Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has drawn comparisons between two of the greatest sportsmen of all time, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan, as he defended his team’s Champions League record. Ahead of their quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, Guardiola urged patience, citing the fact that Nicklaus and Jordan lost more often than they won.
“Yesterday, it was the Masters. How many Masters has Jack Nicklaus played or majors has he played in his career, in 30-40 years as a golfer? How many wins out of 164? Eighteen wins. Wow. He loses more than he wins. That is sport. In football, in golf, in basketball. Michael Jordan, the best athlete for me in basketball, won six NBA titles out of 15 years. He loses more than he wins. What is important is to be here, compete well, do our best. No more than that,” said Guardiola.
The Spaniard managed Bayern from 2013 until 2016, winning the Bundesliga three times in a row, but Champions League success eluded him. However, Guardiola believes that Bayern’s expectation is always to win and doesn’t expect them to take a cautious approach at the Etihad Stadium.
“From my experience when I was there, I had the feeling it doesn’t matter where you play, you have to be Bayern Munich and you have to try to win,” he said. “If they defend maybe more than usual it’s because we’re doing well. But if we are not doing well we are going to defend more than usual.”
Tuesday’s game will also see Guardiola come up against former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel. The German was in charge of the Blues when they beat City 1-0 in the 2021 Champions League final. Guardiola admitted that he was disappointed but congratulated Tuchel and Chelsea for their victory.
“I reviewed the game a month ago and it was not as bad as I thought. It was a tight game, like they always have been against Chelsea in this period. We forget it and try again,” he said.
Pep Guardiola has drawn comparisons between two of the greatest sportsmen of all time, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan, to emphasize the difficulty of winning in sport. The Manchester City manager highlighted that even Nicklaus and Jordan lost more often than they won during their illustrious careers. Guardiola himself managed Bayern Munich from 2013 until 2016 but failed to win the Champions League despite winning the Bundesliga three times in a row.
The Spaniard believes that Bayern’s expectation is always to win and doesn’t expect them to take a cautious approach at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Guardiola will come up against former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel who was in charge of the Blues when they beat City 1-0 in the 2021 Champions League final. Although disappointed with the result, Guardiola congratulated Tuchel and Chelsea for their victory and said that he reviewed the game a month ago and found it to be a tight game.
Overall, Guardiola has urged patience when it comes to Manchester City’s Champions League record and has used the examples of Nicklaus and Jordan to emphasize that winning in sport is incredibly difficult, no matter how great one may be.