Antonio Conte has a huge admirer in Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who believes Tottenham will succeed if they ‘rely’ on their manager.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference as City prepare to take on Spurs this Saturday, the Spanish coach was full of praise for the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss, and said that he ‘learns a lot’ from him.
Conte made some unwanted headlines this week with a controversial interview in which he suggested Tottenham had gone backwards in the January window.
The Italian coach has since said he was ‘disturbed’ by the coverage of his interview with Italian TV, accusing the media of trying to cause an issue between the club and the coach.
During a separate interview, Conte also branded Guardiola the ‘best coach in the world’.
The former Juventus manager said: “I think that we are talking about the best coach in the world because he shows it in many teams, many different situations, that it is good to build something important.
“And if the club supports him because when you stay in Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, and then Manchester City, these clubs wanted to invest in him and he repaid this trust.
“I repeat when you see a team of Pep Guardiola, you can see an idea of football and you understand that there is a lot of work into the team, and this work is his idea and for this reason it’s for me in this moment is the best coach in the world.”
While Guardiola was grateful for Conte’s words, he said that he is not the best manager in the world.
“Thank you so much, I am not. I appreciate it, thank you so much but I am not,” he said. “I learn a lot watching his teams, the movement. If the club rely on him 100 per cent and his ideas, he knows,” said Guardiola.
“All the success managers is because they are invested behind. He showed in Juventus and changed many things since he arrived, at Milano, at Chelsea. If they club rely on him 100 per cent they will have success.
“I have incredible respect because when I watch his teams I learn something new.”
