Erik Ten Hag: Guardiola misjudged physicality of Premier League | OneFootball

Erik Ten Hag believes Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has only made one mistake in his illustrious managerial career.

Ten Hag, who is the current Ajax boss, was reserve team manager at Bayern Munich for a time when Guardiola was in charge of the first team at the Allianz Arena.

Therefore, the 50-year-old is in a good position to assess Guardiola’s approach.

Ten Hag insists his former colleague is the best manager in the world, but misjudged the situation when he first arrived at the Etihad Stadium.

“Only once in his career has Pep made a mistake – in his first year at ­Manchester City when he completely ­underestimated the power and speed of the Premier League,” Ten Hag told Voetbal International (via the Manchester Evening News).

“He realised that you can’t play the kind of football he loves without ­having a couple of physically strong athletes – and so he brought them in. So he’s not a stubborn coach.

“Yes, he is stubborn in his ­philosophy, but not in the ­execution. And that makes him the best.”

The Spaniard has made the Citizens dominant on the domestic front, winning two Premier Leagues, one FA Cup and three League cups in his almost four seasons in charge.