Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has compared the managerial styles of Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, with the Spaniard likening the Manchester United legend to the ‘Godfather’, while also extolling the qualities of Pep Guardiola, who manged Pique in a trophy-laden spell at Barcelona.
Pique was being interviewed by former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand for British broadcaster BT Sports, and was asked to compare Ferguson and Guardiola’s managerial styles. The Barcelona defender spent 4 years with Ferguson at Manchester United before being signed by Guardiola in 2008 for the Catalan club.
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The Barcelona defender answered by comparing Sir Alex to the Godfather, saying “When I was at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was already 20 years as the coach of Manchester United, so he took the position of the coach in a different style than Guardiola.”
“Sir Alex Ferguson, when I was there I remember [Carlos] Queiroz was the guy who took training, he [Ferguson] was like more outside, controlling everything, taking a different position."
Ferdinand interjected, “Like the Godfather?”
Pique answered “Exactly.“
However, Pique revealed that Pep Guardiola took a far more hands-on approach, praising the former Barcelona manager for his intensity, saying “Guardiola was really young, it was his first year as a first-team coach and he was really intense every training, you cannot imagine."
However, when it comes to who was the better manager, Pique could not choose between the two, saying “Guardiola was like every day, he was there, but both of them you can see their careers. I think they're both fantastic.”
Here is a video of Pique and Ferdinand’s exchange:
Ferguson praises Guardiola
Sir Alex Ferguson, however, is in no doubt about Guardiola’s quality, applauding Manchester City for appointing the Spaniard, saying “Without question Pep has got a fantastic work ethic about him, he demands that from all of his training sessions.”
“Anyone who thinks they're not going to work hard at City won't last long. He has got great coaching ability, there is no doubt about that.”
However, Ferguson sounded a note of caution for Guardiola, saying “Man City have made a real coup in getting him but Pep won't find it easy, English football is not easy.“
“Every foreign coach that has come to England will tell you that. Arsene Wenger was talking about that a few months after coming and even Jose Mourinho realised after his first season that what he achieved was hard work.”
