Pep Guardiola has hailed Marcelo Bielsa's impact on world football and says it will be "incredible" for the English game to have him in the Premier League next season.
Bielsa has led Leeds to the Championship title and a return to the Premier League, bringing to an end their 16-year absence from the top flight.
The 64-year-old Argentine is seen as one of the most influential managers in the modern game and Guardiola has even described him as the "best coach in the world" in the past.
The pair are now set to go head to head when Manchester City face Leeds in the Premier League, and Guardiola said: "I was not his player so it's difficult for me to talk about him, but I know the reference and the influence for a thousand-million players who were with him.
"I am lucky to sometimes have the opportunity to talk to him and see him. He is an authentic manager because no other manager can play the way he plays. No one can imitate him and that makes him so special.
"For English football, it will be incredible for him to be in the Premier League next season and learn about him."
Bielsa's exceptional reputation within football contrasts with the lack of silverware he has won as a manager; the Championship title is the first he has won since 2004, and only the second outside Argentina.
But when asked about the reverence for Bielsa from his fellow coaches and players, Guardiola said: "That means more than the titles.
"Winning the titles is what helps you to have more jobs, but at the end of your life what you remember is not the titles you won. What you remember are the memories.
"I have the memories as a football player of what the manager would teach me, not the titles I won.
"We spent a bad night after the Arsenal game but the day after it's forgotten. When you win the title it's completely the same. What we remember are the experiences, the memories, the good moments. I think Marcelo is top of the list for this.
"The knowledge you have as a manager does not depend on results. The media and other people judge on results but the players judge the manager through the knowledge the manager has. There are no doubts about the quality of Bielsa."
'8-0 thrashing has no bearing on Watford clash'
City take on Watford on Tuesday - live on Sky Sports - with their hosts desperate for points in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Hornets will also be looking to avenge September's 8-0 league defeat at the Etihad Stadium - although Guardiola does not think that game holds any relevance ahead of the clash at Vicarage Road.
He said: "[It was] one century ago. It's impossible to replicate this. There's not even one reference about that game. The manager was different. We were playing to win the Premier League but now it is done. They are playing to survive but at that moment it was different. We cannot compare this."
City's visit will be Watford's first match since Nigel Pearson was sacked on Sunday, but Guardiola says the arrival of Hayden Mullins and Graham Stack in temporary charge has made his job easier.
"It makes our job easy [because] we don't have to watch games. I don't know the system they're going to use.
"We cannot help the players - they have to solve the situation for themselves. After five, 10, 15 minutes we'll know exactly what they thought to play against us.
"We will focus on the individual quality that the Watford players - especially up front - have."