Ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, Barcelona stalwart Lionel Messi feels that Pep Guardiola’s four-year reign at the Catalan outfit will not give the reigning German champions any significant advantage in the tie.
Guardiola was in charge of Barcelona from 2008 until his departure at the conclusion of the 2011/12 season and during his four years with the Catalan giants, the 44-year-old won an unprecedented 14 trophies.
After a year-long sabbatical from management following his departure from the Camp Nou, the Catalan has been at the helm of Bayern Munich since the start of the 2013/14 season and his side are preparing to face Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League, the first leg of which will be played in Barcelona tomorrow.
And despite Guardiola’s extensive knowledge of the current La Liga leaders, Messi feels that the Bayern Munich boss will not have any significant advantage as Barcelona are also well-versed with their former manager’s methodologies.
"He was with us for a long time and we had the luck to win many titles”, the Argentine was quoted as saying by the BBC.
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“He is a coach that studies everything.
“It is the same for both sides. Pep knows us very well and we know what he asks of his players.
“It is 50-50, we both know each other very well.”
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