Gary Neville has shared which manager he thinks will be viewed as the greatest of all time outside English football: Pep Guardiola or Sir Alex Ferguson.
In June, Jamie Carragher claimed that the debate between the two greats only exists in England and around the world, the Catalan boss is rightly considered the best coach in the history of the game.
Other feels Sir Alex Ferguson’s influence in Scotland, even before his time at Manchester United deems him the undisputed greatest.
Gary Neville shares who will be viewed as the greatest outside England: Pep Guardiola or Sir Alex Ferguson
But then Guardiola has had an influence on several other managers, such as Arteta, De Zerbi and Xavi in a way that Ferguson did not have.
The same can be said about how the Manchester City legend’s signature style of play has impacted the philosophies of other teams in the world, which cannot be said for not just the Scot but most managers to have ever graced the game.
According to Gary Neville, Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager the game has ever seen over Pep Guardiola.
“I mean, look to be fair, Pep’s [Guardiola] unbelievable so we’re arguing about something that’s sort of hypothetical. But I just think what Sir Alex Ferguson did for British football and the Premier League, I don’t think can be surpassed.”
“But he also did for Aberdeen and Scotland.”
“I just think that for that period of time, he was in the birth years of the Premier League, I think the football that was played, the electricity, the character and personality…”, he said on The Overlap’s Stick To Football.
However, Gary Neville did admit that outside of England, Pep Guardiola will be viewed as superior to Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Can I just say, in world football, when you talk globally, I think people will say Pep Guardiola and when you think of what he achieved in Spain, in Germany but in the Premier League alone…”
Neville concluded, “I think Pep’s had the biggest influence on style of play. There’s no doubt about that. He’s influenced League Two teams, I’m seeing splitting the centre-backs to the six yard-box to pass it along on bobbly pitches because of Pep Guardiola. And obviously, he will say it’s because of Johan Cruyff or because of [Rinus] Michels or all them coaches.”
“He has had a massive influence on style of play.”
The more trophies Pep Guardiola wins, the lesser of a debate it will become
While Gary Neville does think that Pep Guardiola will be seen as the better manager out of the two between him and Sir Alex Ferguson outside of England, in our view, the debate will continue to die out if the former continues to add silverware to his trophy cabinet.
Guardiola has won trophies at a rate no other manager has in the modern game and if he continues to dominate, perhaps most fans and pundits alike will have to hold their hands up and concede that he is the greatest manager in history.
Considering all that the former Barcelona boss has already achieved coupled with his overarching impact on football, winning more trophies will make it difficult to argue for any manager being superior to him, whether it be in England or across the world.