Manchester: In the debate about football’s greatest manager in the modern era, several names come into contention for their achievements on the domestic and European front.
Be it Sir Alex Ferguson, who led Manchester United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies during his 26 years at Old Trafford, ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, “the special one” Jose Mourinho or current Real Madrid coach and four One-time Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti.
But, for Ilkay Gundogan, there can be only one – his Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Since taking charge of the Abu Dhabi-owned team in 2016, the 51-year-old has won nine major trophies including four Premier Leagues in the last five years.
Add to this his success at Barcelona, where he won six trophies in 2009 alone, and at Bayern Munich, Guardiola is revered and considered revolutionary.
“For me, he is the greatest coach in the modern game,” City captain Gundogan told Arab News exclusively.
“He has won everything with his clubs and in terms of style of play, for one game, I have no doubt that he will be remembered as the best ever.
“He is probably the most innovative manager in modern football. It seems he is the one who has changed the game in the last decade, and it is him.
Is he missing out on a big title like the Champions League with us? Perhaps. Us as players too, but sometimes it’s not always in our control.
“Many things have to come together to decide the game. But in the Premier League, 38 games, the way we play and what we’ve achieved, I think he’s at the top, yes.
“Even after knowing him, he has a lot of ideas in his head, a lot of hunger and a lot of ways that he can improve his team and himself.
“We need to prepare for many more years with him in football because we need managers and coaches like him.”
With a desire to help City become Europe’s leading team and claim their elusive first Champions League title, Guardiola has extended his contract until 2025.
And Germany international Gundogan, who also worked under Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, believes the Spaniard is motivated to achieve even more.
The midfielder said, “It is wonderful news for Manchester City that Pep is staying and it also shows how happy he is with the club and the group of players.”
“I think he’s upbeat about this group, and was last year too, about his prospects as a manager.
“He has already done a lot for the club and in the next two and a half years, he will do the same – and maybe even at the top.
“In all the years that Pep has been at City, he has been the main person, coming up with the ideas and the way we play.
“Whatever praise we get, the way we play, the goals we score, he should also get the praise – he is in charge of it all. Without him all these things would not be possible.
“I’m pretty sure he will always be missed in football.”
Gundogan is paying close attention to Guardiola’s managerial methods as he hopes to follow the same path in the future – just like another former City captain, Vincent Kompany.
The Belgian, 36, took over Championship leaders Burnley in the summer and is leading them towards an immediate top-flight comeback after relegation last season on the final day.
“I try to follow their results,” said the 32-year-old Gundogan. “Vincent was at a city game before the World Cup and I said to him ‘You’re getting lucky with all these late winners, over 90 minutes, in games.’
“But I’m so happy for him. I could already see when he was towards the end of his time at City, that this was one of his goals and to see how far he could go.
“He is very persistent in the details, very hardworking and deserves credit. It was not an easy appointment at Burnley with all the players leaving and he had to bring in new players and it was a big change.
“But the way he has handled it so far, he has done very well. The Championship is a tough league and I wish he gets promoted.
Gundogan said: “It would probably be irresponsible not to try to find out what’s out there in order to one day find yourself coaching.
“I have had the privilege of playing under some of the best managers in the world, such as Pep, Jurgen and Tuchel, so I can learn something from each one of them. I can use it for my future in terms of coaching.
“I’ve completed one step from the B license and still have two more to go, the A license and the Pro license, which I don’t want to rush. I love focusing on an active career, but will I be able to coach one day? Can imagine? Certainly.
“It would be great to win that opportunity and go for it.”
Gundogan returned from World Cup duty with Germany and helped City reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Thursday after beating Liverpool 3-2.
It was a welcome return after the bitter disappointment of being knocked out in the group stage of the second consecutive World Cup by his national team.
Gundogan is hoping that further success with City – who are still in contention for all four trophies this season – will make up for it.
“We went into the World Cup with different expectations, but it was not to be,” he said.
“It was disappointing, but sometimes the good thing in football is that there are challenges ahead; They don’t wait long. They are just around the corner, and we are back with a good result against Liverpool and now it is game by game. The busiest part of the year is right now, so that’s good.
“We have done really well in recent years in the second half of the season. The goal is the same and hopefully we can keep going. The competition, especially in the Premier League, seems bigger than ever.