Marcelo Bielsa modest over Pep Guardiola praise as Leeds prepare to go on the attack against Manchester City

There was a moment when Marcelo Bielsa was discussing VAR and the spate of penalties awarded for handball and it felt that, once again, he had been drawn back to the subject of him and Pep Guardiola, the obsessives, idealists and mutual admiration society who meet on Saturday. Bielsa, ostensibly talking about other matters, arrowed in on shared experiences as he said: “In the search for perfection you know where it starts but you never know where it ends.” For Guardiola it began, in a way, on Bielsa’s ranch outside Rosario in 2006, after a 10,000-mile round trip and featuring a 10-hour discussion. Guardiola was preparing himself for a second career and had gone to Mexico to play for Dorados, purely to get an education from Juanma Lillo, the man who is now his assistant at Manchester City. His former Roma teammate Gabriel Batistuta had told him that if he wanted to become a manager, he had to talk to Bielsa. He duly did. Bielsa made such an impression that, two years ago, Guardiola called him “the best coach in the world.” The Catalan explained: “He has influenced football and his football players.” And yet Bielsa, with his combination of modesty and awkwardness, downplayed his influence on the younger manager. “I do not feel like a mentor to Guardiola,” he said. “That is not how I feel it is. There is evidence to that not being the case. There is a manager who is independent in his ideas and that is Guardiola. His teams play like no other teams.” The same may be said of Bielsa, whose high intensity, high pressing and man-marking all over the pitch gives his sides a unique look. They have posed problems in the Premier League. Nine years ago, Guardiola needed a 90th-minute equaliser from Lionel Messi to escape defeat against Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao. Perhaps typically, Bielsa overlooked that when recalling his meetings with Barcelona: Guardiola’s team won the rematch at the Camp Nou 2-0 and then the Copa del Rey final 3-0. “The memories I have are that they managed to neutralise our attempts to impose ourselves,” the Argentine said. “Everyone who faced Barcelona in those four years would probably give you the same answer. There are many people who think that was probably the best team in the history of football.” If the results of Guardiola’s coaching were apparent on the pitch – and in the trophy cabinet – Bielsa’s analysis of why the current City manager reached such heights was instructive. He appreciated the ambition and the ability to execute attacking ideals. “First of all, he’s imaginative,” the Leeds manager said. “He is able to instantly create solutions to problems he comes across. Another thing that distinguishes him as a top coach is what he proposes he’s able to implement. We imagine football in an obedient manner. Guardiola imagined football in a freedom type of way. To imagine football this way doesn’t mean footballers are going to act in the same way. I don’t know too many coaches who would also be deserving of this type of praise.” One of Guardiola's innovative but trademark tactics was his use of a false nine, in Messi. He has had to revive that ploy with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus both out. Raheem Sterling scored twice at Burnley on Wednesday and Bielsa does not believe City are weakened by injuries. "I think that Sterling is a great attacker playing out wide or through the middle. He is a goalscorer. I don't think it is a problem that City won't resolve." Sterling may be a reason why Jack Harrison is yet to make his City debut. The winger is in his third season on loan at Leeds, scored their first top-flight goal for 16 years and set up Patrick Bamford's winner against Sheffield United on Sunday. Now, however, he is ineligible to face his parent club. Bielsa was unworried. “Harrison is very important,” he said. “But [Gjanni] Alioski is able to do as well or better than Harrison.” Even without a pivotal player, Bielsa’s attitude will not change. His uncompromising commitment to attack has earned him Guardiola’s admiration and he said: “We will try to play the same way we always do. We wouldn’t know how to do it any other way.”

Marcelo Bielsa modest over Pep Guardiola praise as Leeds prepare to go on the attack against Manchester City

City's illustrious manager describes the Argentine as a key influence in his career and 'the best coach in the world'