Sporting CP head coach Ruben Amorim has been hugely complimentary of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City ahead of his Old Trafford switch next week.
The two coaches go head-to-head for the first of three confirmed meetings this season, across two competitions and involving three different clubs as Manchester City travel to Lisbon for UEFA Champions League action.
City and Sporting are tied on seven points towards the top of the current league table in Europe’s premier club competition, and go head-to-head on Tuesday night hoping to solidify their place in the automatic qualification positions for the last-16 of the tournament.
However, this will be the first of three confirmed meetings involving Guardiola and Amorim, with the pair forming the new era of the Manchester derby, with City hosting United in December before the reverse fixture takes place at Old Trafford in 2025.
Speaking to Portuguese media outlet Sport TV in the build-up to Sporting’s showdown with Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League this week, Ruben Amorim was keen to issue significant praise on his opponents this week.
“(Manchester City have) the best team in the world and the best coach (Pep Guardiola) in the world,” Amorim told reporters on Monday.
Reflecting on the last meeting between the two clubs, as City defeating Sporting 5-0 in 2022, Amorim said, “I feel like I’m a better coach (now), unfortunately what I feel is that Pep Guardiola has also become an even better coach, so the gap remains.
“Pep Guardiola was an inspiration to many of us coaches, as well as others,” the incoming Manchester United manager continued.
In a separate interview with TNT Sports, Amorim also admitted on Pep Guardiola, “For me he is the best coach in the world, I know it’s tough for Manchester United fans, and I think Manchester City is the best team in the world.”
But looking ahead to Tuesday night’s meeting in the UEFA Champions League, Amorim told Sport TV, “Losing a game, especially to City, is not a failure.”
Manchester City have a favourable record against Sporting in their respective histories, with the Portuguese giants winless in their last three against the Premier League champions (D1, L2) having won the first meeting back in March 2012 in the UEFA Europa League.
Pep Guardiola and his squad will also be buoyed by the record away from home in Portugal, having only lost one of their previous five away trips in the country in European competition (W2, D2).
City are also unbeaten in Portugal in their UEFA Champions League matches having played out a 0-0 draw against FC Porto back in December 2020, before following that outing with a dominant 5-0 victory over Sporting CP in February 2022.
