Pep Guardiola has lauded
Mauricio Pochettino as one of world’s best managers as he prepares Emirates Marketing Project, the leaders, to take on second-placed Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
City have won all six of their Premier League games while Spurs are four points behind. Guardiola is as admirer of Pochettino and his Tottenham side, having also come up against the Argentinian when he coached Espanyol and the Catalan managed Barcelona.
Then,
in February 2009, Pochettino inflicted Barça’s first derby defeat in 27 years when beating them 2-1 at Camp Nou.
“We played against Pochettino as players and then as coaches. I think he’s one of the best managers in the world – I enjoy watching Tottenham,” said Guardiola.
“He’s doing an amazing job in London at Spurs. The way they play I like a lot – they’re aggressive and have a lot of quality. The basis of the team is the national team with [Dele] Alli, [Kyle] Walker, [Harry] Kane – they have a lot of quality. Last season they were there until the last couple of games for the championship.
“This year they’re playing at a high level – they’re in second position so it will be a tough game and I’m looking forward to going to White Hart Lane for the first time in my life. We will try and do our job.
“All of the fans who like football and watch football can enjoy [Spurs] – they’re proactive, not reactive. There are many teams who wait to see what you do and then react – they don’t wait to see what they’re going to do. They want to create their own game. That’s why I like them. When I saw the last game against CSKA, against Liverpool, against Middlesbrough, I like what I’m watching.”