Pep Guardiola has admitted that he would love to have played alongside Zinedine Zidane during his career.
Guardiola will lock horns with the Real Madrid manager when his Manchester City side face the La Liga giants in the Champions League round of 16.
It is the first time the two men will come up against one another on the touchline, although they have been on opposite sides during their playing careers.
Guardiola twice played against Zidane at international level when Spain took on France, but they did not cross swords for their respective clubs.
The City head coach left Barcelona for Brescia in 2001, just as Zidane was joining Real Madrid from Juventus.
And Guardiola says he would have relished the opportunity to line up in the same team as the one-time Ballon d'Or winner.
"It's a special moment because Zidane is one of the best," he said. "I dreamed when I was a player with playing with him, but it never happened.
"I didn't talk much with him, but my impression is that he is an amazing person, I admire him, it's really good to have these kind of people. It will be a pleasure to see you again.
"Madrid is the king of this competition. It is an incredible test for us, we will prepare the best we can. We will see in February what our condition is and what is that of Madrid. We will try and play two good matches.
They have more experience than we do in these situations, but if you want to do well in this competition you have to face these teams. For us it is an incredible experience, I have confidence that my team will play two good games."
City face Oxford in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, before a meeting with Leicester in the Premier League this weekend.
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