Daniel Farke has commented on his personal relationship with Pep Guardiola ahead of Manchester City’s weekend visit to Leeds.
Leeds United were excellent in the Championship last season and Daniel Farke deserves a lot of credit for their triumph.
However, there were rumours swirling about the possibility of Leeds sacking their manager before the new season, due to his past record in the Premier League.
Of course, this never came to fruition and his team are now sitting in 15th place, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Farke will be in high spirits after Leeds drew with Aston Villa last weekend and he has taken the time to preview their next fixture, while discussing his relationship with Manchester City’s boss.
Daniel Farke describes ‘close relationship’ with Pep Guardiola
Daniel Farke talked to the media on Thursday afternoon and he was instantly complimentary of Man City, claiming they have some of the best players in the world.
The Leeds manager then began to discuss Pep Guardiola, addressing the pair’s unlikely friendship ahead of their meeting on Saturday.
Farke said: “I don’t like to speak much about it – he’s the best manager in the world. Feels like I’m fishing for compliments. He’s entitled to speak about it, yes behind the scenes we have a pretty close relationship.
“Pep always evolves and develops ahead of the wave. He played false nine and inverted full backs before anyone knew what this was. He is the manager who have inspired the game most – he is the best.”
Turning his attention to Man City’s forwards, Farke continued: “Haaland is the best striker in the world. He knows how to use him – only one closer is Calvert-Lewin. Marmoush is also a top player who can score many goals. So it’s not just Haaland.”
Later on, the Leeds head coach once again touched on his relationship with Guardiola and said: “He worked a few years in Germany. Especially as a yoiung manager you try to analyse the games.
“The first time I met him was at Norwich and this has developed. He appreciated how we played that day.
“I’ve never mentioned it in public. The relationship is great – of course, we are very busy and each and every day we have coffee.”
Farke has spoken highly of Guardiola in the past
This is not the first time Farke has had kind things to say about Guardiola. In fact, his comments about Guardiola being ahead of the wave are almost a direct repeat of an interview he gave five years ago as the Norwich City manager.
Back then, Farke even revealed that Guardiola followed the Canaries during his time in charge of the club, so their relationship has been addressed in the past.
Saturday will be another special moment as the managers meet once again and it will intriguing to see who comes out on top, with both teams having a reason to fight for the victory.
