It will, as ever, be a clash of contrasts. The joy machine against the tortured genius. Extrovert versus introvert. Low-slung baseball cap versus designer knitwear, ordered chaos versus chaotic order, 4-3-3 versus who-the-hell-knows, blood red versus cool blue, the hair transplant against the immaculate bald pate. For the past eight years, this is the duel that has painted the skies of English football, took it to new and unfamiliar places.
And now, the end. For all the antagonism Liverpool and Manchester City fans have developed for each other over the years, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola could never truly bring themselves to hate each other. The mutual admiration and grudging respect simply ran too deep. “The outstanding manager of my lifetime,” as Klopp put it this past week. “The best rival I ever had in my life,” according to Guardiola.
