Manchester City will win the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, who deserves more respect for his impact on the game.
That’s according to former German international Matthias Sammer, who believes some of the criticism of the Manchester City coach is wide of the mark.
Guardiola has found himself the focus of many harsh observations again this season, particularly following City’s exit from the Champions League.
His side had been among the favourites for the competition after reaching the final last year but contrived to be knocked out by Real Madrid, with a one-minute salvo from Rodrygo and a late Karim Benzema penalty seeing the Spanish giants through.
It was another in a growing list of capitulations from Manchester City in the competition, with Guardiola criticised for them down the years.
There is a belief that he regularly overthinks things in the competition or makes unnecessary changes, often to his side’s detriment.
That has been borne out in recent years when Manchester City have seemingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on more than one occasion.
That was certainly the case against Real Madrid, a defeat that led to a slew of criticism for Guardiola. Not everyone is against him, though, and Sammer remains a big fan.
“First of all, Pep deserves respect for what he has done as a coach for more than a decade and what he has given to soccer,” he told SportBILD.
“His idea of total football was shaped by his mentor Johan Cruyff. I think that Pep, with his obsession, his love for soccer and his strategy, is a conductor between genius and madness.
“A soccer team is an orchestra; to give it responsibility and to impose a certain restraint on oneself is important to give the orchestra room to breathe. Pep is very extreme in this respect.
“Certainly, there are starting points for criticism, but I am sure that Pep will win the Champions League again.
“He grows and matures with every defeat. I admire him and can share the criticism of him in one or two points – but not in its entirety.”
