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Former Barcelona and Manchester United defender Gerard Pique has opened up on the differences and similarities between Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson. The former Spain international had the opportunity to play under both managerial greats and talked about his experience with both managers.
Both Ferguson and Guardiola played pivotal roles in the success Pique achieved during his illustrious career. The Spaniard won a total of 37 trophies for club and country before his shock retirement from the game in 2022.
Pique began his career at Barcelona's elite youth academy La Masia before joining Manchester United in 2004. He stayed at the Premier League side until 2008, during which he played only 23 games and won three trophies.
The Spanish centre-back opted to move back to his boyhood club in 2008 and became a key player for Barcelona, playing a crucial role in their dominance in both Spain and Europe. While being asked to highlight how different Ferguson and Guardiola are as managers, Pique said that the latter was more of a coach while Ferguson was a manager.
Pique claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson was not much involved in stuff like training and was more focused on handling the games. On the other hand, Guardiola was in charge of everything at Barcelona. He said, as quoted by talkSPORT:
"At that time it was very different. But not the style, it was more the position of Pep in Barcelona and Sir Alex as Manchester United. Obviously it was the last years of Sir Alex and first years of Pep. Pep didn't have the power that Sir Alex had in Manchester United. Sir Alex was more like a manager than just a coach. Guardiola was just a coach at Barcelona."
Pique added:
"So Sir Alex, to give you an example maybe, some training he was not even there at the pitch, he was more focused on the game day, making the team, these kind of things. Pep Guardiola, when he arrived he was very young and he really wanted to control everything and his role was different to Sir Alex's."
The World Cup-winning former Spanish defender hailed both managerial masterminds as top-class man managers and tacticians. He said:
"They had similarities with the speech, because both of them they are true motivators and they know how to really engage the team so they can perform. But also, related to tactics, I'd say both were brilliant. Knowing exactly what the team needs in order to attack and defend in every game because the situations are different. They knew how to do it."
Sir Alex Ferguson is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, having won 49 trophies during his illustrious career. Since his retirement, Manchester United have never been the same and are yet to win the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, is in charge of Manchester City right now, having formerly achieved great success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. He has so far won 38 trophies and will definitely go down in the history books as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Manchester United identify Premier League midfielder as Casemiro's replacement: Reports
Manchester United have reportedly earmarked Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joao Gomes as the long-term successor of Casemiro. The Brazilian midfielder had an excellent first season at Manchester United following his reported £70 million switch from Real Madrid in 2022 but has not been the same this campaign.
Casemiro has often struggled to meet the fast pace of the Premier League in the ongoing campaign and has also struggled with injuries. He has made just 21 appearances across all competitions, scoring five times and providing two assists.
Casemiro's dip in form has forced Manchester United to look for potential replacements and they have reportedly identified his compatriot Joao Gomes as the perfect candidate. Gomes has been exceptional for Wolves since joining the Midlands club in January 2022 in a deal worth £15 million from Flamengo.
The 23-year-old has made 39 appearances for Wolves so far, scoring thrice and providing four assists in the process. He was recently called up by the Brazil senior side and looks poised to make his debut for the Selecao.
