Manchester City reached the Champions League semi-finals after beating Atletico 1-0 on aggregate. For Guardiola, it was a truly special occasion.
It should be noted that, prior to the quarter-final matches, analysts of the best betting companies on the Bookmaker Ratings India website had no doubts about the success of the Cityzens. You could bet on their passage to the 1/2 with odds of 1.17, which corresponds to an 85% probability.
Josep Guardiola broke the record for Champions League semi-finals thanks to his side’s achievement. No coach has yet managed to reach this stage of the main European competition nine times. The Spaniard has previously shared top spot with Jose Mourinho (AS Roma) and Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) but is now solely in first place. Apart from Manchester City, Pep has led Barcelona and Bayern to the semi-finals. It seems that it won’t be long before Guardiola, rather than Mourinho, begins to be called special.
How the semi-finals became a curse for Guardiola
- Guardiola’s path to the record began at Barcelona. Everything was serene and wornderful at first. In their first season under Pep, the Catalans took the league title. While the final against Manchester United was a quiet one, the semi-final was a scandal. History and the fans will always remember that match against Chelsea, referee Evreba and Andrés Iguesta’s 93rd-minute goal.
- The following season, Barça reached the semi-finals again but lost 2-3 on aggregate to Inter, the champions. The legendary run by José Mourinho after the final whistle was the most memorable one.
- In the 2010/11 Champions League, Barcelona FC won the trophy by beating Manchester United. And in the semi-finals, the last Champions League classic in their history, the Catalans beat Real Madrid 1-3 on aggregate. The two sides have not met in the Champions League for 11 years.
- Barcelona qualified for the 2012 semi-finals again but were knocked out by Chelsea, who clinched the league title.
- After that, Guardiola’s life began a succession of losing semi-finals. He took charge of Bayern and for three seasons in a row he was one step away from the decisive match. In the Champions League in 2013/14, the Munich team were beaten 5-0 on aggregate in two games by Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, then on their way to their tenth title.
- In 2015, Bayern were thrashed in the semi-finals by Barcelona, who scored three unanswered goals on home soil. At home, Munich pulled themselves together, scoring three times but conceding twice more and missing the final by a score of 5-3
- Guardiola’s stay in Germany ended after the semi-final match against Atlético in 2016. Simeone’s side then, with the brilliant Antoine Griezmann, made it through to the Champions League final through the away goal rule. The Munich side struck 33 times on Jan Oblak’s goal, but Guardiola was unable to overcome the curse of the semi-final.
- In the summer of 2016, Pep arrived in Manchester. Tough times began, when it was difficult to reach even the semi-final stage. City, under Guardiola, did not manage to make it there until five years later. The English ran out 1-4 winners against PSG in 2021 and advanced to the final. But Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea did not let the Cityzens get the trophy.
After that, Guardiola didn’t have to wait five years. We will know very soon whether City will be able to beat Real Madrid and play in the final.
