sport news Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola worked together at Bayern Munich but now go ... trends now
Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag have always been effusive in their praise of one another.
The Dutchman described the two years he worked alongside Guardiola at Bayern Munich as 'like winning the lottery'.
And when it was rumoured Ten Hag was going to take the Manchester United job back in April, Guardiola joked his old colleague should come to City instead.
Erik ten Hag (right) in conversation with Pep Guardiola on the training ground during their time working together at Bayern Munich back in 2013
These chats over tactics and training methods happened regularly as Guardiola coached the Bayern first team and Ten Hag took care of the second team
What is clear is that the Ten Hag vision of playing the game that is slowly unfurling at Old Trafford, and the meticulous attention to detail required to realise it, are influenced by those formative years watching Guardiola hard at work on the next training pitch.
It will be strange for both men to find themselves in direct opposition - for the first time - in Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad.
Given Ten Hag is 52 and Guardiola is 51, it's hardly master taking on apprentice but it could well feel that way in the latest examination of the Dutchman's Old Trafford revolution.
It will take something special for United - for all their renewed promise in recent weeks - to get the better of an all-conquering City side over six years in the maturing under Guardiola.
City remain unbeaten after seven Premier League games, sitting only a point behind leaders Arsenal, and Erling Haaland, with 14 goals already in all competitions, has already confounded those who believed he'd struggle in English football.
United have shown definite signs of improvement in recent weeks under Ten Hag's methods
But Guardiola's City still set the standard in the Premier League and start as favourites
But United's counter-attacking punch has floored City in the past and there is considerably more optimism around Old Trafford than there was six weeks ago when they were humiliated by Brentford.
There are the green shoots of recovery as Ten Hag's methods take ever greater effect and this derby promises to be a whole lot closer than last season, when City were utterly dominant in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford before smashing Ralf Rangnick's no-hopers 4-1 in the return.
Ten Hag raised eyebrows when he left Go Ahead Eagles shortly after securing promotion into the Eredivisie in 2013 to become coach of Bayern's second team, who played in regional football in Germany.
But there was one principal reason why Ten Hag, then 42, was willing to swap senior football for youngsters and that was the opportunity to observe Guardiola at close quarters.
Ten Hag described the opportunity to work with Guardiola at Bayern to 'winning the lottery'
Guardiola was impressed by Ten Hag's ideas and his humility from their time working together
At Bayern's old training base, the first team and second team pitches were adjacent to one another, offering the two coaches ample chance to compare notes on
