Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti are two great football coaches that are often compared head to head. Rightly so, they both are very successful. Therefore, there is a need for Pep Guardiola vs Ancelotti in terms of trophies, head-to-head, and other stats.
In this post, Soofootball compares both managers in some key areas.
However, before going into details, here is a summary of Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti head to head stats.
Guardiola vs Ancelotti Stats in Summary
- Ancelotti won the World Best Coach award twice at 2 different clubs – Real Madrid (2014) and AC Milan (2006).
- Guardiola won the World Best Coach award 2 times at just Barcelona.
- Pep has won 38 major trophies compared to Ancelotti’s 26.
- Guardiola won 6 of his 10 matches against Ancelotti. The Italian, on the other hand, won just 3.
- Guardiola’s teams scored 56.6% (22) of goals, while Ancelotti’s team scored 43.3% (14).
- Jurgen Klopp has beaten Guardiola the most – 10 times.
- Luciano Spaletti has beaten Carlo Ancelotti the most – 11 times.
Now, let’s dive deep into the Guardiola vs Ancelotti comparison.
Guardiola vs Ancelotti Personal Accolade
| Coach | Name of Personal Accolade | No. of personal accolades won |
|---|---|---|
| Carlo Ancelotti | World best coach | 2 |
| Pep Guardiola | World best coach | 2 |
Personal accolades could be another way to define how good a coach can be.
In the case of Ancelotti vs Guardiola, it is obvious that the Italian has more personal accolades than the Spanish tactician.
Interestingly, Pep only won these personal accolades during his time at Barcelona after winning the Champions League.
On the other hand, Ancelotti won the World best coach award twice – at 2 different clubs – Real Madrid (2014) and AC Milan (2006).
Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti Trophies
| Name of Coach | Number of Trophies won |
|---|---|
| Pep Guardiola | 38 |
| Carlo Ancelotti | 26 |
Pep has won 38 major trophies compared to Ancelotti’s 26. Most recently, Guardiola won the Premier League and Carabao Cup in the 2023/24 season with Man City.
From another angle, one could also argue that Ancelotti has won better trophies than Guardiola because the Italian has 4 Champions League medals as a coach. In contrast, Pep has now won 3 Champions League medals as a coach – twice at Barcelona, and once at Manchester City.
In a nutshell, the Guardiola vs Ancelotti trophies comparison is 38:26.
Pep Guardiola vs Ancelotti Head-to-head
| Manager | Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guardiola | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Carlo Ancelotti | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
Ancelotti and Guardiola have faced off just 12 times, but Guardiola has had a far superior head-to-head record.
Guardiola won 5 times compared to Ancelotti’s 3.
Ancelotti’s most recent win is the 2024 Champions League Semi-final match that ended in Penalty shoot-out after a 4-4 aggregate score.
However, Pep Guardiola’s most recent win came in the 2022/23 Champions League Semifinal second leg, where Man City thumped Real Madrid 4-0 to win 5-1 on aggregate and advance to the final.
To put things in perspective, Guardiola won 60% of his matches against Ancelotti. The Italian, on the other hand, won just 33.3%.
Again, Guardiola’s teams scored 24 goals against Ancelotti’s, while the Italian’s team scored 16.
Compare: Guardiola vs Klopp Stats
Ancelotti vs Guardiola: Who is better?
So, here comes the big question – Ancelotti vs Pep Guardiola: Who is better? Going by the overall numbers, head-to-head, Trophies won, and accolades, Pep seems to be better.
However, when we consider that Ancelotti has won 4 Champions League trophies (as a coach) compared to Pep’s 3, we may conclude that Ancelotti is a better coach.
It is also important to mention that Ancelotti is one of the very few coaches who won the Champions League as a player too.
Ancelotti vs Guardiola FAQs Answered
How many times has Ancelotti beaten Guardiola?
Ancelotti has beaten Guardiola just 3 times out of 12 meetings. Guardiola on the other hand, won 6 times.
Who has won more trophies, Ancelotti or Pep?
Well, Pep Guardiola has won a total of 38 major trophies as a coach compared to Ancelotti’s 26.
Who has spent more money; Pep or Ancelotti?
| Manager | Total Players Signed | Total Amount Spent On transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Carlo Ancelotti | 377 | €727,905,000 |
| Pep Guardiola | 120 | €1,046,508,181 |
So far, Ancelotti has spent €727,905,000 on transferring a total of 420 players. On the other hand, Pep has spent about €1Billion on 120 players in total.
It is important also to mention that out of Ancelotti’s 420 players bought, 104 were free transfers, while Guardiola only purchased just 36 players with fees; others are free transfers.
Which manager has beaten Guardiola the most?
| Manager | Matches Against Guardiola | No. of times Guardiola is beaten |
|---|---|---|
| Jürgen Klopp | 24 | 10 |
| José Mourinho | 25 | 7 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | 22 | 4 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | 9 | 4 |
| Arsène Wenger | 14 | 3 |
| Thomas Tuchel | 10 | 3 |
| Carlo Ancelotti | 8 | 3 |
| Nuno Espírito Santo | 8 | 3 |
| Antonio Conte | 5 | 3 |
Jürgen Klopp has beaten Guardiola 10 times more than any other manager.
After Jürgen Klopp, Mourinho is Guardiola’s next nightmare manager after losing to the Portuguese 7 times.
Which manager has beaten Ancelotti the most?
| Manager | Matches Against Ancelotti | No. of times Ancelotti lost |
|---|---|---|
| Luciano Spalletti | 24 | 11 |
| Roberto Mancini | 21 | 8 |
| Diego Simeone | 18 | 7 |
| Sir Alex Ferguson | 14 | 6 |
| Pep Guardiola | 8 | 5 |
| Marcello Lippi | 16 | 4 |
| Carlo Mazzone | 16 | 4 |
| Alberto Zaccheroni | 14 | 4 |
| Fabio Capello | 22 | 3 |
| Luigi Delneri | 17 | 3 |
| Cesare Prandelli | 16 | 3 |
| Francesco Guidolin | 21 | 2 |
| Walter Novellino | 19 | 2 |
| Delio Rossi | 14 | 2 |
From the table above, it is clear that Luciano Spalletti is the coach that has beaten Carlo Ancelotti more than any other manager.
Ancelotti has lost to Luciano Spalletti 11 times in 24 meetings.
Roberto Mancini is Ancelotti’s next worst enemy, having lost to his Italian compatriot 8 times in 21 outings.
Is Guardiola the best coach in the world?
Guardiola is a great manager and has won the Champions League three times. Get more info about Guardiola’s Champions League stats.
Also, Guardiola has won a trophy in every place he’s been to.
However, some sections of the fans say Financial Fairplay rule works in Manchester City’s favour and that Guardiola only won the Champions League because he had Messi in his team.
Final thought
The Ancelotti vs Guardiola rivalry is one of the most interesting comparisons in football.
Football fans around the world highly regard both managers.
Some sections of the fans choose Pep as a better manager because, overall, he has won more trophies (38) than Ancelotti (26).
However, many other fans argue that Ancelotti is a better manager because he has won more prestigious trophies than Guardiola. For example, Ancelotti has 4 Champions League medals as a coach compared to Guardiola’s 3.
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