Who is the better manager: Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola? Our football team say who they'd rather have as their boss
It's a simple question on the face of it, as our football try to decide who they'd rather have as their manager out of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Former Fulham and Huddersfield striker Dale Tempest joins the Verdict this week alongside Paul Higham, George Pitts and Tom Carnduff for what is one of the biggest questions in the Premier League - and possibly in the world of football.
Liverpool and Man City have emerged as dominant forces in the Premier League, and if you ask anyone around the footballing world who the best manager on the planet was, odds are one of these two would be the answer.
But what is THE answer? Let's try and sort this out once and for all. We'll let the former professional footballer go first.
We want to hear from you! Let us know which you'd want to play under and why by messaging us at @SportingLifeFC or Email us here
Dale Tempest
What a question. It’s the same as who’d you have in your team Messi or Ronaldo (we may do that one soon). Not a lot of downside is there but choices have to made so here goes.
I’d have sincerely loved to have played for both of them but the one I think I’d have prospered most under would have been Pep. Both are incredible managers and in all honesty it wasn’t until they both arrived on our shores that I started to really appreciate their immense managerial talents. I’d always seen Pep managing great teams - Barcelona obviously the main one and then Bayern but didn’t think City would change radically.
His influence, though, on an already successful group of players was seismic. One particular player who went from very good to world class was Raheem Sterling. I’d watched him at Liverpool and whilst he was effective his best work was his instinctive work in the final third, but when given time especially in front of goal he made so many bad decisions season after season - I didn’t think he had it in him to go to the next level.
How wrong I was. Pep got hold of him at City and basically taught him the game. It was transformational. He quickly became the complete player who also started to score goals, particularly tap-ins, which he’d have never found himself in the six-yard box for in his Liverpool days.
All the City players completely bought into Pep's methods and after finishing third in his first season it was then boom. That 2017/18 season when Pep secured his first Premier league title was mesmerising. 106 goals, 32 wins and 100 points!
I’m always a bit cynical when TV cameras say they’re going behind the scenes to capture previously unseen footage, but I saw enough in Amazon's “All or Nothing" to know this guy was a coaching genius and he was the manager I’d have most liked to play for.
The intensity, the sincerity, the planning, the organisation, the passion, the knowledge, the demands he made on his players to be the best they could be. Wonderful. I’d have loved that. I was never a great technical player or individual but I worked hard and always scored goals wherever I went. I think I’d have immersed myself in his disciplined and controlled set-up and thrived accordingly. I might not have scored Aguero’s goals but what centre forward couldn’t have scored 30 + goals in that side.
A big disappointment for this fragmented season is that this great Liverpool side and Klopp probably won’t get the recognition they deserve.
They have simply been incredible . What professional wouldn’t want that huge smile coming towards you on the pitch hugging you after you’ve sweated blood for the win. The German has a fantastically positive character that is wonderfully infectious and instrumental to the success of his teams. BUT Pep is the man I’d have most liked to play for.
Paul Higham
I doubt whether I'd get 30 goals a season even in Pep's Man City side! But what pro footballer wouldn't want to play for either of these two?
If you get trophies out on the table then Pep has to take it as the more successful of the two, but you've got to give Klopp huge credit for what Liverpool have achieved this last year or so.
Regardless of what happens to the rest of the season, the fact is we've not seen a Premier League campaign where one team has been so dominant - and to do it over a league that also contains Pep's Man City side must also be a huge tick in Klopp's favour.
If being a tad bit mischievous you could argue that Guardiola being in charge of Barca, Bayern and now City hasn't exactly had to drag teams too far up the scale - he's had top players from the off and plenty of cash to bolster. Klopp's been a bit lower down the ladder so has had to build teams up to this level, although at Anfield he's also had plenty of money.
Both will provide your team with great football and trophies and both will be fan favourites, but I've just got to edge towards the German, who has probably surprised a few with just how good he's been after being labelled by the likes of Joey Barton as a glorified cheerleader.
Klopp's proved savvy in the transfer market and tactically astute on the field - and has handed out a few beatings to Guardiola's City and proved to be a real thorn in his side at times. Pep did get the upper hand ultimately last season though in that epic title race.
I love the style of football of both, the passion of both and the ruthlessness of both - they also both seem to 'get' their own football club and fans and want to work together as much as possible. It's hard to overstate just how important it is for a manager to be seen as 'one of us' by the supporters.
Like I say though, Klopp just edges it for me. I think he's a bit more personable and approachable, Guardiola has been increasingly spikey in the media of late, and there's a togetherness that I just see as a bit stronger at Anfield than at the Etihad.
If being ultra picky, Guardiola clearly made a mistake by not replacing Vincent Kompany when he departed, a mistake that was highlighted and exacerbated by Laporte's unfortunate injury, but a mistake nonetheless. There's also a blindspot in playing Fernandinho in central defence when City miss him so much in midfield in big games.
On top of that, taking that huge body blow of losing the title by a point despite a record season, then somehow getting his players to respond with an epic campaign takes something special, so for creating those mentality monsters I'll give it to Klopp.
Plus, everyone loves a hug don't they?
Tom Carnduff
I'm just honoured to be in a situation where I'd be considered by Guardiola or Klopp given my actual footballing ability.
It's an incredibly tough choice to make too. Both have a long list of positives that significantly outweigh the negatives. Both have also completely revolutionised their clubs.
City were a top Premier League side before Guardiola's arrival but he's taken them to that next level. To hit 100 points in a single top-flight season is beyond incredible, and while Liverpool were well on their way to matching it, City will always have bragging rights of being the first.
Klopp will always be the charismatic one but it would be incredibly difficult to turn down the opportunity to play for Guardiola.
For me, he's the best manager in the Premier League and one of the greatest that English football has seen. The likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough and Arsene Wenger will always be in that elite category, but Guardiola deserves his spot alongside them too.
His career has delivered constant success wherever he has gone. There's always the argument that his path has been easier than Klopp's but there has to be an acceptance that clubs look to him to move them from 'good' to 'excellent'.
He was brought up in a winning environment at Barcelona and transformed that into management. Three LaLiga titles, a host of domestic cups and two Champions League successes during his time in Spain is nothing short of exceptional - and of course there's the famous video of Ferguson furiously watching on as his Manchester United side were taken apart by Guardiola's men in 2011.
"No one has given us a hiding like that," Ferguson said after that defeat at Wembley. "It's a great moment for them. They deserve it because they play the right way and enjoy their football."
Then of course there were the three Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich, and the numerous trophies he's brought to Manchester City. Wherever Guardiola goes, success follows.
Take nothing away from Klopp, his career has been fantastic as well. He also has Bundesliga and Champions League titles on his CV. He's turned this Liverpool side into an animal - one that Manchester City clearly fear based on results.
But there is always something so mesmerising about Guardiola's teams. There was an expectation on them to regularly score five or more goals in a Premier League contest and they would usually deliver.
We're discussing two of the best managers in the game currently - but for me Guardiola takes the accolade of being the best.
George Pitts
If the question was directly: Who is the best manager? You would have to go for Guardiola.
Not only for his achievements turning around a disjointed Barca side (the job was not straightforward when he took it on) and winning silverware with both Bayern and City, but for his influence in the game.
The tika-taka, pleasing style that is played by his teams has trickled down the football pyramid and that kind of impact should not go unnoticed. He's a revolutionary and you have got to commend him for that.
He is a man who lives and breathes football. He is so passionate about the game - to the point he can be stubborn at times - and it is clear to see from the Amazon documentary which Dale mentions. Playing for him would be an education.
But if the question is: Who would you rather play for? Klopp would get the edge.
That big hug Paul mentions which comes at the end of a pulsating performance, to his sheer passion and ways of motivating his players.
If I was able to play at such a level, I like to think of my style like it is now but far better - nothing flashy and not the best technically, but makes it up with the hard work. Guardiola's technical coaching - and that's not to say Klopp does not do it - would be too much whereas I would run through brick walls for Klopp and he could appreciate my work ethic on the pitch.
With his heavy metal style and high press from when he first arrived, to a more controlling but still intense style we see in the machine that is Liverpool today, I'd be much more suited to that. He seems a little more humorous and lighthearted at times, even though we did see a hint of spikiness from him towards the end of last season.
While Klopp could be scary, I would be keen to impress him and make him proud. Guardiola would probably just terrify me back into my shell.
There is a lot to be admired about the Spaniard but Klopp's overall demeanour would be my preferred option. But if push came to shove, either would do. I guess.
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