Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola isn't the world's best manager, according to former Citizens midfielder Didi Hamann.
Is Guardiola having a good season?
The Spaniard has arguably been the most influential figure of the Premier League era at the Etihad Stadium, inspiring City to a glorious period of success. Having arrived back in 2016, he has gone on to win four league titles, four EFL Cups and one FA Cup in the years since.
Granted, Champions League glory has continued to evade Guardiola at City – he won the competition twice during a prolific spell in charge of Barcelona – but he is surely the main reason among many for the club's success, playing some extraordinary football along the way.
This failure to win Europe's greatest club competition with the Citizens is a stick that is often used to beat the 51-year-old with, but he has the chance to silence the doubters this season, with City's quarter-final against Bayern Munich firmly under control heading into the second leg.
Is Man City boss the world's best manager?
Speaking to German outlet Solinger Tageblatt [via Sport Witness], Hamann appeared be one of those naysayers, assessing Guardiola negatively and saying he isn't the world's leading manager at this moment in time:
"In decisive situations, you need players who make decisions themselves. He takes that away from them. Julian Nagelsmann did that too. Tuchel doesn’t do that.
"Guardiola has not managed anything that others have not managed. Everybody tells you that a Pep Guardiola is the super father of coaches.
"But he was in a Champions League final in ten years with Bayern Munich and Man City – and he lost that himself. And now people tell me he’s the best manager in the world – sorry."
This is a strange take from Hamann, who admittedly isn't exactly shy when it comes to criticising great managers, quite often taking issue with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp down the years.
While City's failure to win the Champions League is clearly disappointing, the job that Guardiola is still doing remains magnificent, with a fifth Premier League title in the space of six seasons coming their way if they can pip Arsenal to the trophy in the next month or so.
Whoever the world's best manager happens to be is clearly a subjective call, but to actively make an effort to downplay Guardiola's achievements seems strange from Hamann, especially given the vast influence he has had on English football in terms of the way so many teams play out from the ball now, among other examples.
