Pep Guardiola Rejects Claims That Bayern Munich Tenure Was a Failure Due to Lack of UCL Success

Pep Guardiola has refuted the statement that his tenure at Bayern Munich was a failure because he did not win the UEFA Champions League. The Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has refuted the statement that his tenure at Bayern Munich was a failure because he did not win the UEFA Champions League. 

The Manchester City boss spent three seasons at the Allianz Arena, claiming the Bundesliga title in each of his terms at the helm as well as the DFB Pokal in 2014 and 2016. 

It's easy to call Pep Guardiola a chequebook manager but when you look at the improvements Sterling and (as shown last night) Delph have made under his guidance, it's impossible not to feel as though his coaching is an equally big factor in the success he enjoys.

— HLTCO (@HLTCO) June 8, 2018

However, the Catalonian's men were unable to overcome Real Madrid (2014), Barcelona (2015) and Atletico Madrid (2016) in the semi-finals of three successive European Cup campaigns, leaving the German superpower without continental success since Jupp Heynckes departed in 2013. 

But despite the lack of Champions League silverware, Guardiola insisted to Catalunya Radio, as quoted by Bundesliga.com, that his tenure in Munich was full of positives. 

Dimitri Seluk (Yaya’s agent): "If you assign my grandmother to Bayern Munich, the team will still become the champions! There's a consistency with Guardiola's choice: go to clubs with a huge budget, which without him become champions all the time."

— Manchester United (@UTDWorldwide) June 5, 2018

"My time in Munich won't be judged on not having won the Champions League," he said. "Winning it is hard, and defeats are part and parcel of the competition. 

"Football always gives you another chance, and people are surprised by the difficulty of the Champions League: with Bayern, I got to three semi-finals and was knocked out in each.

Southgate: “Guardiola has impacted our football even before he came here. Barca’s CL matches were watched by 8-9 million on TV. When I was growing up parents shouted: ‘Kick it forward as far as you can’, don’t lose it in the penalty area’. Now kids are encouraged to pass a ball.” pic.twitter.com/CynDkntNeS

— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) June 7, 2018

"Bayern have won successive league titles – and the same goes for Juventus – so perhaps for them, the Champions League seems more important.

During his first season at Manchester City, Guardiola ended the term trophy-less; however, added the Carabao Cup and the Premier League title to his ever-expanding collection during the recently concluded campaign by taking his total football philosophy and evolving it to conquer England's top-flight.

"I would say we made the best year in the Premier League ever"

Pep Guardiola reflects on record-breaking triumph in official season review#ThisIsPremierLeague pic.twitter.com/cZl4QiaaTf

— Premier League (@premierleague) June 7, 2018

"I'm happy that at Bayern and at City they've been able to play as we wanted," Guardiola added. "We won a lot, but I'm happier with how we played."