Former Manchester United manager pays ultimate compliment to Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on Pep Guardiola’s flexbility with goalkeepers he has worked with at Manchester City.

Guardiola succeeded Manuel Pellegrini as Blues boss in the summer of 2016 as a thorough squad revamp followed to bolster the Manchester City squad as per the likings of the incoming Catalan after successful spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

A host of changes ensued and Guardiola axed fan-favourite and Manchester City legend Joe Hart to bring in Claudio Bravo from Barcelona as he sought to forge a team that would play out from the back using a goalkeeper comfortable with his feet.

Goalkeeper has been as important as any position for Guardiola in his nine-year spell in Manchester, where the 54-year-old has won six Premier League titles and led City to a maiden UEFA Champions League title en route to a historic treble in the 2022-23 season.

During his time in England, Guardiola has come toe to toe with some of the greatest managers in the history of the game, forging rivalries with the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger, Antonio Conte as well as Mourinho.

Mourinho – who is currently managing Fenerbahce in Turkey – was appointed Manchester United manager in the same summer as when Guardiola joined Manchester City – which saw the former bosses of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively begin an English chapter in their historic rivalry.

Although he divides opinion amongst Manchester United fans today – not least for his controversial comments on the club after his sacking in 2018 – Mourinho is widely renowned as one of the greatest managers in the history of football.

And while he lasted only as long as two-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford, the Portuguese led United to UEFA Europa League glory in his first season in charge of Manchester United; also famously championing a second-place Premier League finish with the Reds in the 2017-18 campaign the greatest achievement of his managerial career.

In a recent interview with Canal 11, Mourinho gave his two cents on Guardiola’s ruthlessness with goalkeepers during his Manchester City tenure and how his Spanish counterpart’s ability and willingness to adapt has served him well over the years.

“If you die with your idea, you’re stupid. Coaches have to adapt their ideas to what they have,” Mourinho said, as quoted by Mail Sport.

Guardiola decided to bring in Ederson a year on from signing Bravo – who struggled to maintain form in his first season at the Etihad Stadium and fell down the pecking order after a series of high-profile errors – a decision that has bode well for Manchester City over the course of the most successful period in the club’s history.

“Playing from the back with a wooden goalkeeper is complicated; I remember (Pep) Guardiola had (Joe) Hart – the best English goalkeeper. But he wanted Claudio Bravo, but that wasn’t enough. So he signed Ederson,” Mourinho finished.