Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Norwich City and Manchester City at Carrow Road in Norwich, eastern England on September 14, 2019. - Norwich won the game 3-2. (Photo by Lindsey Parnaby / AFP)

LONDON, BALIPOST.com – After a series of painful Champions League failures, Pep Guardiola is on a mission to seal his Manchester City legacy by finally getting his hands on the trophy again.

City start their latest bid to win the club’s first European Cup with a trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Group C opener on Wednesday.

The long flight to the Ukraine will give Guardiola plenty of time to ponder his curious streak of Champions League flops in recent years.

Baca juga:  PSG suffer defeat at Rennes with 16-year-old in starring role

Guardiola has conquered English football spectacularly after winning the last two Premier League titles, the first in record-breaking fashion and the second as part of an unprecedented domestic treble last season.

Yet the Champions League has proved impossible for Guardiola to master since he arrived at the Etihad Stadium.

In fact, Europe’s elite club competition has been a cruel mistress for Guardiola for most of the last decade, with a series of frustrating exits during his spells in charge of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

Baca juga:  Community Shield win is perfect prep for Liverpool rivalry: Guardiola

Guardiola first won the Champions League as a manager in 2009 with Barcelona.

But he has failed to reach the semi-finals in any of his three seasons as City boss, extending his long wait to win the tournament for the third time — his second triumph coming with Barca in 2011.

City’s best Champions League run was under Guardiola’s predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, who made the semi-finals in the last season before the Spaniard took over.

Baca juga:  Nerve-riddled Osaka relieved by 'razzle dazzle' US Open win

And Guardiola’s inability to win the Champions League without Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi in his team is a black mark his critics use to question the 48-year-old’s right to be ranked as a managerial legend.

While that assessment is harsh on the innovative and inspirational Guardiola, his European campaigns with City have undoubtedly been painful experiences that exposed the few flaws in his team. (AFP)

 

BAGIKAN

TINGGALKAN BALASAN

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

CAPCHA *