Facing an Inter team that is weaker in all aspects in the Champions League final presents an unprecedented opportunity for Pep Guardiola to clinch his personal third Champions League title and put an end to his unlucky streak with this prestigious trophy.
Read the special issue "30 years of the Champions League" In the 1992/93 season, the Champions League was born out of the aftermath of a football disaster and transformed into a grand stage, a prestigious arena, and the most successful football brand in history. To commemorate the 30 years of the Champions League, the Football Magazine presents a special edition with many outstanding, fascinating, and exclusive articles for readers.
Throughout his illustrious career, Lionel Messi was widely recognized only after winning the World Cup 2022 with Argentina. A similar situation is occurring with Pep, as there are conflicting opinions about whether he is the greatest coach in history.
Kevin De Bruyne emphasized that regardless of the outcome of the Manchester City - Inter final, his class and talent remain unaffected, even in the slightest. Pep has already achieved enough titles to establish himself as the football genius of the world.
The greatness of Pep is evidenced by him becoming the third coach to reach the milestone of 100 victories on the Champions League sideline. Specifically, after the 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid in this season's second leg of the semi-finals, Pep has reached 100 victories, trailing only Sir Alex Ferguson (102 victories) and Carlo Ancelotti (107).
This also means that Pep will have to wait until the next season to equal and surpass the two legendary football managers.
Notably, while Ancelotti and Sir Alex needed 191 and 190 matches, respectively, to achieve that number of victories, the Spanish coach only needed 158 matches to join the "100 Club". Among the 100 victories mentioned, 47 matches were with Manchester City, 23 with Bayern, and 30 with Barcelona.
Furthermore, Pep ranks fourth on the list of coaches with the most matches in the prestigious European competition, with 158 matches, behind Ancelotti, Ferguson, and Arsene Wenger (178 matches). Among the top four, only Carletto is still working, while Sir Alex and the "French Professor" have already left the stage.
Pep has led Manchester City to win all domestic titles but has yet to touch the prestigious Champions League trophy. However, this season, The Citizens are aiming for a historic treble.
After completing the domestic double and winning the FA Cup, Pep's Manchester City only needs one victory against Inter to achieve the historic treble. If successful, Pep will become the fourth coach to win three Champions League/C1 titles, following Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane, and Bob Paisley.
Currently, Pep is among the 17 coaches who have won the prestigious trophy twice. However, these successes were during his time at Barcelona (2009, 2011). Since leaving Barcelona, the 52-year-old coach has not touched the glory of European competition. This fact has led many to doubt Pep's abilities.
After the victory in the semi-finals against Real Madrid, Pep mentioned the "painful season" of 2021/22, where his team lost to Ancelotti's Real Madrid in the most dramatic fashion, similar to the 0-1 defeat to Chelsea in the 2020/21 Champions League final. Now, he wants to erase the "curse" of not being able to win the most prestigious European tournament since leaving Barcelona.
If he achieves that with Manchester City this season, no one will question Pep anymore. And of course, if Pep and The Citizens overcome Inter on the morning of June 11, he will become the fifth coach in history to win the Champions League with two different teams.
Before Pep, only Ancelotti (Milan 2003, 2007; Real 2014, 2022), Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983), Jupp Heynckes (Real 1998, Bayern 2013), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund 1997, Bayern 2001), and Jose Mourinho (Porto 2004, Inter 2010) achieved this remarkable feat.
Furthermore, Pep is currently one of the seven individuals who have won the Champions League/C1 both as a player and as a coach, alongside Ancelotti, Zidane, Johan Cruyff, Miguel Munoz, Frank Rijkaard, and Giovanni Trapattoni. Clearly, there is almost no "feast" that Pep has not attended.
The only person who can make Ferguson tremble and Ancelotti scratch his head is Pep, and he deserves the highest achievement with The Citizens to dispel any doubts. However, it won't be easy for Pep and his players. He previously lost to Inter in the 2009/10 semi-finals while leading Barcelona, and at that time, the Italian team was led by Mourinho, who went on to win the title.
Nevertheless, if Pep wants to continue making history, there is no other path than victory. And if Pep's Manchester City does not win the title now, when will they?
