Heaviest defeats faced by 5 legendary managers in club football

Guardiola was taught a lesson in footballer at Goodison Park

While Twitter and much of the footballing world has been quick to troll Pep Guardiola after Manchester City’s 4 – 0 loss to Everton was established as the biggest ever of his league managerial career, it is important to remember that even the best of the best have off days sometimes. Whether it’s the occasion getting on the players’ nerves or just a bad day at the office, all legendary managers have gone through similar rough patches in their career.

Here we’ve put together a list of five who would perhaps do well to call Guardiola and cheer him up – well maybe not all five – with tales of how they bounced back from the heaviest defeats of their own careers.

#5 Jurgen Klopp: FSV Mainz 1 – 6 Werder Bremen

Klopp had nothing but despair on the day

The current Liverpool manager who shot into the global gaze with Borussia Dortmund is known for his attacking football and his team’s dedication to applying pressure on the opponent when his team concedes possession. These didn’t quite come together so well for him in the Bundesliga season of 2006/07 when a Werder Bremen attack led by Miroslav Klose managed to put six goals into Mainz’s net with only Azaouagh’s free kick in reply earning them a consolation.

Mainz would suffer a couple more 4-0 defeats in the season, to Schalke and Bayern Munich, but their loss to Werder Bremen remains the heaviest defeat of Klopp’s managerial career. Since his move to Dortmund though, Klopp has only lost one game by a 4-goal margin – a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.