Pep Guardiola won the UEFA Champions League at his first time of asking.

Leading a crop of Barcelona superstars to a European triumph, his style was distinctive and it earned him a distinction as one of the best managers in the history of football.

It’s been a decade since the last time Guardiola placed his hands on the UEFA Champions League, no thanks to near misses, tragic losses, and some overthought approaches to big situations, and of course the VAR.

In the final this year against Chelsea, the Spaniard has another opportunity to add to his rich collection of European triumphs. Widely-travelled, highly successful, undoubtedly skilled in the art of coaching, what happens in Porto will go a long way in determining what perception football fans make of Guardiola’s pep talks, his thoughts, and an almost theatric display on the bench.

Quarter-losses: A Whole Tragedy

Manchester City under Guardiola lost in the quarterfinal of the Champions League four times. A semifinal berth looked impossible for the team with old problems always finding a way to resurface.

The pressure must have lived rent-free in Guardiola’s head, as he took over a team that had made it to the semifinal of the same competition under Chilean manager, Manuel Pellegrini.

In the Citizens’ exit to Monaco in the 2016/17 season, PSG star, Kylian Mbappe announced himself as a teenage wonder kid to the world. A combination of powerful displays by Bernardo Silva, who coincidentally is now at the Etihad, Tiemoue Bakayoko, and Fabinho ensured the Principality club made it to the semifinal of Europe’s elite competition.

If the excuse then was Guardiola not having his dream team to work with, another disappointing exit to Liverpool in the following season was a bite on the face. Overthinking and tinkering excessively again, the Reds gave Man City their marching orders in Europe and made it to the final where they lost to Real Madrid.

Guardiola’s English debacle continued in 2019, as Tottenham snatched another semifinal place right under the nose of Manchester City. Raheem Sterling must have thought he has given City a place in the semifinal but a wicked VAR ruling ensured they’d have to wait another year to make progress past what had become a mental finish line.

Perhaps the most disappointing of all, and one which caused serious doubts being raised about Manchester City’s European credentials was the loss to Lyon. Played as a one-legged fixture due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Citizens failed at a grand stage again, in the same place, firmly rooted to their old spots. It however sent a signal that there’s the need to fix old troubles with new solutions.

Ruben Dias – Change Doesn’t Cost A Lifetime, But A Fortune

In Guardiola’s four successive European failures, the constant missing link was a team that needed to hold its own when the stage is grand. The talents were amazing and were probably some of the best in Europe but without the right investments at times, they came short.

The former Bayern Munich manager has spent a huge fortune on defensive signings alone and it took him four years to get the missing piece in the jigsaw.

Ruben Dias will be in his homeland of Portugal when Man City faces Chelsea in the final in Porto and Guardiola must be delighted he took that one right step to plugging his team’s leakages.

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