‘The greatest’: Owen Hargreaves makes a big claim about ‘amazing’ Man City man

Owen Hargreaves has said that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is the most ‘innovative’ manager of all time.

With successful stints at three of Europe’s biggest clubs and a remarkable ability to work closely with some of the world’s best players, Guardiola’s impact on football cannot be overstated.

His tactical brilliance and relentless pursuit of excellence have not only led to numerous honours for his teams but have also inspired and influenced other coaches around the continent.

Branded as ‘amazing’ by Mateo Kovacic, the Spaniard commands respect from those that understand the sport and appreciate greatness.

Last season was testament to Guardiola’s tactical genius and unique ability to adapt his gameplan, as he adopted a more pragmatic approach, which led to his side winning the lot.

As Owen Hargreaves heaped praise on Pep Guardiola, he broke down what makes him such a special manager.

“Pep’s the greatest innovative coach I think we’ve ever seen almost in any sport. The reason they won the Champions League was maybe their downfall before, was the fact that they’re a little bit open, they play this beautiful football. Every time they got knocked out, they were the better team”, he said via talkSPORT.

Owen Hargreaves also explained why Manchester City’s previous exits from the Champions League was not down to Pep Guardiola, saying, “Whether it was Monaco, whether it was Tottenham, whether it was Real Madrid, they were the better team. But football at that level is one moment, that’s it. And I think Pep found a way to minimise those moments last season by playing a back four. Getting rid of the full-backs, playing four centre-backs and thought, ‘right, if I keep a clean sheet, I know we score.’ And what happened?”

“And I think Pep is the greatest at finding solutions, in-game solutions and being creative and you can almost guarantee he’ll have a surprise for this season.”

In terms of an innovator especially, it is impossible to disagree with Owen Hargreaves and go against Pep Guardiola being top dog in this respect, as the manner in which he has influenced football as a whole is unprecedented.