Bayern Munich

Bayern's Pep Guardiola coy on Man City as possible opponents in Champions League

Photo credit: AFP
Photo credit: AFP
Photo credit: AFP

Photo credit: AFP

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is coy about potentially facing his future employers Manchester City when the Champions League quarter-final draw is made on Friday.

Bayern’s stunning four-goal fightback on Wednesday at the Allianz Arena sealed a 6-4 aggregate win over last year’s finalists Juventus.

It keeps alive Guardiola’s chances of bringing the Champions League trophy to Munich at the third and final attempt before his high-profile move to City next season.

But Guardiola baulked when asked whether he would now like to face his future employers in the quarter-finals or the Champions League final in Milan on May 28.

“I can’t decide that. We’ll have to see what comes from the draw,” he said tersely ahead of Friday’s quarter-final draw in Nyon at 7am ET.

A match-up against City, who beat Dynamo Kiev 3-1 over two legs, could be awkward for Guardiola.

The 45-year-old was photographed in Amsterdam last week meeting with City’s director of sport Txiki Begiristain on a clandestine trip.

Despite revealing in January that he is joining City, Guardiola claimed he would focus solely on Bayern until the end of the season as he looks to add to the five trophies he has won in three seasons.

Bayern can make history this year by winning the Bundesliga title for a fourth year in a row.

Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer has launched an extraordinary attack on ex-Bayern president Uli Hoeness for saying Guardiola wants to sign off with the treble.

Bayern became the first German club to win the Champions League, German Cup and Bundesliga titles in 2013 under Guardiola’s predecessor Jupp Heynckes.

Speaking at a function to honour Heynckes in Moenchengladbach last Sunday, Hoeness had said that Guardiola is determined to repeat the 2013 treble, a claim Sammer took umbrage with.

“What Hoeness is saying is different (to what I hear),” said Sammer.

“Saying we should win the treble is nonsense — no more, no less.

“I am with Pep every day and I can’t confirm that (Guardiola wants to win the treble). It’s simply not true.

“How often in the history of Bayern Munich have we won this ridiculous treble?

“Once! We put in a lot of effort, but it is completely unrealistic to identify things like that.”

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