Back to the Top News Newsfeed

Pep Guardiola, Marcelo Bielsa Have Long-Standing Admiration for Each Other

It was 2006 and Pep Guardiola was winding down his playing career with a short spell at Mexican club Dorados, where he had moved chiefly to understand better the art of soccer management under its Spanish coach, Juanma Lillo.

Before he took the plunge into coaching, Guardiola also was urged to travel to Argentina to seek out another deep thinker of the beautiful game.

Marcelo Bielsa — without a job at the time after leading Argentina to Olympic in 2004 — welcomed Guardiola to his home near Rosario and the pair bonded over a conversation lasting about 10 hours.