Mendieta: Guardiola has changed the game like Cruyff

Gaizka Mendieta has compared the impact made on football by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to that of Johan Cruyff.

In an exclusive interview with Stats Perform, the former Spain international said he believes that Guardiola has “changed the game” in every country he has worked in, starting with his time at one of Mendieta’s former clubs, Barcelona.

Guardiola has won nine domestic league titles across his time at Barca, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, along with nine domestic cups, two UEFA Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.

Asked where he would rank Guardiola in an all-time list of best managers, Mendieta said “Well, certainly top, I don’t know, [I] have not made that list yet, but top three, top five.

“I have not seen in my career from outside or through other players, managers that can impact the game as much as he does, like he’s done since he started at Barca B, of course Barca and so on. How he reads games, how he, by moving or changing the position of players, impacts the game so much. Certainly there are not many like him.

“I can think of maybe [Johan] Cruyff, you know, some of the legends that have changed the game throughout the years. Because also wherever he’s been, in Spain, Italy, Germany, he’s had an impact on the league, on the national league and also on the national team.

“Spain played differently because he changed Barca’s idea, Germany changed the way they play because he changed Bayern’s idea. England changed maybe a bit less, but still you could see England trying to play how City kind of plays.

“Why? Because you could see like six, seven players from Barcelona in the Spanish national team. Same in Germany, you could see five, six players from Bayern. And the same for England’s national team. So, I think that’s what he gives to football, wherever he goes, he impacts the game.”