Pep Guardiola sees the game better than anyone else, says Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany

• e-mail

It is Pep Guardiola’s ability to see things unfolding on the pitch ahead of everyone else that marks him out as a special manager, according to his Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.

Kompany was signed by Mark Hughes and won trophies under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. 

But he can see why Guardiola will be viewed as a managerial great by future generations, having enjoyed success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich before being hired to change the footballing philosophy at the Etihad.

Vincent Kompany has heaped praise on Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (right)

‘It’s very clear to me that his No 1 quality, which is not one you can learn or teach, is that he sees the technical and tactical aspect of a game really fast,’ said Kompany.

‘There are times in a game when you are trying to figure out what is going on, especially with players you don’t know, and he has this thing where he can break down a game pretty quickly and transmit the message to solve the issue.

‘It’s not about genius in that case, it’s about having the skill to put across the message across in a way the team understands it.

‘I think that’s why his previous teams have been successful and of course it gets even better with experience. Having a clear delivery in a way people can buy into it.’

Even if 46-year-old Guardiola never won another game of football, his place in football history is assured.

Guardiola has the ability to read the game better than any other manager, says Kompany

At Barcelona, he developed one of the finest club sides ever seen, the tiki-taka of Xavi and Iniesta allied to the genius of Lionel Messi and spirit of Carles Puyol and Sergio Busquets. And at Bayern he won three Bundesliga titles out of three.

Kompany sees no reduction in Guardiola’s motivation though. ‘That’s the thing if you love football. It’s difficult to explain but it gets more and more interesting the more you get involved,’ said Kompany.

‘You are always constantly questioning yourself and trying to figure ways to do it better, trying to achieve perfection which is never possible.

‘He has got this drive because he loves the game more than anything and that’s embedded in him.’

Vincent Kompany was speaking at the launch of The Tunnel Club, Manchester City's new hospitality experience that wraps around the first glass players' tunnel in world football. 

For more information, visitmancity.com/thetunnelclub 

The Belgian defender also praised Guardiola's continued motivation despite success