Pep Guardiola is proud to be the second manager in England, after Alex Ferguson, to lead a club to a treble.
After leading Man City to their first-ever Champions League title, Guardiola revealed that he received a congratulatory message from the former Man Utd manager the very next morning. "I was thrilled to receive the message from Ferguson," Guardiola said. "Winning the treble is incredibly difficult, and I'm happy to be on par with him. But our winning the treble this season was inevitable."
Guardiola celebrates his third Champions League title after the final on June 10, 2023, at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Reuters
Ferguson was the first manager to win the treble with an English club, winning the Champions League, FA Cup, and Premier League with Manchester United in 1999. Ferguson's team lost twice in the Champions League finals, in 2009 and 2011, both times to Guardiola's Barcelona. However, Guardiola and Ferguson have remained in regular contact ever since.
Guardiola explained that the Champions League is a tough competition and teams need a bit of luck to win it. "This tournament is like flipping a coin, and this time it was luck's turn to smile on Man City," the Spanish coach added. "We knew beforehand that the game would be difficult, and the players felt anxious in the first half. The key was patience, and luck like Ederson's saves at the end of the match."
Guardiola is the first manager in history to lead a team to two trebles, with Barcelona in 2009 and Manchester City in 2023. Excluding the Super Cup, Guardiola has won 12 titles with Manchester City. In terms of major titles with English clubs, the 52-year-old manager is only behind Ferguson (26 titles) and Bob Paisley (13).
Guardiola added that now is the time for him and the Man City players to celebrate after a historic season. "I can't wait to lift all three trophies on the bus through the streets of Manchester," he said. "I'm tired, relieved, and satisfied. I don't want to think about next season, because we're starting from scratch."
Man City will hold a parade to celebrate their second cup win on June 12th, starting at 11:30 PM Hanoi time.
Hoang An
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