This weekend brings another seismic Premier League showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool but it could also be the end of an era for Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Pep Guardiola will have had some restless sleep in his city centre apartment this week, but the good news for the bleary-eyed Manchester City boss is that some sounder nights are now just a few months away. The bad news is what lies ahead to reach the point when he can tuck himself in contended at another job well done.
It is that combination that will have kept Guardiola up at night this week and as he admitted in January, when Klopp confirmed this season will be his last at Liverpool, he will sleep better when the German has gone. The farewell is coming, but first of all, City have to ruin it.It is the head-to-head that has, if not dominated their careers, then certainly influenced them to a greater degree than any other.
One source suggested that while there is respect between them "they're not mates", but there is warmth if they bump into each other during the round of post-match interviews, with both stopping to chat, something Guardiola doesn't always do with rival managers. It was only when they arrived in English football within nine months of each other in 2015 and 2016 that it really took hold, although that was a slow burn. The 2017/18 season was the first time we got a glimpse of what was to come, with Liverpool knocking City out of the Champions League, while City won 5-0 at the Etihad in the league and Liverpool won the reverse fixture 4-3.
Klopp looked confused, shrugged his shoulders and offered a "bye" as Guardiola left. It was a revealing insight. It's not at the level of Guardiola's famous "in this room he is the f**king man" quote about Jose Mourinho, but it was interesting. Like so many public interactions between the two, we had to fill in the blanks.
Things have never got personal, however. Speaking last year Klopp said they rarely meet on a private basis, but when they do it is "super". During Liverpool's celebrations after winning the Champions League in Madrid in 2019, Guardiola called physio Lee Nobes, who had swapped the Etihad for Anfield at the start of the season, and asked to speak to Klopp, before congratulating him on the triumph.
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