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

  • Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras qualify for Concacaf Gold Cup Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras qualify for Concacaf Gold Cup

    Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras all qualified for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup following the results of their matches on Saturday in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League.

    Haiti defeated Montserrat 4-0 to claim the top spot in Group B of League B to clinch their Gold Cup place.

     Canada topped Curacao 2-0 to secure at least a second-place finish in Group C of League A, thus qualifying them for the Gold Cup. Even though they were not in action, the Canada win also assured Honduras a berth in this summer’s Gold Cup as well.

     Costa Rica will also play in the Gold Cup again after rallying late from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 win in Martinique in Group B of League A.

     Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras join the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama and Jamaica as teams that have punched their ticket to this summer’s tournament.

     The winners and second-place finishers from the League A groups and the winners of each group in League B group will directly for the Gold Cup.

     The second-place teams from the League B groups and the third-place teams from League A will join the winners of each League C group in the Gold Cup Prelims.

     

  • Southgate hails ruthless Saka after stunning England strike Southgate hails ruthless Saka after stunning England strike

    Gareth Southgate praised the ruthlessness of Bukayo Saka after his starring role in England's 2-0 win over Ukraine.

    England made it six points from two Euro 2024 qualifiers with a routine win at Wembley on Sunday.

    Saka, a leading light in Arsenal's challenge for the Premier League title, supplied the assist for Harry Kane's opener in the 37th minute.

    He then made it 2-0 three minutes later by bending a magnificent long-range strike into the top-right corner, his eighth goal for the Three Lions.

    "It is a top-level finish [from Saka]," Southgate told Channel 4. 

    "That is the ruthless part he has added to his game in the last 18 months or so. There were times you weren't sure he was going to finish, but now he has that confidence in front of goal."

    England were in control throughout, with Ukraine never looking likely to produce a comeback in a game where they did not manage a shot on target.

    The command England enjoyed naturally delighted Southgate, who also had plaudits for James Maddison, the Leicester City playmaker creating five chances in an impressive showing.

    "The risk is that when you have control of the game you have the odd sloppy pass, but the application throughout was excellent," added Southgate.

    "We have broken down a lot of barriers over a period of time. We still had that question mark over some of the bigger teams. 

    "We are starting to win those games now but there is still lots of room for improvement. 

    "To back up the Italy result was important, but there is still room to grow."

    "We are always trying to think about now and what is next. We did that with James Maddison today. We thought it was a good game to see him.

    "He was defensively very solid. It was nice to get Ivan Toney on the pitch as well. We will always look at people, but we have to qualify and we can't take that for granted."

  • Juventus midfielder Kostic out of Serbia squad with Achilles injury Juventus midfielder Kostic out of Serbia squad with Achilles injury

    Juventus midfielder Filip Kostic has been ruled out of Serbia's Euro 2024 qualifier against Montenegro with an Achilles injury.

    The 30-year-old played a full part in Friday's 2-0 win over Lithuania and set up Dusan Tadic's early opener.

    But Kostic will not be available against Montenegro at Podgorica City Stadium on Monday, having returned to his club side for treatment.

    "It's bad news for us," Serbia head coach Dragan Stojkovic said at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "He left the team because he has Achilles tendinitis.

    "There is no need to take any risks with him. The decision was to return to the club. I'm always sorry when a player gets injured – there's nothing worse for a coach."

    Juventus will hope to have Kostic available for a busy run of fixtures when they return to action later this week.

    Massimiliano Allegri's side have nine games in April across three competitions, starting with Saturday's Serie A meeting with Hellas Verona at the Allianz Stadium.

    Kostic has played in 38 of Juve's 39 matches this season – only Danilo has featured as regularly – and has a team-high 11 assists to go with his three goals.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.