there are a lot of ways we are similar.

Maybe in the final third [Liverpool] are more bam. We are more pausa [a Spanish/South American tactical concept, akin to ‘putting your foot on the ball.]’ ”

Klopp, 54, imagined a future dinner with Guardiola, 51, when they’re old and retired. “Maybe when we both finish our careers we might meet somewhere and sit together for hours and hours and hours and just speak about the different things we saw, in this game and that game. It would be interesting, no doubt about that,” he said. “I really think we should enjoy the ride because it is so special.”

For those raised on the English club game’s previous manager rivalries, the love-in between Klopp and Guardiola is disorientating. There’s none of the culture clash which existed between Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, nor petty needle Rafa Benítez and José Mourinho went in for, nor the poison between Don Revie and Brian Clough.

Klopp v Guardiola began at Signal Iduna Park in July 2013, a match that ended with Klopp, wearing goofy grin and black and yellow tracksuit, being showered with golden ticker tape after his Borussia Dortmund blitzed Guardiola’s Bayern Munich 4-2 in the German Super Cup final. It continued with Guardiola out-thinking Klopp in a 3-0 Bayern victory at the same stadium and became an epic of the Bundesliga before Klopp departed Dortmund in 2015. Their record was played eight, four wins apiece.

There was never enmity but nor, in that era, was there any great sense of kinship. “Pep never really spoke about Klopp,” said one of Guardiola’s confidants at Bayern. “But he really wanted to win those games. He hated to lose – against anyone.”

Even on Friday, Klopp was still recalling Bayern’s habit of stealing Dortmund’s best players. He lost Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski to the Bavarians and Guardiola wasn’t shy about charming his talent. Ilkay Gundogan – who Guardiola would eventually lure from Dortmund to Manchester City – recalled standing in the tunnel before the second half of a showdown with Bayern when Guardiola walked past and nudged him. “I was just like, ‘What the hell was that?’” said Gundogan, who took it as a cheeky signal. “I had heard from a couple of people that Pep liked me as a player.”

Their first meeting in England was forgettable, a dour game at Anfield on New Year’s Eve, 2016, which featured just three shots on target and one goal – scored early by Georginio Wijnaldum. Yet Klopp celebrated Liverpool’s 1-0 victory raucously, pumping his chest in mock relief in front of supporters. Guardiola was disconsolate – the defeat effectively ended any hope of a title in his first season with City.

Their next match was amicable, a 1-1 draw at the Etihad, when Klopp grabbed Kevin De Bruyne and bear-hugged him in the tunnel. It wasn’t until the next season, 2017-18, that the pair began producing epic narrative with their English clubs. Klopp was “really angry” after losing 5-0 at the Etihad because of the refereeing (Jon Moss sent Sadio Mané off) and at Anfield came a classic match, awash with breakneck attacking, where Liverpool went 4-1 up but City nearly came back to draw – scoring twice late on, then Sergio Agüero going agonisingly close with a header in the final moments of stoppage time.

Then came the clubs’ clash in a tumultuous Champions League quarter-final. Guardiola “took a very long time” to get over City’s bus being attacked by Liverpool fans before the first leg at Anfield, which his team lost 3-0. Klopp was getting much of the media praise, even though Guardiola was on the brink of his first Premier League title, and in his team talk before the second leg a little bruising to the ego was revealed.

Guardiola told City players: “Jürgen Klopp said today – maybe I cannot convince you, maybe he can convince you – ‘We [Liverpool] are going to play the best team in Europe during the last ten months,’” before concluding, with a note of sarcasm. “It was a real pleasure to be with Jürgen guys.”

Liverpool won the second leg too and the low point in the Pep-Klopp dynamic came in the months that followed. In pre-season, after Liverpool beat City in the International Champions Cup in New York, Klopp walked in on Guardiola’s press conference and fans began cheering as Guardiola was still talking. Guardiola cut his address short, leapt up and invited Klopp to take centre stage instead. They were all smiles but those in the room remember the moment as being deeply awkward.

Then, before the new season started, Klopp made a remark that irked his nemesis, saying “we’re still Rocky Balboa, not Ivan Drago” – Drago being a pitiless, robotic and unfairly advantaged fighter who the underdog hero takes on in the Rocky films. Guardiola’s riposte was sardonic. “I’ve had that situation for nine years, it’s not a problem. Thank you Jürgen, you’re so kind.”

However, someone who knows Guardiola well suggests any annoyance was not really with Klopp but the whole Favourites City/Underdogs Liverpool narrative. “It’s never personal for Pep with other managers, even Mourinho,” he said. “It’s not how he’s wired.”

Klopp is said to see the world similarly and it was over the season that followed, the incredible campaign of 2018-19, that appreciation of each other seemed to overwhelm any other feelings. City were domestic treble winners, taking the Premier League title with 98 points while Liverpool were just one point back and won the Champions League.

After the final in Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium, when he went back to Liverpool’s dressing room to grab a beer and celebrate, Klopp was stopped at the door by Liverpool’s head physio, Lee Nobes, who handed him a phone. The name on the screen said “Pep”. Klopp thought it was his No 2, Pep Lijnders, but Nobes joined Liverpool from City, where he worked for 11 years, and the caller was Guardiola. “We talked about what a great season it was, we had a few jokes. We were both obviously in a good mood,” said Klopp. (FROM TIMES OF LONDON)