Pep Guardiola: Manchester City boss needs Champions League win to end time at club
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City boss needs Champions League win to end time at club
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Manchester City reached the Champions League final under Pep Guardiola in 2021 but were beaten by Premier League rivals Chelsea
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his time at the club will ‘not be complete’ if they don’t win the Champions League.
Guardiola extended his contract with City until 2025 as the Premier League season for the World Cup rolled around.
City have won nine major trophies since becoming manager in 2016 but they are yet to win a European title.
They came closest to winning the Champions League in 2021 but were beaten by Chelsea in the final.
Aside from the recent defeat in Portugal, they were beaten by Real Madrid in last season’s semi-finals, lost three times in the quarter-finals and began Guardiola’s tenure with a last-16 defeat by Monaco.
“It’s not the only one but I admit it’s the trophy we want and my time here won’t end if we don’t win it,” said Guardiola.
“I’ll do anything in the time we have together, but I would say the same thing beforehand. It’s the trophy we don’t have and we’re going to try to create it. I feel like they got it sooner or later.” “
City were drawn against German club RB Leipzig in the round of 16 of this year’s competition.
This season, City are aiming to become just the fifth club to win the English title in three consecutive seasons and host Liverpool in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Thursday.
Guardiola has won the trophy four times, joining Brian Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho as the most successful manager in the history of the competition.
However, City are handicapped because they had 16 players at the World Cup.
Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Spanish duo Rodri and Aymeric Laporte returned to training earlier this week and will be available as veteran players against the Reds alongside Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez.
“Step by step they are coming back,” said Guardiola. “We’re glad they’re back.
“I feel like those who were at the World Cup are in better shape than the players who weren’t because the players who weren’t there lack the rhythm.”
Guardiola praised 22-year-old striker Julian Alvarez, who was one of Argentina’s standout stars in the country’s World Cup triumph in Qatar this month.
He also praised Lionel Messi, with whom he enjoyed great success at Barcelona, and former City defender Nicolas Otamendi.
“We’re happy for Julian, he played a lot, his contribution was great for the team,” said the city coach.
“We have a world champion in our team. We are incredibly happy for him. Congratulations to him and Otamendi and personally to Messi. To Argentina, well deserved.”
‘Support your team’
The respective chief executives of Manchester City and Liverpool, Ferran Soriano and Billy Hogan, have written to both supporter groups ahead of the tie, calling for calm after a series of clashes over games between the clubs in recent seasons.
At Anfield in October, City smashed the windscreen of their team bus while their fans sang about the tragedies that struck Liverpool so hard.
And Guardiola echoed that message, saying he wants fans to focus on the game.
“Be a supporter and support your team unconditionally,” he said. “Enjoy the game with the quality players on both sides.”
