It is the league final of a rivalry at the highest level: Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola will be opponents in the Premier League for the last time on Sunday (March 10, 2024) in the top game between Liverpool FC and Manchester City. Their success stories would not be nearly as spectacular without their respective competitors; they have enriched each other in the fight for titles and victories.
It is the most important game of the season so far. Liverpool FC and Manchester City will be fighting for the lead in the Premier League on Sunday, an important step in the exciting title fight that Arsenal FC is also fighting with the two teams.
But it’s so much more. It will be a football festival, but also a festival of emotions. It will be the finale of a great rivalry. The farewell of two sporting enemies who value each other so much that they actually can’t live without each other.
21 games in England – Klopp has a narrow advantage
On December 31, 2016, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola – who had met eight times as Dortmund and Bayern coaches – faced each other for the first time as coaches of Liverpool and Manchester. And at that moment they probably didn’t realize what an impressive era they would shape. After the game, Klopp was delighted to start the turn of the year thanks to a 1-0 win, followed by 20 more games between the “Reds” and the “Citizens”.
Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola in their first duel in England in 2016
Klopp celebrated a total of eight times and Guardiola seven times. Both won the Champions League once during this time. But City became champions five times, their rivals only once – in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons, Klopp’s club only missed out on a point. These numbers alone describe how much the two have fought for supremacy in England in recent years.
Great success with different concepts
“The rivalry between Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola has not only shaped English football, it has also changed it“, wrote the BBC. Both had great financial support and were able to build their squads as they wished, but what they did with it is pretty close to an ideal.
Klopp has turned Liverpool into a spectacular team that often completely overpowers their opponents with pressing and vertical play. Guardiola’s team, on the other hand, is wearing down because they have become the most ball-proof club team in the world. Almost no opponent can maintain this constant defense for an entire game.
“With Klopp, part of us is leaving Man City”
In recent years, Liverpool and Manchester have actually been the only real opponents they have had in England. The means that the two coaches always used were always fair and characterized by the greatest respect. There were one or two skirmishes – Klopp was fond of pointing out that Guardiola had even more financial options – but in the end they were in each other’s arms in each of their many duels. Because they enriched each other.
“I will sleep better in the future” said Guardiola when Klopp announced that he would end his time in Liverpool after the season. But above all, the Spaniard honored his great rival: “Jürgen is an incredible coach and I think he is also an incredible person. A part of us at Manchester City is also leaving with him. They have been our biggest rival in recent years.”
However, Klopp emphasized on Friday (March 8, 2024): “I don’t feel any rivalry. We are both competitors and want to win games and are blessed with very good players. I know I’m good too. But for me Pep is the best. I have a positive record against him. I have no idea how that happened.” The current coach, who wants to take a break after this season, also looked ahead to a future in which he could meet Guardiola off the field.
7.5 years of pushing each other are coming to an end
But first they write the history of their last Premier League duel on Sunday. Liverpool is currently leading the table with 63 points, City is one point behind – but in contrast to other years, there is still a competitor in Arsenal FC, which only has one point less than the “Blues”. This is a situation that takes away a bit of the romance from the game because Klopp and Guardiola are not among themselves.
But it doesn’t change the fact that the game will also be a moment in which both of them reflect on the past almost seven and a half years. The (long-distance) duels for points and titles, the eternal motivation to be better with your team than the other person. Klopp against Guardiola – this game will be missed in the Premier League. But England hopes there will be one last reunion. Both teams are still represented in the FA Cup and could still meet.