Time for a Pep-talk! Guardiola snapped coaching Boston Celtics boss Joe Mazzulla ahead of NBA Finals – after basketball boss opens up on ‘studying Man City manager’s tactics’

Pep Guardiola is revered around the world for his brilliance as a football coach.

In his quest for greatness, the Manchester City boss has looked beyond the realms of football to establish what makes some of the world’s greatest athletes tick and why the best sports franchises have succeeded.

The Spaniard has previously spoken on how he has looked to the worlds of both tennis and basketball to understand how to improve his own sides.

‘Incredible athletes, [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [Rafa] Nadal,’ Guardiola said. 

‘The biggest dynasties in the NBA. It’s not easy in the NBA to have a team like the Chicago Bulls with [Michael] Jordan. I’m not comparing with that, don’t misunderstand me. The NBA has a lot of clubs with two or three in a row.’

Guardiola (right) appeared to meet with Mazzulla (left) at the TD Garden ahead of Boston Celtics’ NBA Finals opening match

And, while he could part ways with Manchester City next season, it appears he is not slowing down on his quest for knowledge, having been spotted speaking to Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on Wednesday at the TD Garden.

Mazzulla, 35, is the youngest head coach since Bill Russell to reach the NBA Finals, with his side set to take on Dallas Mavericks.

On the eve of that clash, the basketball coach was joined on the court at the TD Garden by Guardiola, who was deep in conversation with the American.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who has won six Premier League titles and three Champions Leagues during his coaching career, cut an animated figure as he appeared to gesture with his hands at the coach.

We’ve seen the Spaniard perform similar acts with his players during the 2023-24 season, notably delivering an impassioned coaching talk to Jack Grealish following 0-0 City’s draw to Arsenal.

While several members of his team are now set to travel to Germany for this summer’s European Championship, Guardiola has jetted over to America to catch up with Mazzulla, after he had welcomed the Basketball coach to the Etihad Campus in February.

On that day, Guardiola was seen chatting to Mazzulla on City’s training pitch, with the Premier League football manager again appearing to impart snippets of information to the basketball coach.

A week later, Mazzulla, a big football fan, told The Athletic that Guardiola was ‘the best coach at any level in sport.’

Mazzulla (pictured) is the youngest coach to ever feature in the NBA Finals since Bill Russell   

Morey Hershgordon wrote on Twitter that Mazzulla has previously ‘spoken on studying other sports and applying it to basketball’

The Boston Celtics coach (right) met with Pep Guardiola (left) at City’s training base in February

He and Guardiola exchanged club shirts, with Mazzulla subsequently speaking of his admiration for the City boss

He was also seen engaging with City’s team as he looked to gain a better understanding of how the side operate

‘That is what the game of basketball is about, to me, and what counterattacking in soccer is about,’ he told the outlet when speaking on how he wants to deploy the same philosophies on his team as Guardiola delivers to Man City.

‘So I study a lot of Man City. I study Pep a lot. I think he’s the best coach at any level, in any sport. It’s had a huge influence (on me).’

This week, they were also pictured exchanging their respective team’s shirts, with Guardiola holding up a green Celtics’ jersey.