Pep Guardiola: Decoding his managerial Champions League winning campaigns
Pep Guardiola is regarded as one of the best football managers of all time. The Spaniard has managed some of the best football clubs across Europe and has won the UEFA Champions League thrice. He won it twice with Barcelona followed by last season's UCL crown for Manchester City. Guardiola is one of the most successful managers in Europe's elite competition. Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
Guardiola has managed teams like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City and has had success with all the clubs. The Spaniard won two UCL titles with the Blaugrana while failing to win any with the Bavarians. He won the UCL crown again with City last season, completing the treble for the second time in his managerial career.
Historic Champions League title for Guardiola at Barcelona
Guardiola in his first season in 2008-09 won the the treble with Barcelona. That Barcelona team is still considered one of the greatest football teams. They also became the first-ever Spanish team to win the UCL, La Liga and Copa del Rey. Barcelona registered 27 wins, amassing 87 points, nine more than second-placed Real Madrid. They defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the UCL final.
Breaking down their 2008-09 Champions League campaign
Barcelona topped Group C with four out of six group-stage matches in the 2008-09 Champions League. Barca beat Lyon in R16, Bayern Munich in the quarters, and Chelsea in the semis. Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi scored in the 2-0 win over Manchester United. Messi finished the campaign as the leading goal-scorer with nine goals. While Xavi led the assists charts with seven.
Second Champions League title for Guardiola at Barcelona
Barcelona won their fourth UCL title in the 2010-11 season while it was Guardiola's second at the Spanish club. The Blaugrana almost won the treble again but missed out on the Copa del Rey as they lost to Real Madrid in the final. They defeated Manchester United in the UCL final (3-1). Barcelona also won the La Liga with 96 points, registering 30 wins.
Breaking down their 2010-11 Champions League campaign
Barcelona won four of their six group-stage games in the 2010-11 UCL campaign as they topped Group D with 14 points. They defeated Arsenal, Shakhtar, Real Madrid and United in the knockouts. Messi with 12 goals was the leading goal-scorer in the 2010-11 UCL campaign. Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta finished as the joint second-highest assist provider in that campaign with five assists.
Guardiola guided Manchester City to their maiden Champions League title
It took Guardiola 12 years to win the UCL again with Manchester City in a historic 2022-23 season. He won his second treble as a manager. They became the second English club after Manchester United to win the treble. City defeated Inter to lift their maiden UCL crown. They won their third PL title on the bounce with 89 points from 28 wins.
Breaking down their 2022-23 Champions League campaign
Manchester City won four out of six UCL group stage games in the 2022-23 season. Their two draws came against Copenhagen and Dortmund. City defeated Leipzig, Bayern, Real Madrid and Inter in the knockouts. Erling Haaland led the goals charts with 12 goals in the UCL campaign. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne was the leading assist provider with seven assists in the 2022-23 UCL campaign.
The third manager to complete 100 UCL wins
City's 2022-23 UCL semi-final win over Real Madrid was Guardiola's 100th UCL victory. He became the third manager to achieve this feat after Carlo Ancelotti (110) and Alex Ferguson (102). Guardiola has 105 wins from 163 UCL games. 52 of these wins have come at City, while 23 came at Bayern and 30 at Barcelona. He is the fastest to win 100 UCL games.
