Didi Hamann On Klopp’s Impact At Liverpool v Guardiola’s Influence At City
The Jurgen Klopp v Pep Guardiola debate has been one of the most hotly contested topics among Premier League fans in recent years.
So who has had the bigger impact at their respective club: Guardiola at Man City or Klopp at Liverpool?
That’s the question we put to former German International and current TV Pundit Didi Hamann who played for both Liverpool and Man City.
First, Hamann took us through the current state of the Liverpool v Man City rivalry and his thoughts on whether City have overtaken United as Liverpool’s biggest rivals.
The former German International also discussed Xabi Alonso’s managerial success and whether he is the man to replace Klopp at Anfield or if it could be another Kop legend.
The Liverpool v Man City Rivalry
Liverpool v Man City Preview
Liverpool vs Manchester City is a while away, and we’ll have to see how the fixtures leading up to the game go.
The fixture is arguably the biggest game in the Premier League as it’s between the two most successful sides of the last few seasons.
We’ll also need to see who’s available – City might have a few more options than Liverpool, but Liverpool have more players available at the moment. If that’s the case, then I fancy Liverpool to not get beat.
City have been the benchmark over the years, but their dominance will end at some stage, even if that’s hard to see at the moment. As I said, there’s a spark in this Liverpool side that hasn’t been there for the last one or two years.
City Bigger Rivals Than United For Liverpool Now?
I wouldn’t say City are Liverpool’s biggest rivals from a historical standpoint, as we all know how far the United rivalry goes back. However, in terms of the here and now, then I’d say City are the bigger rival for Liverpool.
Manchester United are having huge issues and they’ll probably miss out on the Champions League this season.
The club is in turmoil and you hear reports that the ground is falling apart and people are disillusioned with the owners. There are a lot of things going on and the team is not very good.
You have to say City are Liverpool’s main rival now. I hope United come back, though, as a strong Man United is always good for the Premier League.
Klopp’s Impact At Liverpool v Guardiola’s Impact At Man City
Manchester City were already a title-winning side when Pep took over, and he came to win the Champions League, which he obviously did last season.
City, however, had already won the FA Cup and the Premier League before his arrival and Pep inherited a very good team with the likes of Kompany, David Silva, De Bruyne, and Aguero.
Class players were already there, but if you look at Klopp’s first team, it was nowhere near as good as Pep’s first City team.
Jurgen managed something nobody else could for 30 years – winning the league title with Liverpool. He also won the Champions League and all the other trophies.
I wouldn’t go along with saying Pep has had a bigger impact at City than Klopp has at Liverpool. If anything, I think it’s the other way around.
Liverpool are 9/2 second favourites behind Man City to win the 2023/24 Premier League according to the latest football odds at BoyleSports.
Klopp still the man to lead Liverpool’s trophy hunt?
I don’t have a feud with Klopp. I think he responded to something I said last season, but I wouldn’t say we’re feuding!
I wasn’t sure if he was the right man in the summer, I have to say, due to their poor season. Liverpool finished the season really well and almost got back into the Champions League, but I wasn’t sure last summer because Klopp has been there for a long time and the club needed a rebuild.
Liverpool let a lot of players go and they probably missed out on one or two players, like Camavinga and Tchouameni, who would’ve been huge signings.
They had to get rid of six or seven players to build their new midfield. I can’t remember a team doing that and being successful straight away. I was very cautious earlier on in the season, but I’m very impressed with the team and Klopp himself.
He said he still had a fire in him and he’ll go again, and I didn’t expect the start they’ve had.
There is no sign of either Klopp or Guardiola anytime soon as both managers are rated as 100/1 to be the next Premier League Manager to leave their post according to the latest football betting odds at BoyleSports.
Xabi Alonso Klopp’s Natural Successor At Liverpool?
A lot of past managers went to China, America, and Saudi, and there are so many examples of both players and managers going to those leagues and being successful in the future.
Xabi is doing fantastically well and it depends on how long Klopp stays at Liverpool. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are two competitors to Xabi’s services, too.
It looks like Alonso will leave in the summer, but Real Madrid will need a new coach with Ancelotti going to Brazil. It’s a matter of timing, but Xabi is highly rated at all three of those clubs, it could be a three-horse race.
Having said that, Liverpool may not even need a manager in the summer, and perhaps they need to wait a bit longer.
Alonso’s Managerial Success No Surprise
Xabi was a very good reader of the game, but if I look back at the players I played with, the ones I thought would become managers never did and vice-versa!
You could always tell with Xabi he was a student of the game, and he had to be as he was never the quickest. I’m not surprised he’s doing so well.
You can back Alonso’s managerial success to continue with your football bets at BoyleSports by backing Bayern Leverkusen to win the German Bundesliga at 4/1 odds.
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