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“Manchester United” legend Wayne Rooney compared “Manchester City” coach Pep Guardiola with “Red Devils” historical coach Sir Alex Ferguson.
The former captain of England said that Guardiola is Sir Alex Ferguson for coaches of his generation.
Guardiola is expected to leave Manchester City at the end of the current season after 10 years at the helm.
Speaking on the BBC’s Wayne Rooney programme, the former United striker drew comparisons between Guardiola and his former manager at Old Trafford, with whom he played between 2004 and 2013.
Rooney said: “I’ve seen a lot of comparisons with Alex Ferguson. I can say he is the best of all time, but Pep of his generation is definitely the best by a long shot.”
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During his 10 years at Manchester City, Guardiola won 17 major trophies and 20 trophies in total, including six Premier League titles, one Champions League, three FA Cups and five League Cups.
Ferguson holds the record for the most Premier League titles by a wide margin, winning 13.
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Rooney added: “I’ve been watching people say how loyal Guardiola has been for 10 years, which is unbelievable. But Alex Ferguson did it for 26 years. When you actually think about that time, 26 years at one club, it’s absolutely amazing.”
“When Sir Alex took over at Manchester United (1986) he almost had to rebuild the club from scratch to make it a successful force again, whereas I think Pep didn’t necessarily have to do that,” Rooney said. “But what he did in terms of complete and utter dominance… is no small feat.”
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Ferguson became the manager of Manchester United after leaving the Scottish team “Aberdeen”, after which he became the most successful manager in the history of British football with 49 titles, 38 of them at Old Trafford.
Regarding the coaches’ methods, Rooney said: “Football has changed, there are different generations with different styles.”
“Guardiola’s possession-based style of football has brought about changes in English football. I think it was a breath of fresh air. Pep was great and completely changed the face of English football… He was the one who came and changed the whole football system, even the amateur league.
