How Pep Guardiola inspired Dominik Szoboszlai’s BIZARRE nickname at Liverpool | OneFootball

It may have been unintentional, but Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is behind Dominik Szoboszlai’s nickname at Liverpool.

Last season, following November's Premier League clash between the Reds and Manchester City, Guardiola spoke about the 23-year-old midfielder during a press conference. Edit Edit date and time

Szoboszlai, who was signed from RB Leipzig for £60 million the previous summer, was already making a big impact with a series of standout performances.

While praising the Reds' key players, including Mohamed Salah, and new signings Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, Guardiola accidentally mispronounced the Hungarian’s name which went viral.

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Players joke over Szobo's nickname

Liverpool supporters were left stunned at the time as they couldn't get their heads around how the City boss got it so wrong.

Almost a year on, it's clear Guardiola's mispronunciation has stuck, with Szoboszlai’s team-mates affectionately calling him "Svolzai" as a light-hearted reminder.

In Liverpool's latest video unveiling the first-team's FC25 ratings, Diogo Jota was given the difficult task of spelling Szoboszlai's name. This was a gift for Wataru Endo and Gravenberch, who were both laughing as they called the midfielder 'Svolazi'.

Szoboszlai was also in stitches, proclaiming "finally" after Jota nailed the correct spelling in the end.

Dominik's nickname also caught on with the Hungarian national team at this summer's Euros.

Speaking to ITV Sport ahead of their group-stage fixture against Scotland in June, the Liverpool midfielder opened up about the moniker and how it had stuck.

"Before a game against Manchester City, Guardiola didn't manage to say my name properly," he explained.

"He pronounced my name like 'Svolzai'. I'll be called this for a while because [my Hungary team-mate] András Schäfer liked it a lot."

With Szoboszlai already registering two assists in three matches in the Premier League, matching his total tally from last season, the nickname might be around for the foreseeable future!

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