Pep Guardiola and Man City vs Real Madrid – premier class curse lifted

Goal 1. Champions League victory

In the failure of the very best, Pep Guardiola finds an incentive for the next attempt at Europe’s football crown. Basketball icon Michael Jordan and golf legend Jack Nicklaus were by no means always winners, the coach said with a view to his previously fruitless hunt for the Champions League triumph with Manchester City. “They lose more than they win. It’s sport,” said Guardiola. In the semifinals against the title machine Real Madrid, the coach of the “Citizens” doesn’t want to have to explain another grandiose failure.

“If you want to win this competition, you have to beat Real Madrid,” said Guardiola before the first leg at the defending champion on Tuesday (9 p.m. / Prime Video). Last year City didn’t succeed. After an insane 4-3 at home, the English lost the second leg in Madrid 3-1 after extra time after conceding late goals. In Guardiola’s seventh attempt to win the “premier class” with City, the record winner is again in the way. Guardiola’s teams have won 12 of 21 direct meetings, but only three of the last eight.

Yaya Touré’s agent has curse lifted on Man City’s Pep Guardiola

Meanwhile, the Catalan no longer has to deal with a curse once uttered by his ex-captain Yaya Touré’s advisor, Dmitriy Seluk – if he ever did. “I can say that the ban has now been lifted by the shamans – and that I believe that under Pep City will win the Champions League,” Seluk said.DailyMirrorquoted.

The background is as curious as this quote itself. Touré, whom Guardiola also coached at FC Barcelona for two years, was Man City’s figurehead for years. When the coach moved from FC Bayern to Manchester in 2016, this status gradually crumbled until the Ivorian and the “Citizens” parted ways in 2018. Seluk then had African shamans cast a curse on Guardiola that he would not add a third to his two Champions League wins with FC Barcelona. “I would like to apologize for this matter,” the advisor said. “I think it’s time this bitterness ended – and I know Yaya feels the same way because he wants nothing but success for City.” Wander part of Manchester, he prophesied.

Haaland the crucial piece of the puzzle for Pep Guardiola’s Man City?

There is no doubt that the handle pot for the city, which is supported with billions from Abu Dhabi, is above all, even if a triple beckons this season. In the Premier League, Guardiola’s side are on course to retain the title and win their fifth championship in six years. In the FA Cup final, his team is the favorite against local rivals Manchester United (June 3). But the national trophies would only be consolation prizes if the triumph in the Champions League were to fail again.

Guardiola has already conquered this trophy twice. However, the memories of the final victories with FC Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 have faded somewhat. With FC Bayern, the Spaniard was eliminated three times in a row in the semi-finals, once with a crash against Real Madrid, who were also coached by Carlo Ancelotti at the time. Even then he had to endure the criticism that he had lost his chances for the title with overly cerebral tactical experiments. Guardiola made similar allegations in the lost 2021 final with City against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.

Erling Haaland in particular could ensure that things go differently this time. The super scorer with a record rate gives Manchester’s football artists a brutally effective escalation that has often been missing in recent years. RB Leipzig had to experience this painfully in the round of 16 and FC Bayern in the quarter-finals, when the 22-year-old Norwegian scored seven goals in four games. The fact that Haaland did not take a penalty as planned in the unadorned 2-1 win against Leeds and selflessly left the ball to Ilkay Gündogan (32) made Guardiola very angry. “You have to do it. Erling, you have to shoot it,” the coach shouted after Gündogan had just hit the post. Guardiola wants maximum success – and Haaland is his man for it.

To home page