Pep Guardiola: Not winning the Champions league would be a failure for Manchester City

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Pep Guardiola claims he will be regarded as a failure at Manchester City if he does not win the Champions League during his time there. Guardiola has won five major trophies since taking charge at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, including two Premier League titles, but they have so far been unable to turn domestic dominance into European silverware.pep-guardiola-man-city

Cityzens have not yet progressed beyond the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition under Guardiola, having been knocked out by Monaco, Liverpool, and Tottenham in the last three seasons.

Guardiola won the competition twice at Barcelona but could not repeat that feat at Bayern Munich, with his tenure at the German club considered by some as a disappointment, despite guiding his side to three successive Bundesliga crowns.

Guardiola won the Champions League twice while the manager of Barcelona and that European pedigree was believed to be one of the key reasons why Manchester City bought him to Etihad Stadium.pep-guardiola-man-city-manager

As a result, the 49-year-old accepts that he needs to win the trophy at City if he isn’t to be considered a failure, no matter how much domestic success he achieves. Guardiola opined:

“We will, of course, not just be judged on the way we play but the titles we win. That is the truth. It is as simple as that,”

“Last year was an extraordinary one for us but people say, ‘But you didn’t win the Champions League’. That is why I will be judged, if we don’t win it in my final period here, that I will be a failure here. I know that.

“But I enjoy working with my players and my players still win a lot of games. Winning a certain way is what helps you to win the titles and we believe we can play that way. We will see at the end.”

Mourinho returned to English football in November after succeeding Mauricio Pochettino and Guardiola says he can see the impact of both managers in Tottenham’s play. Adding to the things, Guardiola said:

“They are quite different but there are similarities. Their teams are both quite aggressive,”

“I saw Tottenham at Southampton and they were alive. They conceded a last-minute goal but I saw a team that is there.

“Every manager has different ideas, both are incredible managers. Mauricio Pochettino was there five or six years while Mourinho has been there just months, so all managers need time to make our teams play the way we want.”