Guardiola Says Tottenham Boss is One of the Best in the World

Pep Guardiola commented on the work that Mauricio Pochettino has done since becoming Tottenham’s manager.

Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola have crossed paths many times, both as players and now as managers.

And with Sunday’s clash one of the biggest in the Premier League this early in the season, with Spurs and Man City undefeated, this is the latest match-up between the two men.

In an act of good sportsmanship, Guardiola has gone out of his way to praise Pochettino after the work he has done with Tottenham.

“We play against each other as players, then as coaches. I don’t just think he is one of the best managers in England – he is one of the best managers in the world,” Pep Guardiola said (via Sky Sports).

“I enjoy watching Tottenham since last year, and I think he is doing an amazing job. The way they play, I like a lot. He is aggressive without the ball. Last season they were there to be champions till the last few weeks and they are playing a high level again.”

While both sides are undefeated the Citizens will travel to a hostile ground where Spurs have performed incredibly well at home since 2014 after Pochettino took over.

Not including this season, Spurs have an impressive winning record at White Hart Lane: 21 wins, eight draws and nine losses over the last two years.

Manchester City always pose a problem with the amount of talent that they have acquired over the years and with a coach such as Pep Guardiola calling the shots in his technical area, Sunday’s match will be difficult for both sides.

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“It will be a tough game and I am looking forward to going to White Hart Lane for the first time in my life as well. We will try to do our job,” Guardiola said.

“We have a good relationship but we never spoke too much about football. He [Pochettino] is quite similar [to me] and Tottenham’s quality is top. You can see that behind [the scenes] that good things are happening.”

“When you watch Tottenham you can enjoy it. They are active in their game, not reactive. They want to be protagonists. They don’t wait. They want to create their own game. That’s why I like them. When I saw against CSKA Moscow and against Middlesbrough, I like the way they played.”

Mauricio Pochettino also feels that this fixture is important for both teams. However he has already stated that the season is still too early and should Spurs not pick up three points, it won’t be a major loss. So long as Tottenham can respond well moving forward.

“It’s a very important game for us and them. We play against City who are unbeaten in the Premier League and it’s first against second in the table – that’s very tough, very important for both teams,” Pochettino said (via Daily Mail).

“But it’s very early to start to speak about whether it’s an important game to prove something. It’s only the beginning. For that, three points would be important to reduce the gap. If we win, my speech will be the same as if we don’t.”

“The most important thing is to be solid, to show we believe in the way we play. It’s too early to start to speak about aims at the end of the season. But I agree, it is an important and exciting game.”

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Tottenham’s season won’t be decided by this fixture alone, but it will at least help gauge where Spurs are at compared to one of the Premier League’s elite clubs. Spurs completed a double last season and they will look to keep their winning streak over them intact.

Both teams enter this match missing players through injury so they’re obviously not at 100 percent full strength, still, picking up a win under these circumstances will be greatly beneficial to keep their current standing in the league table.

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