Jurgen Klopp is the best coach in football right now, not Pep Guardiola, according to Richard Keys.
Liverpool's German boss masterminded an enthralling 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the FA cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday, ending Guardiola's hope of a silverware treble but keeping the Reds' dream of an incredible quadruple well and truly alive.
And despite the City manager's unquestionable success in the dugout, both in England and across Europe, it is the Anfield leader who has the upper hand in the battle of the bosses, as far as television broadcaster Keys is concerned.
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Writing in his own personal blog in a post titled 'Mirror mirror….who is the greatest coach of all?', he said: "It was the wicked witch in Snow White that first asked the question - and she never got the answer she was looking for. I got to wondering this weekend what that same mirror would say to Guardiola were he to ask. I don’t think he’d get the answer he - or his cheerleaders - would expect either. I’ve got a feeling the mirror would say ‘right now - Jurgen Klopp’.
"The more you think about it the more obvious it becomes. Klopp is at the peak of his powers. His team are 11 games from immortality. He’s built a club back from hopeful - into powerful. How good were they at Wembley? For 45 mins sensational. For the second half - competent and capable. Only for a couple of minutes at the end did they get anxious. They have the look of a team that believes anything is possible.
"'Anything’ might yet be an incredible quad. I still don’t believe it’s possible, but if City blink they’ll be all over them in the league. That's the one that’s out of Liverpool’s hands of course. Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final draw is perfect. If City make it to the final as well I know which of the two teams will be more wary of the other. Liverpool’s ‘power’ is more impressive than City’s ‘passing’. It’s the final we all want. Bring it on."
Having enthused about Liverpool's chances of adding multiple trophies to the Carabao Cup that is already in the Anfield trophy cabinet this season, Keys went on to explain how he believes Klopp is much easier for the media to deal with than a sometimes prickly Guardiola.
Keys wrote: "Klopp oozes class in his interviews. I really don’t know how he does it - one after the other - very often with the most banal line of questioning from reporters. But he gives the same time and courtesy to all.
"The same can’t be said of Guardiola - who still looks at inquisitors like they’ve got dog s*** on their shoe if they have the temerity to ask a ‘football’ question. You can see his mind working ‘me - talk to you about football? Don’t be silly’.
"Klopp is the opposite. You get the impression he’d talk all day if he had to. He reminds me so much of the man who built Liverpool - Shanks. You couldn’t stop Bill talking football. Looking back it’s sad that we guys at Radio City (Liverpool) used to try to avoid driving him to games when he did our co-comms because he’d make our ears bleed. So sad. What a disgrace really.
"I’ve said this before - Klopp has made a far bigger impact on Liverpool than Guardiola has on City. Far bigger. Guardiola is still only winning what Mancini and Pellegrini delivered. Klopp has made Liverpool attractive enough to be able to sign the very best in the world. But he doesn’t. He keeps buying bargain gems and turning them into the best. And I thought that was supposed to be Guardiola’s strength?"
"Klopp is the one nurturing talent. He’s brought one bright young thing after another into his side - Jones, Williams, Kelleher, Elliott - and they reckon there’s at least another six on the cusp. Right now Klopp is the master of all he surveys. He’s the best. Of course, there’s a few twists and turns left in the season yet - and it might all go horribly wrong for Liverpool - but I’ve got a feeling they’re edging towards something very special."
