Pep Guardiola will swap Bayern Munich for Manchester City in the summer
The pressure is on Pep Guardiola to deliver the Champions League trophy to Bayern Munich as they prepare for the first leg of their semi-final showdown with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Guardiola's last two attempts were ended by crushing defeats to Real Madrid and Barcelona, making this his last chance to bring European glory to Bayern before he takes over at Manchester City at the end of the season. So just how important is the Champions League for Guardiola's legacy at Bayern? And will his reign be deemed a failure if he falls short in Europe again? We asked Sky Germany's Bayern Munich correspondent Uli Koehler for the lowdown...
Just how important is this game for Guardiola?
If Pep was to tell you the truth, he would say it is more important for the club than him. For him, it's more important to have a great performance. But of course it is a very, very important match. He knows that even though he has put Bayern on another level and they're playing much better and differently, in the end victories and trophies are what count. The Champions League is very important for him.
Bayern are set for a third consecutive Bundesliga title but will he ultimately be judged on the Champions League?
Personally, I will not judge him on whether he wins the Champions League because I think you need a lot of luck in that. But on the other hand, maybe the fans will because he is not so warm with them and he is not everybody's darling.
So in the long-term, he will be judged on titles. If you go to the Bayern museum, he will be there for sure, but if he wins the Champions League, he will get an extra corner to himself. What I think of Pep Guardiola is that people expect too much from him. He is an excellent coach. Maybe he is stubborn once in a while, which is a problem for his players and colleagues, but what more can you expect? He's an excellent coach. People expect him to be the nicest guy to the fans. Maybe next time he will have to perform open-heart surgery!
Will his reign be regarded as a failure if he doesn't win it?
Never as a failure. Maybe some people will think he didn't complete his mission, but one thing is for sure: he put Bayern on another level playing-wise. OK, there will always be arguments about whether this intense style of football can be successful in the long-term, but it's the next step for Bayern and he can do the same at Manchester City. The other thing is what he has done for Bayern's reputation. If you have Pep Guardiola as your manager, it gives you a top reputation. Bayern have always had a good one but now they are the club who have Pep Guardiola. He has taken them to another level and that is the top.
Are there mental scars from Bayern's heavy semi-final defeats to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the last two years under Guardiola? And why did they collapse in those games?
It is an issue for the team, yes, and it's obvious why those defeats happened. Guardiola is a perfect coach for tactics, for the system and for the way of the game, but physically there is room for improvement in his training methods.
Lionel Messi tormented Bayern in last year's Champions League semi-final
For myself and for a lot of others, it's incredible that when it always comes to the important weeks in April and May, the team suffers from a lack of concentration and physical ability because they are slowing down. The reason is the training regime. Another reason why they performed so badly against Real Madrid and Barcelona was because they had a lot of injuries. That's another thing Pep is always confronted with. He always has a lot of injuries because of his type of training.
How tough will they find it against Atletico Madrid?
I know Bayern are not as fit, physical and tough as they were in the first four months of the season before Christmas, so it will be very interesting if the same story happens again against Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid knocked Barcelona out in the quarter-finals
The better players are on Bayern's side, no doubt about it, but Atletico is a very, very physical team. It's not only in the head you need to match them, you have to be as physical as them as well.
Who will be the key player for Bayern?
The most important player for Bayern will be Arturo Vidal. It is an interesting story because Vidal was not Guardiola's signing, he was the club's signing. The club wanted him to add a warrior into the Bayern team, they lacked that kind of player.
Arturo Vidal (centre) has impressed for Bayern Munich in recent weeks
When he came over here, he didn't perform very well and a lot of people and a lot of fans said this is not the Arturo Vidal we know, but in the last couple of games, he has been so important for Bayern. Now he is back to the old Arturo Vidal that Bayern wanted. The warrior is back and he showed that against Benfica and Juventus.
How would Guardiola feel about facing Manchester City in the final?
That is something he really would not like. He definitely doesn't want that confrontation but the most important thing for him is that he wins. If Manchester City won, that would be horrible for him. We have a German expression - you laugh until you die. That will be Manuel Pellegrini if Manchester City win!
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