‘I’m not a fanboy’ - Thomas Tuchel delivers Pep Guardiola & Joao Cancelo verdicts ahead of Man City clash

Thomas Tuchel has praised the influence of Pep Guardiola on his managerial career but insisted he is ‘not a fanboy’.

The Bayern Munich manager has spoken previously about his admiration for Guardiola, who he will face once again on Tuesday night in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Tuchel described Manchester City as the ‘gold standard’ that Bayern should try and emulate while adding that his side are ‘slight underdogs’ over two legs. But the former Chelsea boss also insisted he is not in awe of the man he overcame in the 2021 Champions League final.

“I was very grateful and as a coach I was not a big name and not known,” Tuchel said on that meeting with Guardola when he was Barcelona manager. “I am definitely very grateful for Pep sharing his thoughts with me. He has helped me how to see football. It’s not taken for granted.

“I will learn from his teams and it’s fascinating to see what he achieves. But I am not a fanboy and we will do everything to get a result [on Tuesday]. We want to put the mark on our team. It’s very different to facing PSG - they [City] are much wider up front. There will be moments where we will be suffering and we will have to defend as a block, try to overcome that and try to get more possession. We have talent in our team.

“I think it’s pretty clear how City play. I think you can work it out but it’s seven years of Pep’s influence on this team. It’s very fast and attacking, high pressing. I think we are well prepared but this is the highest level of European football and they’re in great form in the Premier League.

“I will try and go to bed early - I just hope I can sleep,” he added. “It’s hard to get that sleep and this morning I woke really early and I just went to the training ground because I just kept thinking about the game. This is normal.

“I can’t learn anything from the matches I have played against him. He proves every time that his teams have a distinguished style because of him. That will make you a better coach if you learn about football. It’s unique and we will try and find solutions without the ball.”

Tuchel was also asked about the prospect of Joao Cancelo joining Bayern Munich permanently this summer. The Portugal full-back is currently on loan at the Allianz Arena having joined from City in January, and the 28-year-old is expected to play against his parent club at the Etihad.

“I cannot give you any serious answer to that because we have not discussed it with the club,” Tuchel said on Cancelo’s chances of signing for the club permanently. “I don’t even know the conditions from the contract. At the moment I’m just happy he’s my player because I’ve played many times against him and very aware of his extraordinary qualities.

“These situations with your former team exist,” Tuchel added. “I hope he can manage his emotions and he’s not over-motivated or over-excited, but on the other hand not to friendly or too shy.

“I know he’s looking forward to it, he knows the system very well but I would say I know the system very well. But it’s not enough to know it. A lot of people know that smoking is not healthy and still they smoke so it’s about what we do, it’s not about what we know.”