3 men who have won the UEFA Champions League both as players and managers

#2 Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola was a product of La Masia, the football academy of FC Barcelona, and learned the tricks of the trade under the tutelage of Johann Cruyff. He also became a part of the Barcelona senior team coached by Cruyff, and won the European Cup in 1992.

Barcelona beat Sampdoria 1-0 in the final at Wembley, and Guardiola was an intrinsic part of the Barca midfield.

Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and thrived under the coaching of Cruyff, which gave him enough opportunities to demonstrate his passing abilities.

He went on to pursue a managerial career, and became the manager of Barca in 2009. He built a Barca team that was as good as any in the history of club football, and won the Champions League twice in 3 years.

Guardiola’s Barcelona had fabulous players like Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa in it, and beat Manchester United in both the finals in 2009 and 2011. United were a strong side, but had no answer to Barca’s mellifluous passing football.