برچسب: named

Guardiola named the toughest manager he has ever faced in his career

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Pep Guardiola is widely regarded as one of football’s most iconic managers. While his Premier League legacy is second only to Sir Alex Ferguson, his managerial brilliance has also been showcased in Spain and Germany, where he achieved remarkable success with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Throughout his career, Guardiola has amassed an impressive collection of trophies at every club he’s led. He’s coached world-class talent and faced off against some of the most respected tacticians in the game. ..Continue Reading

Among those rivals are legendary figures like Ferguson, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, and Arsène Wenger. Yet, one name stands out to Guardiola as the most formidable adversary he’s encountered.

Given their intense clashes on major stages, it’s no surprise that he singled out Klopp. Their rivalry began in Germany—Guardiola at Bayern, Klopp at Dortmund—but it was in England, with Manchester City and Liverpool battling for supremacy, that their competition reached its peak.

During City’s dominant run in the Premier League, Liverpool consistently pushed them to their limits, making Klopp’s side the most relentless challengers Guardiola has faced.

Speaking at a UEFA Pro course lecture in Spain, Guardiola reflected on those fierce encounters and named Klopp and his Liverpool team as the toughest opponents of his managerial career.

He said: “Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have been the toughest I’ve ever faced in my life. There were days when I thought ‘I’ve got him’ and the next day he’d [Klopp] destroy me again. He was the toughest by far. Because of his way of playing, his transitions, because he was very direct, because he attacked with a lot of players. The inside midfielders are usually support players, but Klopp’s midfielders were about attacking space.

“So, he’d force the full-backs to close down a lot, then he’d open you up on the outside with his full-backs. They continually sprinted inside. Firmino would drop back. Salah and Mane’s runs behind him were unstoppable. It was very, very difficult to counteract.

“I give a lot of credit to what we’ve done these years to the incredible quality of the opponent we’ve had to face. Those three or four league titles we won against Klopp are the greatest success we’ve achieved. There hasn’t been a tougher opponent I’ve ever faced.”

Klopp’s Liverpool only managed to get their hands on the Premier League trophy once, but there’s no doubt at all that they pushed Man City to the brink on a number of occasions and they often seemed to have Guardiola’s number on the pitch.

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14/09/2025
Mbappe has named his pick for 2025 Ballon d’Or ahead of PSG vs Real Madrid & Ronaldo agrees

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The prestigious individual honor will be awarded in September, with the list of nominees expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. ..Continue Reading

Currently held by Manchester City’s Rodri, the award will consider performances from August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, with several top players in the running.

Mbappé’s best finish in the Ballon d’Or rankings was fourth in 2018 after winning the World Cup, and he’ll be aiming to improve on last year’s sixth-place result.

A strong showing in the ongoing Club World Cup with Real Madrid—especially in their upcoming semi-final clash against his former club Paris Saint-Germain—could boost his chances.

The winner of that match will face Chelsea, who defeated Fluminense 2–0 in the other semi-final at MetLife Stadium.

Regardless of the tournament’s outcome, Mbappé has already thrown his support behind his France teammate Ousmane Dembélé, who scored 34 goals in PSG’s treble-winning season under Luis Enrique.

Speaking last month, Mbappe said: “Would I vote for Dembele [to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or]? Yes. I don’t think it needs much explaining. “People are talking about Lamine Yamal and Dembélé, but my choice is clear: I vote for Dembélé.”

Yamal and Dembele came up against each other in the Nations League semi-finals, with Spain beating France 5-4 before losing to Portugal on penalties in the final at the Allianz Arena.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, is in agreement with Mbappe’s pick as he said “those who stand out and win the Champions League should win”, naming Dembele and his compatriot Vitinha.

“The individual awards have lost some consensus; I can’t say anything about who should win,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said in a press conference.

“In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win. But there is no consensus. I don’t believe much in individual awards because I know what goes on behind the scenes. Lamine could win, like Dembele or Vitinha, other emerging players… But individual awards are irrelevant.”

Dembele is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, with odds of 2/7 with Bet365. Yamal is behind with odds of 3/1, just ahead of Vitinha at 8/1.

The top 10 is dominated by PSG players, including Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Gianluigi Donnarumma

Ballon d’Or top 10 according to the bookies

Ousmane Dembele – 2/7

Lamine Yamal – 3/1

Vitinha – 8/1

Kylian Mbappe – 16/1

Mo Salah 20/1

Achraf Hakimi – 25/1

Nuno Mendes – 25/1

Raphinha – 33/1

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 40/1

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 50/1

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09/07/2025

برچسب: named

Guardiola named the toughest manager he has ever faced in his career

Pep Guardiola is widely regarded as one of football’s most iconic managers. While his Premier League legacy is second only to Sir Alex Ferguson, his managerial brilliance has also been showcased in Spain and Germany, where he achieved remarkable success with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Mbappe has named his pick for 2025 Ballon d’Or ahead of PSG vs Real Madrid & Ronaldo agrees