Koeman Relishing Guardiola Tussle

 

Ronald Koeman is looking forward to pitting his managerial wits against Pep Guardiola - a man he took under his wing during their time together as players at Barcelona.

The pair will have the chance to go head-to-head at least two times this season following the Spaniard’s appointment at Manchester City.

Koeman explained to evertontv that it was “amazing” to be challenging himself against Guardiola and other top managers in England, particularly in the north west region.

But the Dutchman has a particular friendship with Guardiola who he was given the task of mentoring by the great Johan Cruyff during the legendary era at the Nou Camp two-and-a-half decades ago.

VIDEO: Here's what @RonaldKoeman has to say about facing his friend Pep Guardiola in the @PremierLeague next season.https://t.co/uwaubZVnIL

— Everton (@Everton) June 28, 2016

Speaking back in 2011, Koeman explained: “When Cruyff brought Pep into the squad, he said to me ’you are going to look after this boy. You are going to be his tutor, help him develop and make sure he learns the Dutch style of play. From now on he’s going to be your roommate’.

“Pep was a fantastic guy. He was eager to learn and he wanted to know everything. From the very beginning he was asking me everything about the Ajax youth academy. He would say, “Ronald, how do they train? What do they do? How do they play?”

“He wanted to know about the Dutch school of football. More than any other player he wanted to know about one-touch football, about positional play. He had an insatiable hunger for information and a massive interest in the game. We spent hours talking football.

“There were months when I spent more time with Pep than with my own wife! We were always in camp or in hotels with Barcelona, travelling with the team all over Europe. But what struck me with Pep was that he was a very ordinary, down-to-earth guy.

“He was kind, he was normal and had no arrogant streaks. He did not want to behave like a big star because he was playing for Barcelona. I remember he was driving a second-hand Volkswagen Golf when he came into the squad and after three years in the first team he was still driving a Volkswagen Golf.”

CREDIT TO:http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2016/06/28/koeman-guardiola