Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to their iconic UCL win last May, completing the first treble in the club’s history. The win also marked Guardiola’s first UCL trophy in 12 years after last winning the competition with Barcelona in 2011. With last season’s triumph, Guardiola sealed his spot as one of the most successful managers in the competition’s history.
The Spaniard returned from back surgery to lead City to a 3-1 win over Crvena Zvezda as City look to defend their UCL title. Before City’s UCL opener yesterday, Pep Guardiola acknowledged Carlo Ancelotti’s record in the competition as he aims to leapfrog the legendary Italian manager to become UCL’s most successful coach.
Guardiola jokes about chasing Ancelotti’s UCL glory
Carlo Ancelotti is the most successful coach in UCL history. The Italian has won the competition four times, twice with Real Madrid including the famous La Decima in 2013, and twice with AC Milan. With four UCL titles, Ancelotti sits at the summit of the all-time greats, with Pep Guardiola keenly following behind with three UCL trophies, twice with Barcelona and last season’s triumph for Manchester City.
“I cannot beat him because I won one as a football player, but he as a football player won three or four more”, the City boss told TNT Sports.
“You can never beat Ancelotti when it comes to Champions League trophies. I am younger than him, so I have more time, but honestly, it is not a target.”, Guardiola concluded.
The reality is that Pep has more than enough time to not just catch up with the Italian but also surpass him. This season will be Ancelotti’s last in charge of Real Madrid as he has reportedly agreed to take up the role to be the next coach of the Brazilian national team.
With City being strong favourites this season, Guardiola may have the chance to level up with Ancelotti and even improve his number of wins in the competition, where he currently sits third with 101 victories, behind Sir Alex Ferguson (102) and Carlo Ancelotti (108).
When did Pep Guardiola win UCL with Pep Guardiola?
Guardiola’s dominance over Manchester United didn’t just start when he became Manchester City’s manager. The Spaniard was in charge of Barcelona when the Catalan side did a double over United in 2009 and 2011, beating Sir Alex Ferguson’s high-flying United side.
Barcelona beat United 2-0 in 2009, including a magical Lionel Messi header to lift the trophy in what happened to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last game for United before he moved to Real Madrid that summer.
In another encounter in the final of the 2011 UCL, Guardiola’s Barcelona dropped another masterclass to secure a 3-1 over United. This was Guardiola’s last UCL triumph until his 2023 Champions League title with Manchester City.
Can Pep Guardiola lead Manchester City to another treble-winning campaign this season?
