Mario Gotze reveals the difference between playing for Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
The Germany played for each coach at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola’s tactical focus lacks empathy in the eyes of Gotze, especially when contrasted with Klopp’s holistic approach to managing players’ emotional needs.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s managerial duels since their respective arrivals from the Bundesliga in 2015 and ’16 have been some of the most entertaining of the modern Premier League era. While Pep is the ponderous, complicated mastermind behind positional dexterity and an almost robotic Manchester City success, Klopp’s wily tactical nous hides behind an often jovial facade, as his mind constantly attempts to figure out how his Liverpool side can beat his well-funded Catalonian counterpart.
Unlike the heated exchanges between Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger of yesteryear, these two modern coaches have a mutual respect which is far better publicised. There’s this idea of supreme betterment, with each driving the other to extreme lengths to improve – with every trophy-grade weapon at their disposal.
However, similarly to modern football’s numerous other binary debates that try and dispatch the superlative, and regardless of the uneven split of the 51 major honours between them, everyone has a preferred style and personality. This is true for the select few players that have worked under both. Speaking with DAZN Germany, Mario Gotze reflected he didn’t necessarily correlate with Guardiola:
“Pep Guardiola was technically one of the best coaches, [playing under him was a] tremendous enrichment. But I had the feeling that he thinks only on the pitch and leaves out the people and the outside. The empathy was not that big. It was not easy for me, just because I came from Kloppo, who was like a footballing father. Pep was the complete difference. A world-class coach needs empathy, every athlete is also human and you should combine both [tactics and empathy].”
Mario Gotze
Stats
Under Klopp
Under Guardiola
Games
116
114
Goals
31
36
Assists
45
24
Minutes
8,145
7,479
Gotze on Guardiola
“(Pep) doesn’t think about players outside of his plan.”
Mario Gotze – Bayern Munich
Gotze, who joined Guardiola’s Bayern side in 2013 after impressing at Klopp’s Dortmund, was initially keen to play for the Spanish strategist. The €37m (£31.8m) bid from the Bavarians triggered a release clause in his contract, prising him away to become the second-most expensive German player at the time, behind Mesut Ozil.
The midfield dynamo scored 36 goals and provided 24 assists in 114 appearances. However, despite also achieving three league titles, two DFB-Pokal trophies, and a winners’ medal in each of the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup – Gotze’s three seasons at the Allianz were ultimately tarnished. Injuries, criticism surrounding his effort, and feeling out of place signalled the end as “Super Mario” returned to BVB in 2016 having only started 59 of a possible 102 Bundesliga matches.
Highlighting the strains of playing under Guardiola, Gotze explained: “Technically, [Guardiola] was a tremendous asset,” he said. “But he is very focused on the game and doesn’t think about players outside of his plan. He didn’t have much empathy, and empathy is part of being a world-class coach.”
With issues such as that, it’s no surprise then that he is one of many players to flop after leaving Klopp. In 2020, his comments were expanded upon further, as he spoke of Arjen Robben’s support through tough times. “Guardiola just put you literally everywhere in the games. Arjen Robben knows what I’m talking about. In hindsight, I should have stayed longer with Klopp, but it was certainly not a mistake to go to Bayern,” he added, before saying of the Liverpool manager: “I see him as one of the most important people in my life. There is a relationship of trust between us.”
As quoted above, Gotze clearly still values his old manager as one of the most influential figures in his football career. Why wouldn’t he? The Dortmund academy graduate burst onto the scene under Klopp in 2010, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 11/12. The latter of which brought the double of league and DFB Cup, both at Bayern’s expense.
It’s no surprise that a preemptive Klopp in 2010 jokingly thanked Mario’s father for moving from the Allgau region to work in Dortmund when Mario was just five, as his son eventually came through the academy to score 45 goals in 219 games across his two spells with the Black and Yellow.
However, Gotze has made sure that his old manager is the one to receive the plaudits – as is already clear: “I’m still in touch with Jürgen,” he told DAZN in 2018. “Of course, he taught me everything about professional football. At that time, I was just 17 and coming up from the youth team. He introduced me to everything. He let me play.”
When thinking back to the failed Liverpool move of 2016, the midfielder provided more about his mentor and a fitting spot to conclude, as although things didn’t work with Guardiola – he knows that he and the Spaniard have closure:
“Klopp probably made the biggest impact on my career. He can be very demanding – he can be your friend but also very harsh at the same time. It pushes you to great performances. That’s what happened with me back then, and it’s happened with Liverpool now. (…) He’s a good coach, for sure. He and Pep Guardiola are the most important coaches and characters I had in my career.”
