Pep's Camp Nou nightmares and Zidane glory – when Champions League coaches face former clubs

By Sports Desk March 17, 2023

The Champions League quarter-final draw threw up no shortage of intrigue – particularly for Pep Guardiola.

The Manchester City manager will face Bayern Munich for the first time since leaving Germany in 2016.

But that is not the only reunion in the last eight as Carlo Ancelotti again goes back to Chelsea 12 months on from an epic tie at the same stage last season.

It might not be Ancelotti's last meeting with a former side either, potentially facing Bayern in the semi-finals and then Napoli or Milan in the final.

The Madrid coach has a mixed record facing sides he has previously coached, however, while Guardiola has some painful memories to get over.

Stats Perform looks at how the most dominant coaches of the modern era have fared against former teams...

Carlo Ancelotti (P14 W3 D5 L6)

The Italian eliminated two of his former employers en route to winning the Champions League in 2021-22, with dramatic comebacks against both Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

And Ancelotti's first European crown as a coach came courtesy of Milan beating Juventus on penalties in the 2003 final.

There was another victory against Juventus while in his first stint with Madrid back in 2013-14, winning at the Santiago Bernabeu in the group stage.

Yet after that match, Ancelotti went nine without a win in the Champions League against clubs he had previously coached, finally ending that run with the second-leg victory against PSG last season.

That miserable sequence included a semi-final loss to Juve in 2015 when Madrid were defending champions, along with crashing out at the quarter-final stage against Madrid while in charge of Bayern in 2016-17.

In September 2017, Bayern lost 3-0 to PSG, prompting Ancelotti's sacking. It is fair to say he has bounced back.

Pep Guardiola (P4 W2 D0 L2)

Guardiola may be set to face Bayern for the first time since joining City, but he has already endured a pair of rough returns to Barcelona.

His first Champions League trip back to Camp Nou, where the Catalan coach had so many happy memories, was in the 2014-15 semi-finals.

Guardiola's Bayern were blown away by eventual champions Barca, losing 3-0 in a game best remembered for Lionel Messi's mesmerising second goal that left Jerome Boateng in a spin. Bayern's 3-2 home victory in the second leg was too little, too late.

Yet that tie does not even include Guardiola's heaviest defeat to the Blaugrana, taking City back to his former home in the 2016-17 group stage and losing 4-0 as Messi hit a hat-trick.

City at least responded with a 3-1 win at home, but Guardiola will hope this latest reunion is far more enjoyable.

Jose Mourinho (P8 W5 D1 L2)

Guardiola's great rival Jose Mourinho has had far more joy facing former friends, although he has had the benefit of taking on Porto – the underdogs he remarkably led to the 2004 title – with some big hitters.

Porto were still reigning European champions when Mourinho's Chelsea faced them in the 2004-05 group stage, splitting the two matches as the sides won their home games.

Mourinho's second stint at Chelsea also included a double-header against Porto in 2015-16, in which they again won one game apiece, but the now Roma boss revels in knockout ties.

Chelsea beat Porto over two legs in the last 16 in 2006-07, before the Blues saw one of these encounters from the other side in 2009-10. Mourinho's Inter dumped Chelsea out in the first knockout round, going on to win the competition.

Zinedine Zidane (P3 W2 D0 L1 – versus Juventus)

Despite persistent speculation, Zinedine Zidane has still only coached one club – albeit over two spells – in Madrid.

But the former France midfielder played for Juventus before joining Madrid, and the Bianconeri proved accommodating opponents during his time as coach at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zidane and Madrid won three Champions Leagues in three years between 2016 and 2018, beating Juve en route to the second two successes.

The Madrid boss's first meeting with Juve as a coach was in the 2017 final in Cardiff, where Los Blancos swatted their Serie A opponents aside 4-1.

It was a rather closer and more controversial affair the following season, when Madrid were coasting after Cristiano Ronaldo's first-leg overhead kick in a 3-0 away win in the quarter-finals, only for Juve to rally in Spain.

At 3-0, the tie was heading for extra time, before a remarkable finale saw Gianluigi Buffon sent off as Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot. Rarely has a 3-1 loss been so celebrated.

Related items

  • Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game

    Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel opted on Sunday to quietly slip into the changing rooms instead of joining his players to celebrate after the Bavarians beat Wolfsburg 2-0.

    Tuchel will be leaving at the end of the season – a year earlier than his contract ends – following a disappointing campaign with no silverware.

    The win came four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without a trophy in over a decade.

    "These are the moments for the players," he said when asked why he did not join his squad who went in front of the Bayern ultras after their final home game of the season.

    "I don't want to be in the spotlight there. That's for the team. I know that the cameras are there.

    "I prefer to go in [to the changing rooms]. It is about the team. The fans are there for the team. They need to be celebrated."

    There has been little to celebrate for Tuchel in his 14 months in charge, with Bayern having managed to win only the Bundesliga title last season after Borussia Dortmund slipped up on the final matchday.

    He said he did not yet know what he would take away from his time at Bayern, who missed out on Bundesliga glory to Bayer Leverkusen this term.

    "Last home game and what remains I don't really know," he said. "It will take some time to see what is left.

    "It is a privilege to coach at this level. I came to win as many titles as possible. We did not succeed in that."

  • Havertz will be Tottenham's 'biggest fan' against Manchester City Havertz will be Tottenham's 'biggest fan' against Manchester City

    Kai Havertz joked he will be Tottenham's "biggest fan" as Arsenal look for a helping hand from their fierce rivals when they take on Manchester City.

    Arsenal defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday through a first-half Leandro Trossard tap-in that was nicely assisted by Havertz.

    That victory lifted the Gunners one point above City, who have an inferior goal difference of three and play their game in hand at Tottenham on Tuesday.

    Pep Guardiola's side still have the title in their hands, but dropped points in North London will change that heading into the final round of fixtures, with Arsenal hosting Everton and City at home to West Ham.

    Asked by Sky Sports if he is going to back Spurs for the victory against City, Havertz laughed and said: "I am going to be the biggest fan of Tottenham ever. Let's hope for the best."

    Arsenal's victory at Old Trafford was their 27th in the Premier League this season - only in 1970-71 (29) and 1930-31 (28) have they won more in a single top-flight campaign.

    Mikel Arteta's men could reach 89 points with victory over an Everton side with nothing to play for, yet that may still not be enough if City win both remaining fixtures.

    Regardless of the result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Premier League title race will still go down to the final weekend.

    "We have one game and we need the whole club behind us - anything is possible," Havertz said. 

    "We prepared for the game very well, we didn’t have our best game but we needed the three points and we have it now so we can be happy.

    "We have to win every single game as City are always keeping the pressure on. It is so nice to be in the [title] race and every week you have to play at your best."

    Havertz kept up his impressive form by setting up the only goal for Trossard, who has put Arsenal 1-0 up with three of the last four goals he has netted.

    An out-of-sorts United side offered little in an attacking sense, a few David Raya saves from distance aside, in what was a deserved victory for the visitors.

    Speaking to Sky Sports, Trossard said: "Man Utd are still a good team and they can hurt you in different ways so credit to the boys - we defended really well.

    "Obviously we only have one objective to win the league. We have done our job today and it will be up to the last game and that is what we are aiming for.

    "Hopefully next week we can celebrate something - you never know, it could be. We can only hope. We have done our job and that is the only thing we could have done."

  • Bayern Munich 2-0 Wolfsburg: Zvonarek scores on first start Bayern Munich 2-0 Wolfsburg: Zvonarek scores on first start

    Second-placed Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 2-0 with teenager Lovro Zvonarek scoring on his first start in their final Bundesliga home game of the season on Sunday as they eased towards the end of a trophy-less campaign.

    Four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without any silverware in more than a decade, the Bavarians put in a solid performance against the Wolves despite a string of changes to Thomas Tuchel's team.

    Zvonarek, the 19-year-old Croatian who had only made a handful of substitute appearances for the team, scored four minutes into his first start, drilling home for the lead.

    Leon Goretzka doubled the advantage nine minutes later with the hosts quickly taking full control of the game.

    Bayern have 72 points, two ahead of third-placed Stuttgart with one game remaining. Unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen, on 84, visit Bochum later on Sunday.

    Data Debrief: Clean sheet for Neuer on landmark outing

    Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made his 500th Bundesliga appearance, 156 of those having come for Schalke and 344 for his current side.

    The veteran stopper had two saves to make en route to becoming the fourth goalkeeper in Bundesliga history to reach that 500 mark, after Oliver Kahn (557), Eike Immel (534) and Uli Stein (512).

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.