Revisionists will tell you that Pep Guardiola was a failure at Bayern Munich because he did not win the Champions League. They are lying. Rival fans will tell you that he will be a failure at Manchester City unless he wins Europe's biggest prize. They too are lying.
It cannot be denied that not lifting the European Cup since toppling Manchester United with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 sticks in Guardiola's craw. A coach of his pedigree and with the squads he has had at his disposal should have won it more often.
But in knockout football there are so many unknown factors, chance events which can mean the difference between a place in the history books and being left empty handed.
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The league table, however, does not lie. Throughout the course of a season, you have the opportunity to make amends for freak results, and at both Bayern and City, and indeed Barcelona before then, Guardiola has swept the competition aside.
And so no matter what happens in City's blockbuster quarter-final tie against Bayern and old friend Thomas Tuchel, Guardiola deserves more respect for what he has done at both clubs. His astonishing achievements cannot be dismissed due to a series of mishaps in Europe.
