Comparing managerial styles of Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag ahead of FA Cup final

The first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup final will take place this weekend at Wembley under the direction of Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag.

We have looked more closely at the City and United managers in preparation for Saturday’s matchup in the capital.

Past meetings

This season’s Premier League encounters are the only times these managers have faced off, with City winning the first encounter 6-3 in October before United came back to win 2-1 at Old Trafford in January.

But while they do not have a huge history of playing against one another, these bosses know each other well.

Ten Hag left Go Ahead Eagles in his homeland in 2013 to become head coach of Bayern Munich II — the reserve team of the perennial Bundesliga champions, who were then managed by Guardiola.

The United boss said the Catalan inspired him, with the pair talking regularly and the Dutchman watching him very carefully. Ten Hag has previously described his training sessions as “a joy to watch”.

Guardiola clearly thinks highly of his cross-city rival, who he said would have made an excellent successor for him at the Etihad before his United appointment was confirmed.

Trophies

Guardiola, arguably the greatest coach of this generation, boasts an eye-watering medal haul.

The 52-year-old has won 11 top-flight titles — three LaLiga crowns, three Bundesliga titles and now five Premier League triumphs. Guardiola oversaw a pair of Champions League victories at Barcelona, which he hopes to add to against Inter Milan in June’s Istanbul finale.

Pep has also won domestic trophies aplenty wherever he has been, with Saturday offering the chance to win his second FA Cup.

The freshly-crowned LMA Manager of the Year takes on a man that led Ajax to three Eredivisie titles during his time in Amsterdam, as well as a pair of KNVB Cups and the Johan Cruyff Shield.

Ten Hag’s first silverware as a manager was the Regionalliga Bayern title in 2014, while this season’s Carabao Cup victory was his latest triumph and first at United.

This season

City are looking to write their name in history by matching United’s 1999 Treble heroes. Guardiola’s side saw off Arsenal’s impressive title charge during an unrelenting end to the season that led them to be crowned with three games to spare — their fifth in six years and third in succession.

Inter stand in their way as City make their second Champions League final appearance on June 10, where they would have the chance to wrap up the Treble, unless Ten Hag’s Red Devils can put a spoke in the wheel at Wembley.

United have improved vastly on last season’s wretched campaign to finish third in the Premier League, securing a Champions League return on the back of ending their six-year wait for silverware.

Ten Hag became just the second manager in the club’s medal-laden history to win a major trophy in his first season at the helm with February’s Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle.

Now comes the chance to add another trophy to the cabinet with a statement victory that would end their neighbours’ Treble dreams.