MY ACCOUNT
Pep Guardiola has a familiar face standing in the way of him finally winning the Champions League with Manchester City.
The Catalan coach will go head-to-head with ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel — now in charge of Bayern Munich — in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.
It is the first time the two managers have met in Europe since the German’s Blues side defeated Guardiola’s Citizens in the final of the competition in 2020-21.
Ahead of the first leg at the Etihad tonight, we turn the spotlight on the respected duo’s decade-long rivalry.
Pep on top
Guardiola and Tuchel are undoubtedly two of modern football’s most successful managers, with 31 major trophies between them.
The City manager’s glittering career sees him account for 24 of those, while he also edges out the former Borussia Dortmund boss 2-1 in terms of Champions League titles.
Further dominance has seen Guardiola claim victory in six of 10 meetings between the pair, with three wins for his adversary alongside a solitary draw.
So while Tuchel has certainly claimed some high-profile successes during their previous meetings, there is no doubt he trails in the overall battle.
Key wins for Tuchel
But those three wins for Tuchel will still sting his Spanish counterpart.
The victories all came within a six-week spell between April and May 2021, which saw Chelsea claim crucial wins over City in both the FA Cup semi-finals and Champions League final.
Guardiola came in for heavy criticism after that defeat in Lisbon as his tactical gamble to play without a defensive midfielder backfired heavily, meaning his wait for a first Champions League title since 2011 went on.
Speaking about the showpiece defeat, which remains the closest City have come to Champions League glory, he said: “I was sad but I congratulated him and Chelsea for the victory. It happened.
“We try again. Defeats and victories stick at the same level. It is forgotten just the same. I don’t pay attention to what happened in the past. It’s part of the game.
“I reviewed the game a month ago and it was not as bad as I thought. It was a tight game, like they always have been against Chelsea in this period.”
Mutual respect
There is plenty of admiration between the two tacticians, both of whom favour an expansive, possession-based approach to the game even if it materialises differently on the field.
Guardiola said last year of his opposite number: “He’s so creative. One of the few managers I learn constantly from to develop as a better manager.
“[He is] excellent in all departments. I enjoyed him since he was in Mainz. I enjoy watching his teams and the way he’s playing and the approach. He makes world football better.”
And when the 52-year-old was still in charge of Bayern, then Dortmund boss Tuchel said: “Guardiola is the best, even if he doesn’t like to admit it.
“His time at Barcelona really left a lasting impression on me. As a fan I learnt so much. Barcelona under Pep was the benchmark for me.”
A new battle
This quarter-final clash had all the makings of a classic even before Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann in Bavaria only last month.
It sees Guardiola come to blows with his former side for the first time since departing Munich for Manchester in 2016.
A Champions League trophy eluded him during his time with the six-time kings of Europe, so he will be more determined than ever to ensure they do not engineer his downfall this time around.
Tuchel has made a strong start to his Die Roten tenure, securing Bundesliga wins over fellow high-fliers Dortmund and Freiburg — though he did also suffer a DFB-Pokal defeat to the latter.
Guardiola has beaten Tuchel twice since that night in Lisbon but victory in this tie may be the only way to truly lay the demons from that defeat to rest.
