The Manchester City coach is pursuing another European crown, aiming to lift the coveted trophy again.
Pep Guardiola eyes another UEFA Champions League triumph in the current era, aware it would mark a historic milestone for Manchester City as the club seeks its first European title.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, City reached the semi-finals of the continental competition, where they faced Real Madrid, the team that had eliminated them in the previous season.
Guardiola spoke candidly about the challenge of winning Europe’s top prize in the press conference ahead of the draw with Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid. “When I arrived I believed I would win it, and I still believe that today. The mentality remains the same. We will try again,” he stated.
City consistently appears among the favorites to lift the Champions League, and Guardiola continues to pursue another trophy in the coaching career that also includes remarkable success with prior clubs. The legend of his career as a manager includes a landmark European triumph with Barcelona and enduring runs at several European giants.
AS A PLAYER
The former Barcelona midfielder won the tournament in the 1991-1992 season, a breakthrough that came in what was also his first year with the blaugrana. He started in the final against Sampdoria, a match remembered for Ronald Koeman’s iconic goal at Wembley.
Although he did not repeat the feat as a player for Barcelona again in subsequent seasons, the career yielded European Super Cups in 1992-93 and 1997-98, along with the Recopa in 1996-1997.
When was the last time Guardiola won the UEFA Champions League?
AS A COACH
As a coach, Guardiola captured the Champions League in his first season in charge of Barcelona, triumphing in 2008-2009 against Manchester United in a Rome final. He repeated the feat in 2010-2011, again facing United, at Wembley, marking the second time he claimed Europe’s top prize.
In the 2009-10 and 2011-12 campaigns, also with Barcelona, he was eliminated in the semi-finals by teams that would eventually ascend as champions, Inter and Chelsea respectively.
During his tenure at Bayern Munich he faced semifinal eliminations in 2014, 2015, and 2016 against Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético de Madrid.
Moving to Manchester City, Guardiola endured several early exits from the knockout stages, including a round of 16 loss to Monaco and a quarterfinal defeat to Liverpool. He later oversaw a dramatic 4-4 draw that ended with a loss to Tottenham in 2018-19 and a quarterfinal exit to Olympique Lyon in 2019-20.
In the 2020-2021 season he finally reached the final again, a decade after his first European final with Barcelona, but City fell 0-1 to Chelsea. It marked the first time Guardiola had lost a Champions League final as a coach, underscoring the high-stakes nature of Europe’s premier competition.
Source: Goal