Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ‘deserves’ to win the Champions League against Inter Milan, as he belongs on the ‘list of innovators’ alongside Arrigo Sacchi and Rinus Michels.
That’s according to Ruud Gullit, who has praised the Manchester City manager today as he continues his efforts to secure a treble.
Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions over the weekend, with Arsenal’s defeat to Nottingham Forest the day before ensuring their first trophy of the season.
They can add another two before the campaign is over, with them also set to face Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Inter Milan in the Champions League final in the coming weeks.
It is the latter which Guardiola particularly wants to win, having fallen short in recent seasons with several infamous failures despite their best efforts.
It’s led to questions about whether he is capable of winning Europe’s top prize without Lionel Messi in his side, having won it twice with the Argentine superstar at Barcelona but never since, despite his best efforts with Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Gullit believes that should change this year and Guardiola deserves success, although urges him not to make any of his now trademark tactical tweaks.
“On 10th June in Istanbul, Guardiola can finally do away with the stigma that he cannot win the European top prize without Lionel Messi,” he writes in De Telegraaf.
“Pep won the Champions League twice at FC Barcelona with Messi, but later failed with Bayern Munich and City to win again without the Argentine in the ranks.
“He deserves that top prize because, as a coach, he belongs in the list of innovators with top players like Rinus Michels and Arrigo Sacchi. Everywhere Guardiola has worked, he leaves behind a brilliant legacy.
“In Barcelona, and certainly in Munich, people still speak with admiration of the great football he brought to those clubs. At City, more coaches have won some, like Roberto Mancini, but everyone talks about the football from this era of Pep that is so great to watch.
“Hopefully, he will win in Turkey with City against Inter and thus silence all the critics. But he should never underestimate the Italians, and please Pep: please don’t think of any strategies to surprise everyone like before in the semi-final and final of the Champions League. That cost Bayern and City their heads back then. Play with your best eleven.”
