'We played for Klopp and Guardiola and our feelings on both couldn't be clearer'
It's Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola, for potentially the final time.
It remains to be seen what will become of the Liverpool boss once this season has ended, with his decision to step down at Anfield still being digested by many due to the sheer shock of it, but if this really is the end of his time as a top club manager then his rivalry with the current City boss will endure the test of time.
It isn't a rivalry based on bitterness, or on needless barbs aimed in the other's direction, but more on a mutual respect for the game and its players.
So what must it be like to have played for both of them? Well there are only five players in the world who can boast such a feat, and here's what they've said over the years...
Robert Lewandowski
A bargain signing for Borussia Dortmund for around £4million from Lech Poznan in 2010, the Polish forward has to go down as one of Klopp's greatest ever signings.
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He scored 102 goals in 186 appearances for Klopp over four years which brought two Bundesliga successes and a spot in the Champions League final before his 2014 move to Bayern Munich, where he'd net 67 times in 100 games in his two seasons under Guardiola. A tough choice between the two then, yes, but the Pole has a favourite.
Lewandowski won two Bundesliga titles under Klopp (AFP/Getty Images)"I think Jurgen Klopp [is my favourite] and after that Pep Guardiola. 100 per cent," Lewandowski told ESPN in 2020. "[Klopp] has two faces. You can see that he is kind of like a father, but the second part is like a coach, a manager.
"He can tell you everything - and I'm not speaking about the good things - about the bad things. Also for [players], he is a huge motivation.
"He makes this perfect, because he knows where there is this line where he can [push you] more or a little bit less. His performance as a coach is amazing, but not only as a coach but also as a man."
Mario Gotze
One year prior to Lewandowski's move from Dortmund to Bayern it was Gotze, very much the main man for Klopp's side and the bright young star of German football, who made the switch from one to the other.
Reflecting on his time with both coaches in 2018, Gotze also came down on the side of the manager who coached him at Dortmund due to his personal approach.
Mario Gotze left Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund to join Pep Guardiola's Bayern (Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty)“I’m still in touch with Jurgen,” Götze told DAZN. “Of course, he taught me everything about professional football. At that time, I was just 17 and coming up from the youth team. He introduced me to everything. He let me play.
“Technically, [Guardiola] was a tremendous asset. But he is very focused on the game and doesn’t think about players outside of his plan. He didn’t have much empathy, and empathy is part of being a world-class coach.”
Xherdan Shaqiri
The squat, sometimes explosive Swiss attacker was one year into his three-season stint at Bayern when Guardiola arrived in 2013, and he'd feature 42 times for him over the next two years before a surprise move to the Premier League with Stoke City in 2015.
It was there he caught the eye of Klopp and Liverpool, who completed a cut-price deal for him in 2018 following the Potters' relegation. Shaqiri was by no means a regular for Klopp, but he was part of squads which won the Champions League and Premier League under the German.
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Shaqiri won the Champions League and Premier League with Klopp (Pool via REUTERS)Reflecting on both bosses in 2022, Shaqiri - who now plays in the US with Chicago Fire - echoed much of what Gotze said. "He (Guardiola) is an excellent coach in terms of the pitch, but his communication is not up to par," said the Swiss.
"He doesn't give explanations for leaving out players and that is difficult, especially when you are working well. And in particular when in the presence of the media he says 'He is good, he is a good player'
Meanwhile on Klopp, he said: "When I wanted to leave Liverpool, I spoke with the coach and everything was chosen. He told me I'm a good player and a good guy. He understood that I wanted to face a new challenge and Klopp helped me in this."
Ilkay Gundogan
With four years under Klopp at Dortmund and seven with Guardiola at Manchester City, stylish German midfielder Gundogan is perhaps the best placed to offer a definitive verdict. And he loves them both for different reasons.
Again it is Klopp's personal side which comes to the fore, with Gundogan telling Turkish TV channel Tivibu Spor in 2022 that: ""When I came to Dortmund at the age of 20, I had an adaptation problem. The first six months were tough for me," he said.
"But Klopp helped me because he treated his players like a father figure, like a friend. He was always with me, gave me confidence. I spent five successful years with him."
Ilkay Gundogan was a vital player for Pep Guardiola's Man City ((Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images))After Klopp departed Dortmund in 2015 the time came for Gundogan to leave a year later, and while he did have the option to link up with Klopp again at Liverpool he chose a different challenge with City.
"I wanted to leave Dortmund in Dortmund, and didn't want to think about the time that I had with him when I was joining a new club," he told the Players' Tribune. "That was a bit of the reason why I didn't want to join Liverpool.
"Obviously, on the other side there was Pep Guardiola who I loved watching when he was at Barcelona - the way he made his team play. When he was with Bayern Munich, I played against him and you felt on the pitch how strong his sides were and it was always a dream to call him my manager one day. At that point, I had the possibility to train and play for him and the combination with Man City was perfect."
Thiago Alcantara
Perhaps we are best off finishing with Thiago, who is still technically Klopp's player at Liverpool even though his contract is fast running out and his season has been decimated by injury.
Like Guardiola the Spanish international was schooled at Barcelona, and he was famously the first player the Catalan boss wanted to bring to Bayern when he joined the club in 2013. Seven hugely successful seasons there ended with a move to Klopp's Liverpool in 2020, and although he's had his moments it has been a largely frustrating time for him on Merseyside. When comparing the two bosses though, he lights up.
Thiago linked up with Guardiola at Bayern in 2013 (Bongarts/Getty Images)“I will always speak positive things in an open way. What sets these two coaches apart is the idea of having a game methodology and knowing how to pass it on to the players, ” said Thiago in an interview with ESPN.
“The players, in addition to listening and having that respect, do what the coach wants. This was the most important part of the stage that I lived with Guardiola and that I am living with Klopp."
There you go then. Two special coaches, two different ways of working, and two modern greats.
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