On 11 June 2023, Pep Guardiola became the fourth manager to win atleast three times the UEFA Champions League (UCL) title when Manchester City defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul. The other two with three titles are Zinedine Zidane and Bob Paisley. Although, the current Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti remains the most successful one with four titles to his name from the dugout. However, it was the first UCL title for City in their history and Pep finally managed to hold that trophy since taking charge of this club in 2016.
After winning it while talking to BT Sport, the Spaniard said: “Tired, calm, satisfied of course … this fucking trophy, it’s so difficult to win it.” However, Guardiola’s journey to this third UCL title has not been easy. After winning two UCL trophies with that ‘Dream’ Barcelona side, he went to the German Giant, Bayern Munich. But, during his tenure, he failed to win it. Finally, his dream of winning this trophy for another time came to an end this year.
Here is his managerial career so far:
Barcelona B (2007 - 2008)
Under his guidance, the team won their Tercera Division group and then, qualified for the 2008 Segunda Division B Playoffs. The team did not disappoint as Pep managed to lead them to the promotion from the Spanish fourth tier.
FC Barcelona (2008 - 2012)
In his four years of tenure, Pep won record-breaking 14 trophies (2 x UCL, 3 x La Liga, 2 x Copa del Rey, 3 x Spanish Super Cups, 2 x European Super Cups, and 2 x FIFA Club World Cup). No manager has ever managed to give such amount of success to this Catalan club so far in their history.
Pep nurtured and promoted young players like Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Pedro, Sergio Busquets, David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, and Lionel Messi. During his time, Barca embraced the famous Spanish style of a play named ‘Tiki-Taka’.
FC Bayern Munich (2013 - 2016)
Pep Guardiola joined the German Giants in 2013. Bayern won the 2012-2013 UCL after defeating their arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund. So, fans were expecting a continuation of such momentum in the following years with the help of Pep. But, despite having star players to his service, he failed to win this prestigious trophy once in three years.
He won 7 trophies during his tenure (3 x Bundesliga, 2 x DFB-Pokal, 1 x UEFA Super Cup, and 1 x FIFA Club World Cup). Players like Toni Kroos, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Frank Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Phillip Lahm produced some brilliant performances. Yet, those were not enough to bring UCL to the club. In all three seasons, Bayern lost in the semi-final of the competition.
Manchester City FC (2016 - Present*)
After signing with City, Pep brought new players like Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Claudio Bravo, John Stones, and a few others. But, the first season at the Etihad was a trophyless one for him. But, after that until now, he has won 14 trophies (5 x Premier League, 2 x FA Cups, 4 x EFL Cups, 2 x Community Shields, and 1 x UCL). Under his guidance, Manchester City became the first team to win the league with 100 points in the 2017/18 season.
In the following season, they became the first England team to win a Domestic Treble. This season, he completed a Premier League three-peat (winning the league three consecutive years) and the historical European Treble. City have now become a force to reckon with world-class players like Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Ederson, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, and others. With this latest UCL triumph, he also became the first manager to achieve European Treble with two different clubs in history (FC Barcelona 2008/29, and Manchester City 2022/23).
*Pep has a contract until 2025 with City. But, reports have come out that after that, he might not extend as a managerial future in MLS could be on the cards with New York City FC (NYCFC).
Speaking about his individual awards, Pep has won the World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (2), European Coach of the Season, European Coach of the Year, UEFA Team of the Year Best Coach (2), FIFA World Coach of the Year, Globe Soccer Awards Coach Career Award, Globe Soccer Awards Coach of the Century, and many others (from each league).
His possession-oriented style of play might help City to conquer England, Europe, or maybe World in the coming years. Pep generally uses positioning, possession, and pressing as main tools to control and dominate the opposition. But, still, according to some football fans, Pep has not done such big achievements with a mediocre team. All three clubs that he has managed so far, are financially backed and with such quality players to his service, it’s not a big deal for him as per those fans. However, numbers and these trophies do not lie as with more time to come, Pep will look to shut down more critics as the debate over his achieving the ‘GOAT’ status will continue…
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