New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has discussed his relationship with Pep Guardiola ahead of his team's first-leg quarter-final clash against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League.
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Early on in his career, the German was known to take inspiration from the then-Barcelona head coach, who has since become one of the sport's greatest managers of all time.
Tuchel, however, has got the better of Guardiola on a few occasions, most notably when his Chelsea side defeated the Citizens in the 2020/21 Champions League final.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference ahead of Bayern's clash against City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, the 49-year-old shared his gratitude but insisted he is far from a "fanboy" of the Spaniard.
"I was very grateful and as a coach I was not a big name and not known," he said, according to Manchester World.
"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."
Tuchel also addressed the possibility of signing on-loan City fullback Joao Cancelo on a permanent basis at the end of the current campaign.
"I cannot give you any serious answer to that because we have not discussed it with the club," he explained.
"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."
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