“I’ve reached ten Champions League semifinals, I’ve played in three finals, won two… And now I’m going for my fourth title. The competition gave me more than I could have imagined. If my life ended today, I would have won one as a player at my club, as well as two as a manager, at my club.”
This is how Pep Guardiola expressed himself this week in an interview for UEFA on the eve of the 2023 Champions League final On Saturday, Manchester City and Inter will play at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
It won’t be just any party. Despite winning the European Cup as a player with FC Barcelona (1992) and two Champions as a coach (2009 and 2011), Twelve years without Guardiola winning at ‘Orejona’ and he knows that “if we want to take a certain step as a great club, we have to win in Europe. We have to win the Champions League, it’s inevitable”.
Guardiola always participates in the Champions League
Guardiola He has always participated in the Champions League since he took the reins of the Barça first team in 2008. He only stopped playing it in the 2012-2013 season, when he took a sabbatical after leaving the bench at Camp Nou under the impact of a KO in the semifinals against Chelsea.
In his three seasons in charge of Bayern Munich he also fell to the ‘semis’ and always against a Spanish team, first against Real Madrid, later against ‘his’ Barça and finally against Atlético.
KO in the round of 16 against Monaco by Mbappé
“This competition gave me many bad moments, which hurt me and are always in my mind”, admitted Guardiola, who arrived at City in 2016. In his first season at the Etihad, he did not get past the round of 16, losing twice as many goals in the opposite field against the surprise. Kylian Mbappe’s Monaco.
Guardiola is next consecutive falls in the quarterfinals in the following three seasons against Liverpool, Tottenham (again for double the amount of goals in the opposite field) and Lyon (with José Alvalade in Lisbon as neutral ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
Havertz, Guardiola’s executioner in the 2021 final
led by pep in 2021 City to the first Champions League final in its history but lost 1-0, a goal from Kai Havertzagainst Chelsea at Do Dragao in Porto.
Last season, Real Madrid’s incredible comeback left them on the doorstep of a final but this year he took revenge on the whites, as well as in the semifinals, before reaching Istanbul.
Guardiola in the Champions League: 103 wins in 164 games
Total Guardiola played 164 games in the Champions League as a coach (counting four from the previous stage) with balance 103 wins, 34 draws and 27 losses. But as he admitted, the work of all these years, “for many people”, will only have meaning if this Saturday he wins the first Champions League with City in the final this Saturday against Inter.
Pep’s 14 seasons in the Champions League
He has not won the title since 2011
Season 2008-2009 – Barcelona (Champion)
Final: Barcelona-Manchester United: 2-0
Season 2009-2010 – Barcelona (Semifinals)
First leg: Inter-Barcelona: 3-1
Return: Barcelona-Inter: 1-0
Season 2010-2011 – Barcelona (Champion)
Final: Barcelona-Manchester United: 3-1
Season 2011-2012 – Barcelona (Semifinals)
First leg: Chelsea-Barcelona: 1-0
Return: Barcelona-Chelsea: 2-2
Season 2013-2014 – Bayern Munich (Semifinals)
First leg: Real Madrid-Bayern Munich: 1-0
Second leg: Bayern Munich-Real Madrid: 0-4
2014-2015 season – Bayern Munich (Semifinals)
First leg: Barcelona-Bayern Munich: 3-0
Return: Bayern Munich-Barcelona: 3-2
2015-2016 season – Bayern Munich (Semifinals)
First leg: Atlético Madrid-Bayern Munich: 1-0
Return: Bayern Munich-Atlético Madrid: 2-1
Season 2016-2017 -Manchester City (Eighth)
First leg: Manchester City-Monaco: 5-3
Return: Monaco-Manchester City: 3-1
Season 2017-2018- Manchester City (Quarter)
First leg: Liverpool-Manchester City: 3-0
Return: Manchester City-Liverpool: 1-2
TheSeason 2018-1019 – Manchester City (Quarter)
First leg: Tottenham-Manchester City: 1-0
Return: Manchester City-Tottenham: 4-3
Season 2019-2020 – Manchester City (Quarter)
A single match (Lisbon): Manchester City-Lyon: 1-3
Season 2020-2021 – Manchester City (Finalist)
Final: Manchester City-Chelsea: 0-1
Season 2021-2022 – Manchester City (Semifinals)
First leg: Manchester City-Real Madrid: 4-3
Second leg: Real Madrid-Manchester City: 3-1
TheSeason 2022-2023 – Manchester City
Final: Manchester City-Inter
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
