Pep Guardiola’s storied love-and-hate relationship with the UEFA Champions League is one of the most intriguing aspects of his glorious managerial career. The Spaniard took former club Barcelona to European glory twice before going 12 years without reaching the pinnacle of Europe’s elite club competition.
The 53-year-old finally ended Manchester City’s lengthy curse by winning Europe’s big one in 2023 and adding the final piece of a continental treble puzzle. He also became the first manager in football history to win two trebles in two countries, and his unparalleled success makes him one of the most respected tacticians in the sport.
However, Guardiola hasn’t always got it right in the Champions League, as Chelsea fans will be quick to remind you. His decision to drop Rodri against City’s Premier League rivals in the 2021 final was largely to blame for a somewhat shocking 1-0 loss in Porto. The Spanish coach received scrutiny and accusations of overthinking.
Fast-forward two years and Rodri came to the fore with the winner for City in their 1-0 2023 final victory against Inter Milan in Istanbul. The holding midfielder was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner a year later after helping Guardiola win a sixth Premier League title.
A similar situation ensued for forgotten Arsenal gem Aleksandr Hleb at Barca. The Belarusian missed out on a place in the Catalans’ 2009 Champions League final squad against Manchester United. The manager behind that decision? None other than Pep Guardiola.
Hleb Furious With Guardiola After Champions League Final Snub
The ex-Barca star was ready to throw hands
Hleb had appeared in all but two of Barca’s Champions League group stage games of the 2008-09 campaign. But he began to fall down the pecking order in Guardiola’s first team as the competition progressed, and the Blaugrana headed towards a final with Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico. They’d win the game 2-0 courtesy of goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi.
Yet, the former Gunners attacking ace, who bagged 10 goals and 20 assists in 130 games with the English giants, wasn’t even selected in Barca’s matchday squad for the final. Hleb recalled how furious he was with his manager’s decision when touching on their topsy-turvy relationship at Camp Nou (via Planet Football):
“In the long run, everything was going wrong. We won the Champions League in 2009 but I was upset even then: I played all the games before the final and was left out of the squad for the crucial game. I didn’t expect that to happen. I wanted to punch him after the game. Now I’m calm, I understand him well. If I were Pep, I would do just the same.”
Hleb spent four years at Barca, although most of his Catalan spell was spent out on loan at Bundesliga outfits VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg and English side Birmingham City. He appeared 36 times under Guardiola, posting three assists, and won three major trophies, including a winners’ medal for the 2009 Champions League triumph, which he looks back on with some disappointment.
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Arsene Wenger Told Hleb he Made a Mistake Joining Barcelona
The Frenchman explained why the ex-Belarus international flopped
Arsene Wenger didn’t want Hleb to leave Arsenal when he jetted off to Catalonia in July 2008 in a £14.5 million deal. The attacker pushed for an exit with his representatives talking up a move to Camp Nou after missing out on a transfer to Inter Milan once Jose Mourinho replaced Roberto Mancini at the San Siro.
Hleb’s Barca switch was ultimately a failure as he failed to live up to expectations and replicate his impressive spell under Wenger. The Frenchman delved into where it went wrong for Hleb in La Liga when speaking almost a decade later:
“I would say at the time when he left for Barcelona, they were the best team in the world by a distance. You can understand that he was tempted to do it. It was not the right decision for him because he didn’t have the career after and I think it had a negative impact on his career.”
Wenger alluded to Hleb joining a Barca team consisting of Messi. The Belarusian played in a similar position as the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Considering both Ronaldinho and Deco were sold around the same time to protect the growth of the Argentine, it’s little wonder the ex-Arsenal man couldn’t get many minutes.
“He was a great, great player but he played on the same side as Lionel Messi. That is nearly an impossible task for every player in the world,” Wenger said.
Hleb left la Blaugrana permanently in February 2012 and joined Russian outfit KS Samara as a free agent. He’d have further spells in Turkiye and Belarus before calling time on his career in March 2020. Many ponder whether he’d have a more considerable legacy had he remained with Wenger’s Arsenal rather than depart for Guardiola’s Barca.
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