Three managers who have been Pep Guardiola's kryptonite

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Bengaluru, June 9: Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers to have graced the game.

No matter where he goes, success follows him and what makes him really special is the brand of football he believes in. There have been many successful managers in football history but very few have consistently achieved it by playing beautiful football week in week out. It is therefore no wonder why Guardiola is adored so much by the neutrals.

It has always been really difficult to even stand a chance against any side managed by Guardiola which looks unplayable but there are a few managers who seem to have found the kryptonite for the Spaniard. Here, we will take a look at three managers who have troubled the current Manchester City boss the most.

3. Mauricio Pochettino

The former Spurs manager has seen the better of Guardiola three times in his career. The two have crossed paths 18 times during their managerial career during their time in Spain and England with Guardiola's side emerging victorious in 10 occasions.

Pochettino could never manage a win against Guardiola's mighty Barcelona in Spain with a much weaker team Espanyol but when Guardiola arrived in England, it was the Spurs boss who gave Guardiola his welcome gift by inflicting Pep's first loss in the Premier League. Their last year's quarter-final tie of the Champions League went down as a classic as Spurs again saw the better of Guardiola's Manchester City.

2. Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has been the biggest rival of Guardiola for several years and the two managers seemingly do not get along well. The two iconic managers have faced-off against each other 23 times in their incredible careers and Mourinho has a decent record against Guardiola winning and drawing six games.

When the two met in Spain as the respective managers of arch rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, it was usually Guardiola celebrating at the touch-line but Mourinho with his Inter side defeated Barcelona 3-1 in the 1st leg of Champions League back in 2010. Inter eventually won the Champions League that campaign and became one of the few clubs to have achieved a treble.

1. Jurgen Klopp

There is only one manager in the world who boasts an advantage over Guardiola in head to head and that is Jurgen Klopp. The German maestro has faced Guardiola a total of 18 times in his career and has emerged victorious on nine of them while drawing two games.

Although, Pep Guardiola enjoyed victories more often against Klopp back in Germany but in England, things have been different as Liverpool have seen off Manchester City more often in recent times. Klopp vs Guardiola has now become the biggest managerial rivalry in the world although the two managers share a great deal of mutual respect for each other.