Man City's Guardiola 'understands' Klopp Club World Cup critique

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said Sunday he can see Jurgen Klopp's point after the former Liverpool coach labelled the Club World Cup "the worst idea ever implemented in football".

However the Catalan also said he wants his team to win Fifa's heavily criticised newly expanded competition this summer in the United States, noting many of the complaints have come from teams which did not reach the tournament.

Klopp, currently Red Bull's "head of global soccer", told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag the crowded calendar meant there was no time for players to recover mentally or physically and he had serious concern over possible injuries.

"Jurgen – we fought together many, many times, I know where the idea comes from, we fought a lot in England, when we went to Uefa meetings, especially on the Premier League, (about) the calendar, to try to (increase the) quality," Guardiola told reporters.

"So the players rest, and the managers rest, (then) you have more quality, so it didn't surprise me, I understand him, I respect him.

"I have an incredible relationship with Jurgen, when we were rivals... I understand his argument, because his argument I would defend as well."

Guardiola's side are in the last 16 of the competition and face Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal on Monday in Orlando.

The coach said despite the criticism the tournament has received, he is "proud" to be competing to win it.

"At the same time we're in a job, we follow Fifa, Uefa, Premier League, Serie A... the managers are not going to organise the competitions, everyone has their own role, they organise the competitions," continued Guardiola.

"I have said many times, I am so proud to be here, because in the end many, many teams complain about the competitions, because they are not here, otherwise they would love maybe to be there.

"Their media will be here, their supporters will be here, there will be their income in terms of money to be here, and they will be happy to be there."

Man City have won six of the last eight Premier League titles with Liverpool claiming the other two, including last season.

England coach Thomas Tuchel said Arne Slot's Reds and Arsenal have an advantage on City for the upcoming campaign because they are resting during the summer.

"I try to not think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious," added Guardiola.

"So I try to be relaxed, to enjoy the days here, the good vibes that we have, the competition, to try to win it."

KOMPANY PRAISES BAYERN'S CONSTANT THREAT

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany praised his team's relentless attacking threat despite the ebbs and flows of their 4-2 Club World Cup win over Flamengo On Sunday.

The German side led 2-0 and again had a two-goal advantage at 3-1 but on both occasions the Brazilian club found a way to keep the contest alive.

While pleased with that resilience from his team, former Manchester City captain Kompany was particularly impressed with the way his team never drifted out of the game.

"I think the key part of the game for me, which always remains a key part of the game, is we always stayed dangerous," he told reporters.

"It didn't matter if we were defending or if we had the ball. I think if we had the ball we were always dangerous. But even when we defended, then on the counter in the moments we looked like a team that could score at any time," he added.

"I thought we stayed calm and then we scored the goals at the right time just to take the pressure off a little bit. Playing against these teams, the fans are a big part of the game. The Boca game is very similar. They feel like away games for us. And we have to adapt and find a way to win," he said.

Kompany said that ability to regain control of a game when an opponent is building momentum, is an element of the game that is tough to teach.

'BETTER PLAYERS'

"It's the hardest thing to coach, it really is. I've been a player myself. In these moments you take responsibility. It doesn't matter how good your coach is, it doesn't matter anything, you have to.

"And the main thing is you have to stay calm. It's something that the players did, it's the experience as well, but it's also something we talk about.

"We can't lose the game in five minutes because we had a bad period or because we considered it was a silly penalty."

Flamengo coach Filipe Luis agreed that his team were given no respite by Bayern.

"The pressure they put on you is immense. They come at you with eight, 10 players. They deserved to win," he said.

"Our plan did work and we were able to apply pressure and create goal scoring opportunities but they were better than us, we're playing against the football elite," he said.

Asked again about the quality gap between South American clubs and the top European sides, Luis noted that the economic realities around the transfer of players was a big element.

"If Vinicius Jr had not left for Real Madrid, we would have the best player in the world. They (South American players) want to be in the elite and that's where they are. Had we won today and the tournament, it would not change the reality - they're high quality teams," he said.

"We have many Brazilian players in our teams but they (the European teams) have the best ones. They have better players, that's a fact."