Pep Guardiola is “a genius that football gave us as a gift”, says Dani Alves, with the Manchester City boss considered to have cemented his legacy after enjoying trophy-laden spells in England, Spain and Germany.
Guardiola is now widely considered to be the finest tactician on the planet, with former Barca charge Alves going one step further in billing him as the greatest of all time.
The Brazilian full-back told CNN: "I think Pep is a genius.
"A genius that football gave us as a gift, as a coach, as a person. How he got the best out of every player - those that played a lot, those that didn't play as much - creating a synergy with a lot of respect between those inside the team.
"That puts him in a very special position in my life and a very particular position. I think he's a nonconformist genius, a methodical genius, a perfectionist genius and I think that makes him unique.
"Wherever he goes, he can win more or he can win less, but I think a player that works with him will never be the same. Every day is a learning [curve], it's a class like you were going to college. It's a discipline because you learn something more."
Guardiola’s introduction of ‘tiki-taka’ at Barcelona revolutionised modern football, with the star-studded squad he worked with at that time – which included the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta – considered to be the best ever.
That is an opinion shared by Alves, who added on the finest side he graced: "I don't think this team was the closest to perfection as possible, I think that team was perfection.
"I think it's a very, very, very easy question to answer because I think I was part of the best team in the history of football; for the way they played, for the way they did things, for how they complimented each other, it's Barcelona.
"So for me it's always an easy answer. I was there eight years, I won 23 titles alongside my team-mates, I think it was something very historic. I am a small dreamer but that time in my career is still the most special because I accumulated unique things, unimaginable things."
FaithEvans
58
Pep Guardiola is a crazy good coach, he's the only one who fixes what is not broken, he's the only one who allows his imagination to creep into the game... who else can experiment Messi as a false 9 against Madrid, the next best team in the country? who else can have a big game and decide not to start Sergio Agüero? Who else can wake up and decide to play Fernandinho at Central defense, unprovoked!... Pep is a joy to watch and even when he loses games, you're satisfied as a fan that your team gave their all and its just wasn't meant to be!
Jeenyguy
51
What we're seeing now is what La Liga had with Pep and Mourinho. The only difference, is that they don't have Messi and Cristiano, players that no matter what, can carry a match against any team. Pep and Klopp, doesn't have those supernovas anymore, but their teams seem more solid. I think that Pep not having dramas arround him anymore ( Eto'o, Ibrahimovic, Yaya Touré, etc. + every single season threatening with leaving ) does help. For Klopp, what he has is that every single player is with him, no matter what. That's something Mou found in Inter, but didn't had in Real Madrid ( Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Özil, etc. ).