Josep Guardiola was brought to Manchester City in a bid to break through to the Champions League, but a once-in-a-decade victory shows that even the greatest manager of his generation cannot guarantee sustained success in Europe’s top club competition.
Guardiola’s European campaign ended in yet another failure as City suffered a 5-1 aggregate defeat and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League for the fourth time in five years.
So why has the 55-year-old worked so hard to turn his days of domestic domination into repeat glory on the continental stage, or are the standards by which we measure him simply too high?
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Ben Ransom looks back at all the big stories from the night Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid
barça dream team
The Catalan player has always had a special relationship with the ‘big ear cups’, dating back to his days at Barcelona. Under coach Johan Cruyff, the smooth midfielder was part of the team that won the trophy for the first time in the club’s history in 1992.
Guardiola led Barcelona to two Champions League titles in 2009 and 2011.
The original “Dream Team” was crowned European Champion only once. However, upon returning to manage his boyhood club in 2008, Guardiola immediately led the club to Champions League glory in his debut season, then repeated the trick in 2011.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan team, which won the treble in 2009-10, and Pep’s brilliant Barça side, featuring Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández and Andres Iniesta, would have arguably become the first team to retain the trophy in the modern Champions League era.
Guardiola won the Champions League with Barcaion in 2009 and 2011
Still, all of Pep’s early dominance now seems like a long time ago.
A decade of suffering as Pep proved there was no guarantee of a Champions League
When Guardiola left Camp Nou 12 months ago and returned to the club in 2013 after a sabbatical, few would have believed that it would be another 10 years before he lifted the European Cup again.
Guardiola won three Bundesliga titles but was unable to lead Bayern to the Champions League.
But that was the case for Bayern Munich in the first place, and despite three consecutive Bundesliga wins, Guardiola, who was brought to Bayern to take Jupp Heynckes’ then European champions to the next level, lost in the semi-finals to their Spanish opponents and ended his three-year spell at the club without handing over a trophy.
Guardiola’s time in Munich was ultimately seen as a failure after failing to bring Bayern a sixth European title, but not for Man City, who were determined to take the Catalan to the Etihad to win trophies.
In 2019, Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs eliminated Guardiola’s City from the Champions League semi-finals.
Other domestic titles followed, many of which were not the Big One, but City were able to continue to hold their line on the continent.
Monaco (round of 16), Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur (who had a tough time in 2019 when Raheem Sterling’s last-gasp goal was ruled out for offside) and Lyon (quarter-finals) all saw their European dreams ended in his first four years in charge.
And Guardiola, who had reached the final for the first time in 10 years, outdid himself by leaving his main defensive midfielders Rodri and Fernandinho out of the starting lineup after an unexpected 1-0 loss to Chelsea.
Slight margin and luck of the draw
When Pep finally lifted his third trophy as manager on his way to City’s treble in 2023, many thought the landmark victory would be a springboard for further success in the years to come.
Instead, City will face perennial powerhouse Real Madrid. The 15-time champions are the only team to beat Real Madrid in the finals since losing to Chelsea five years ago.
Ancelotti beat Guardiola in the Champions League finals in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Among these reversals, there were also heartbreaking ones. For example, in the 2021-22 season, City looked like they were one step away from reaching the final, but Karim Benzema single-handedly equalized late on at the Bernabéu.
There was further sting two years later when Los Blancos defeated a thrilling last-eight run 4-3 on penalties at the Etihad, but Pep’s arch-rivals were at it again last season, defeating struggling City 6-3 on aggregate in the play-offs.
Is the glass half full or empty?
Tuesday’s match against Real will be Guardiola’s 191st Champions League game as manager, with 117 of those being wins, with only Carlo Ancelotti having a better record.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
After Man City’s defeat by Real Madrid and their expulsion from the Champions League, Pep Guardiola admitted his team was “not complete” compared to his previously successful teams.
In fact, the veteran Italian, who like Guardiola won a European Cup as a player, is the only manager to have won more trophies.
Guardiola watches as Bernardo Silva leaves the field after being sent off for handball in Tuesday’s match against Real.
Guardiola has signed a contract with City for at least another year and after the recent defeat to Madrid he hinted that he intends to return next season for a further challenge in the competition and a possible fourth Champions League appearance, which would take him closer to the top of the league with five titles.
Guardiola, who defeated Inter to lift the Champions League trophy in 2023, has finally won it again.
But at the same time, with a record of managing the strongest teams in Germany and England over the past 15 years, reaching two finals and winning the Champions League only once – Jurgen Klopp reached four finals with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in the same period – is it really a good return for a manager of Pep’s caliber?
Sunday, March 22nd 3:30pm
4:30pm kickoff
