Recently, former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce was interviewed by talkSPORT, discussing tactical exchanges with Guardiola during the Premier League Asia Trophy in Shanghai in 2019.

These two former Premier League managers have faced each other 5 times throughout their long managerial careers. As a trophy collector, Guardiola clearly has the edge in their meetings, with 4 wins and 1 draw, remaining unbeaten against former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce.

However, Steve Bruce has also clearly left a deep impression on Guardiola. In 2021, Guardiola commented about his peer: "He is a very good man. When I came here from Catalonia, facing a different country, he was always very good and looked after me."

Their mutual admiration is clearly reciprocated. Just days after Steve Bruce took over Newcastle United, he was eager to seek tactical advice from the Manchester City manager.

Why did Guardiola instruct his full-backs to invert?

Steve Bruce said: "I remember when I had just taken over Newcastle United, I had tea with him in China. I asked him how he came up with the idea of inverting full-backs, and why he wanted them to move into central areas.

"How did he come up with this idea? Actually, the reason he gave was very simple. He told me: 'Steve, the reason I do this is because I want my attacking players to stay higher up the pitch, rather than full-backs occupying that space.'"

"So it was really very simple, but at the time I thought: 'Wow, everyone is trying to figure out why he inverts full-backs, and why he wants them in central areas.'"

Inverting full-backs is just one way Guardiola redefined Premier League tactics. He has also converted midfielders like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph into left-backs.

Steve Bruce: "What Guardiola has done is truly remarkable."

Steve Bruce said: "Look, we will miss him, won't we? There's no doubt about that. What he brought to the Premier League is truly remarkable. When I look at all the managers now and how modern football has evolved, they all have Pep's fingerprints on it.

"You see so many young coaches in the Manchester City structure. It's all down to Manchester City's overall structure, the way the club operates, and the people at the top who ultimately decided to hire Pep and implement everything according to his vision.

"He made some very big decisions very, very early on. For example, Joe Hart, who was England's national team goalkeeper at the time, but Guardiola felt he didn't meet his standards—perhaps his distribution wasn't good enough—so he changed the goalkeeper setup.

"Of course, you can think of Sir Alex Ferguson first, then Jürgen Klopp, and then Pep. They are all remarkable managers, and we all look at them and can only learn from them."

Steve Bruce is currently a regular contributor to talkSPORT. His last managerial role ended in October 2025, when he was sacked by League One side Blackpool. The 65-year-old was previously considered a candidate to return to the top flight, but he has admitted that he still misses managing day-to-day.

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