Repeat or revenge as Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel face off again on Europe’s grandest stage
Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel have shared the stage many times, and both will once again take centre stage when Manchester City take on Bayern Munich this week.
It’s a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie, but the stakes remain very high as both managers seek to take their team to the last four of the competition. The first leg is at the Etihad on Tuesday (April 11).
The last time Guardiola and Tuchel met in Europe was in May 2021, when the German masterminded Chelsea’s second Champions League crown after beating City 1-0 in the final.
That victory marked Tuchel’s third win in a row against Guardiola. Although the Spaniard has inflicted two defeats on his rival since then, nothing comes close to the loss he suffered in the Champions League final two years ago.
As the pair prepare to face off once again on Tuesday evening, hostilities will be renewed as Guardiola aims for revenge while Tuchel looks to get another one over the Cityzens boss.
A decade-long rivalry
It’s been 14 months since Guardiola and Tuchel last faced each other, but their intense rivalry stretches over a decade.
When Tuchel was the manager of Mainz, he suffered two damaging defeats to Guardiola, who was then managing Bayern. Their rivalry continued when the former moved to Dortmund and would reach its peak when he later joined Chelsea. While Guardiola has enjoyed more success in terms of trophies won, Tuchel has done very well to write himself into the list of elite coaches.
That's why when Bayern saw the opportunity to have him on board, they immediately took it. The current Bayern team isn’t as strong or organised as the teams of old, but Tuchel has proven to be a manager who can turn things aroun. So, it will be exciting to see how he fares against his old foe Guardiola in their latest contest.
What Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel have said ahead of latest meeting?
Manchester City and Guardiola have the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on Tuchel, who denied the Cityzens their first Champions League two years ago.
The narrative, thogh, is different in Germany, where Bayern and Tuchel see it as a chance to prove to the rest of Europe that, despite their domestic struggles, they're still among the best.
"Bayern are not a team built just to think it’s going to happen in the second leg. They will come here to win,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. "From my experience when I was there, it doesn’t matter where you play - you have to be Bayern Munich and try to win.
Tuchel equally has a lot of respect for the Spaniard but believes past results won’t matter, as he told Sky Sports:
"It's unique what Pep does. We'll try to find solutions, but we'll need a complete performance to create problems for City. We did not mention this (2021) final, and we will not do it. That would feel very awkward for me. We focus now on our team."
It’s repeat or revenge for two of the most respected managers of their generation. While fans of Manchester City and Bayern will watch the game on tenterhooks, this will be a box office delight for neutrals.