London : England and Manchester United legend David Beckham believes that the arrival of big-name coaches in the English Premier League, especially Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola in Manchester, will make the forthcoming season more exciting, unpredictable and something which the football fans will surely enjoy watching.
The former Real Madrid star added that after the battles between Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Kevin Keegan, the new arrival of United coach Mourinho, Man City’s Guardiola, Chelsea’s Antonio Conte will add a new flavour to the league.
“What I love about this group of managers is the character of them. You have obviously had this over the years with Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger and their battles together and Kevin Keegan and things like that,” Beckham was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Friday.
“But when you talk about Pep, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Antonio Conte — who I love, I love his mannerisms, the way he is on the sidelines and he shows so much passion — obviously with Jose in the mix and being at a club like Manchester United, which for me is the biggest club in the world, it is going to be such an exciting season off the pitch, let alone on the pitch,” he added.
“So it is going to be one that people are going to enjoy watching.”
The 41-year-old also praised Klopp for bringing change in the Liverpool side.
“It makes it unpredictable, but with Klopp going in at Liverpool, you could see the change. And when he first went in, I started to think, ‘This could be worrying as a Man United fan to see Liverpool coming back to being up there again with the big teams’,” he said.
“But Jose going to United and Conte going to Chelsea and Pep — who I love, I have been a big fan of his for so many years, both on the pitch and off the pitch, he does so much for a team — it (season) will be unpredictable.
“But I do think it will be one of those teams who will be champions at the end of the year.”
Beckham also lauded United’s decision to bring in Portuguese tactician Mourinho, commenting it as a great move.
“I fully expect it to work. With Jose leaving Chelsea and now coming back into the Premier League with United, for me it is a great move. I had huge respect for (previosu United coach) Louis Van Gaal, but it did not work out the way people expected it to. But I think at the end of the day, now it is a new start for United.
“We have had a couple over the last three or four years, which is not the Manchester United style, who are used to a manager like Alex Ferguson being in there for so many years.”
The former England skipper also heaped praise on reigning EPL champions Leicester City, saying that the Claudio Ranieri-managed side deserved to be champions.
“Full credit to Ranieri and the players, they stuck together and it has really showed how the unity of a team can take you so far. But obviously they have a lot of talent as well, so it is not just about the togetherness of a team like Leicester, they actually play well together, have a lot of talented players in their team, so they deserved it,” the six-time EPL winner said.
“But of course, Leicester City champions, considering where they were the season before, it was a shock, but they deserved it,” Beckham signed off.
IANS