Pep Guardiola will take charge of his 1,000th game as manager when his Manchester City team face Liverpool on Sunday. He says he couldn’t ask for a better match to celebrate this milestone.
«Liverpool has been this country’s biggest rival and, honestly, it couldn’t be better,» Guardiola told reporters on Friday. «I think we pushed Liverpool to be better, and Liverpool pushed us to be better. That’s for sure.»
Former Spanish midfielder Guardiola is considered one of the best coaches of all time. He won a total of twelve league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, as well as three Champions Leagues and numerous other cups.
Guardiola spoke of his pride at being inducted into the League Managers Association (LMA) Hall of Fame 1,000 Club, along with 38 other managers who have worked in England, including Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
“The journey and the experiences have been incredible,” said Guardiola, whose first game as coach was for Barcelona B in the Spanish fourth tier in 2007.
“The numbers are insane,” said Guardiola, who has won 715 of his first 999 games. “It’s hard to achieve, and if I started over I wouldn’t achieve it.
«It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, passion and love, and no one has beaten me at that. I love that game and I love exploring the secrets of what we can do to opponents.»
“Hopefully we can continue on Sunday.”
When described as the best manager ever, the 54-year-old joked: «They’re absolutely right! The influence of every manager has gone through history. Of course I can say I’ve been part of that because the numbers explain it, I’ve had success and it’s been fun watching my teams.»
“But I never thought: ‘I want to be the best’.”
Although his overall winning percentage is well over 70 percent, Liverpool have been tough on Guardiola since he joined City in 2016, first under Jurgen Klopp and now under Arne Slot.
He has won just seven of his 24 meetings against Liverpool and lost 10, including home and away last season when Slot’s side dethroned City as Premier League champions.
While many of these clashes have been crucial in the title chase, Sunday’s match could determine which of the two clubs are more likely to try to chase down Arsenal, who could hold a nine-point lead over City at kick-off at The Etihad.
“If Arsenal continue like this and don’t concede goals or even clear chances, it will be almost impossible to catch them,” said Guardiola, who has won six Premier Leagues with City.
«But you always expect that you can be better and that they can drop points. The only thing we can do is win our games to be close, and then they have to come here. But of course it is exceptional what they do for two or three seasons, and every time it gets closer, closer. But we are at the beginning of November.»
“You won’t win the title in November, but you can lose it.”
Despite the importance of Sunday’s match, Guardiola says midfielder Rodri, who has just returned from injury, is unlikely to be in danger.
Published on November 7, 2025
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