How many Champions League finals has Pep Guardiola won? Top UCL final FAQs answered

The biggest game in the European club football season is just hours away as Manchester City and Chelsea prepare to face off in the Champions League final. The game will be played at the Estadio do Dragao and will kick off at 12:30 AM IST on Sunday, May 30. On the eve of the final, we answer some of the key Champions League FAQs such as - 'How many Champions League titles  have Chelsea won?' and 'What is Manchester City Champions League history?"

Champions League FAQs: How many Champions League finals has Pep Guardiola won? 

Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful managers in history and the Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the great tacticians of the modern era. The 50-year-old has won two Champions League titles, both with his legendary Barcelona side, beating Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United on both occasions. The Man City vs Chelsea UCL final will be his first Champions League final appearance since 2011.

If Man City do lift the trophy, he could become just the sixth manager to win the Champions League with two different clubs after Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid), Jose Mourinho (Porto and Inter Milan), Carlo Ancelotti, Ottmar Hitzfeld (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) and Ernst Happel (Hamburg and Feyenoord). He could also become the fourth coach to win the Champions League title thrice, following Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan and Real Madrid) and Bob Paisley (Liverpool). So to answer the question "How many Champions League finals has Pep Guardiola won?", the answer is two. 

Chelsea Champions League history: How many Champions League titles have Chelsea won?

Chelsea have been one of the staple clubs in the Champions League since the Roman Abramovich takeover of the club in 2004. The Blues made their first appearance in the Champions League in 1999 and made it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Barcelona. They've been a regular in the competition ever since. Chelsea reached the semi-finals in 03/04 and 04/05 but were dumped out by Monaco and Liverpool respectively.

The following season, Chelsea were eliminated by Barcelona in the round of 16. In 2007, Chelsea made it to the semi-finals but suffered defeat against Liverpool on penalties. The Blues then reached their first UCL final in 2008 but lost to eventual champions Manchester United.

The following year, they lost out to eventual champions Barcelona in the semi-finals. Chelsea then exited the competition in the last 16 following two defeats against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in 2010. The next season, they lost to Manchester United in the quarter-finals. However, in 2012, Chelsea made history by becoming the first team from London to win the Champions League title when they beat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the final. The following season, Chelsea failed to make it past the group stages but ended the season with a Europa League title.

During the 2013/14 season, they made it to the semis but were knocked out by Atletico Madrid. Chelsea were then eliminated from the competition in the quarter-finals by PSG in two consecutive seasons. In 2018, Chelsea were again dumped out of the tournament by Barcelona in the last 16. They then suffered elimination in 2020 against Bayern Munich at the same stage. Chelsea have now made it to their third Champions League final and will hope to make it count with a win against Manchester City. So to answer the query 'How many Champions League titles have Chelsea won?", the answer is 1 so far.

Manchester City Champions League history 

In the 2010-11 season, Man City qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 1968 season. Since then, the side have been a staple entry into Europe but had little success in the early years, going out in the group stage for the first two seasons. The 2013-14 campaign saw them qualify for the knockouts for the first time, and since then have been one of the teams to beat in the group stage. Their knockout record was far from satisfactory, making the semi-final only once before the 2020/21 season, where they reached their maiden UCL final. 

(Image Courtesy: Man City Instagram)