Amazing, Sir Alex Ferguson's benchmark matched by Guardiola at Manchester City

The comparisons between the two legendary coaches are more vivid than ever.

21/06/2023, 05:15 AM +00:00

One of English football's historic managers is Sir Alex Ferguson. His 30-plus-year career with Manchester United made him one of the most legendary managers of all time, and his record still stands despite retiring in 2013, as well as having managed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Eric Cantoná, so he knew how to tame dangerous dressing rooms.

Ferguson left with honours, and it was unlikely anyone could achieve perfection. It may have taken him a long time to establish himself within the Premier League, but he understood that the process was one of patience, and developing players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes or Dwight Yorke was going to take longer than a season. That's why, every time he signed a player, it was because he saw something special in him.

The times of the Scotsman are over and it seems that others are beginning: those of the Spaniard Josep Guardiola. The Iberian has revolutionised, once again, an entire league. He opened the doors for other coaches of his nationality to manage in England and has become a global trend for the last season, where he has led the best players in the world to an unimaginable treble.

Guardiola commands impressive elements such as Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, who can already boast that they are UEFA Champions League winners and will forever be in the history of a team that has always been in the shadow of its arch-rivals and neighbours: Manchester United. There are still many laurels to come, but a club's legacy has to start somewhere.

The record Guardiola matched Ferguson.

By being crowned Premier League champion, Josep Guardiola equalled Sir Alex Ferguson's record as the manager who has won the league three times in a row. The Scot did it between 1999 and 2001, while the Spaniard did it between 2020 and 2023. What makes the former United boss even greater is that he was able to do it twice, between 2006 and 2009, with Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol before leaving for Real Madrid.