Pep Guardiola will manage his 1,000th match as a head coach when Manchester City host Liverpool on Sunday. The 54-year-old has led Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City to 715 victories, a win rate of 71.57%, and 39 trophies across 999 games.
Guardiola credited his longevity to personal qualities, saying: 'Dedication, passion, love – in that nobody beats me.' He agreed with Sir Alex Ferguson that success depends on having outstanding players, but added: 'It looks like I have false humility but this amount – every 10 games we win seven and will draw one or two – it can happen because you are in Barcelona, Munich and Manchester with the players I have.'
Of facing Liverpool for his 1,000th game, Guardiola said: 'If I had to choose one rival for this milestone, that would be the best one. Because I’ve been in this country longer than anywhere else... Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country. It could not be better, to be honest – the universe decides that.'
Since the 2017-18 season, either City or Liverpool have won the Premier League title. Guardiola believes this is now the domestic game's fiercest rivalry, surpassing previous eras of United-Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Rodri is likely to miss the match due to injury. 'We’ll see but I think we won’t take the risk with the international break [ahead],' Guardiola said. 'We are still in November, the best part of the season is ahead of us and we need him.'
