IT HARDLY seems fair on the rest of football when one man can walk into the top job at three of the world’s biggest clubs and have the likes of Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Aguero at his disposal.

Yet the sun always seems to shine on former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City side have a historic quadruple in their sights this season.

The FA Cup is one of the few trophies 48-year-old Guardiola has yet to get his Catalonian hands on, with Chelsea and Wigan Athletic dashing City’s hopes in the last two campaigns.

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Newport County will hope to do the same this evening when the stars from the Etihad venture to Rodney Parade for a much-anticipated fifth-round tie.

In Guardiola, Exiles boss Michael Flynn comes face-to-face with a man boasting a CV that any manager in the history of the game would be proud of.

His playing career wasn’t lacking in accolades either.

With Barcelona, he won six La Liga titles, the European Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup, European Super Cup and Copa del Ray.

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On the international stage, Guardiola won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, 47 caps for Spain and played at the 1994 World Cup and European Championships in 2000. He also made seven appearances for Catalonia.

After retiring and then impressing as boss of Barcelona’s B team, Guardiola was handed the reins of the first-team squad in the summer of 2008.

And what an impact he made as Barca claimed the Champions League crown, La Liga title and Copa del Ray trophy.

They also brought the Club World Cup, European Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup back to the Nou Camp before the end of 2009.

Two more league championships followed, as did another Champions League triumph, and Club World Cup, Super Cup and Copa del Ray.

Guardiola accepted a new challenge at Bayern Munich in 2013 and the trophies just kept on coming – three Bundesliga titles, the German Cup twice, Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Having moved to Manchester after three seasons in Bavaria, the Spaniard won the Premier League for the first time last May, with City finishing the campaign on 100 points.

One of the best ways to reflect on what Guardiola has done in management is to take on board the thoughts of those who have worked under him.

Argentinean maestro Messi said: “We had a great time when Pep was here (Barcelona). We won a lot of titles and I grew a lot – that was the time when I grew most as a footballer. We had a fantastic relationship when he was here.”

Former Bayern captain Phillip Lahm added: “With Pep it’s more than just about winning trophies. You’re always measured by the number of trophies but he developed a lot of players with the way he thinks about tactics, the way he analyses games and prepares teams for particular opponents.”