That was also the closest Guardiola has come in 10 tries
during spells at Barcelona, Bayern and City to land his third European Cup as a
coach. Chelsea's 1-0 win in front of largely empty Estadio do Dragao in Porto
due to coronavirus restrictions two years ago was a case of the apprentice
outshining the master.
As a young coach Tuchel studied and admired Guardiola's
dominant Barcelona side that won 14 trophies in four years from 2008 to 2012,
including two Champions League titles.
Their paths then crossed during Guardiola's three years in
charge at Bayern, while Tuchel was coach of Mainz and then Borussia Dortmund.
Two football obsessives, the pair even talked long into the
night at a Munich bar in 2014, using glasses and salt and pepper shakers to
mimic formations.
"I was such a huge admirer of Pep when he was a player
and then when he became a coach it was like learning on the job for me,"
said Tuchel prior to the 2021 Champions League final.
"I was an academy coach and then in the Bundesliga with
Mainz, but I don't think I missed a game (of Guardiola's Barcelona) because
there was so much to learn."
The respect is mutual. Guardiola described Tuchel last
season as "one of the few managers I learn from to develop (into) a better
manager myself."
Guardiola has tended to have the upper hand in clashes
between the two.
Three Chelsea wins in the space of six weeks towards the end
of the 2020/21 season are Tuchel's only victories in 10 meetings between the
two to Guardiola's six.
But he won the most important one and his Champions League
pedigree played a large part in Bayern's swoop to secure his services and sack
Julian Nagelsmann in a shock move last month.
Tuchel also took Paris Saint-Germain to their maiden final
in Europe's premier club competition in 2020 and took eventual winners Real
Madrid to extra-time in the quarter-finals last year despite Chelsea being
thrust into crisis by sanctions imposed on then owner Roman Abramovich.
The 49-year-old now has the challenge of succeeding where
Guardiola failed in leading Bayern back to Champions League glory.
But the weight of expectation falls much more heavily on the
City boss.
In his seventh season in Manchester, Guardiola is in the
running for his fifth Premier League title.
Yet the failure to get over the line in Europe remains a
blot on his copybook.
"It doesn't mean I agree with that but absolutely we
will be judged by this competition," said Guardiola on the importance of
winning the Champions League to his legacy at the Etihad.
The presence of Erling Haaland adds even more pressure on
Guardiola to finally get the job done this year.
The Norwegian scored twice on his return from injury in a
4-1 win at Southampton on Saturday to take his tally for the season to 44.
Those numbers saw Guardiola draw comparisons between his
star striker, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
But it was to make the difference when the fine margins
count most in the latter stages of the Champions League that forced City to
fight off competition from around Europe to land Haaland.
The 22-year-old has scored 33 goals in 25 Champions League
appearances, including five in a 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the last 16.