Guardiola Names One Player He Wishes He Had Played With Or Coached

The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, wishes he had the opportunity to coach or play alongside former Real Madrid midfielder, Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane and Pep Guardiola were contemporaries during their active days in the world of football.

Guardiola had the best of his football career at FC Barcelona between 1990 and 2001, while Zidane had the best of his football career at Real Madrid between 2001 and 2006.

Before Zidane moved to Real Madrid, he played for his childhood club, Cannes, Bordeaux, and Juventus. However, the 51-year-old French football legend never played alongside Guardiola, who had stints at six different clubs before he retired from active football.

Pep Guardiola began coaching professionally at FC Barcelona in 2008, two years after Zidane retired from professional football.

They both became contemporaries in football management when Zidane ventured into coaching in 2014 at Real Madrid, where he won a record three straight UEFA Champions League titles as a coach.

Pep Guardiola, 53, has coached some of the greatest footballers in history, including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, and Xavi, same as Zidane, who has coached Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, and others.

Despite the great past they have already recorded in football, Pep Guardiola still wishes he had the chance to work with the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year.

“One player I wish I could have coached? Zidane,” Madrid Xtra quoted Pep Guardiola as saying.

“I would have loved to manage him, or play alongside him.”

While Pep Guardiola is enjoying his managerial life at Manchester City, Zidane has remained without a job since he left his coaching job at Real Madrid in 2021.