Styles make fights and Guardiola vs Simeone is the heavyweight bout we’ve been waiting for

They say styles make fights and the styles of Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone could hardly be more different. That, though, just makes Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid all the more intriguing, as these two heavyweight coaches take each other on at the Etihad.

In the world of boxing, the fights that the fans want to see aren’t always the ones that come to fruition and it has been similar when it comes to Guardiola and Simeone, who have only met three times as coaches despite being two of the best in the business for the past decade and beyond.

This week, we finally get the latest showdown between these two fascinating tacticians, the first in six years.

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What is Guardiola’s record vs Simeone?

These two coaches have met just three times. The first was in the 2011/12 LaLiga Santander season, Guardiola’s last in charge of Barcelona and the one halfway through which El Cholo took the reins at the Vicente Calderon. That match finished 2-1 to Barcelona in Madrid, with Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scoring either side of a Radamel Falcao goal.

Then came the two-legged Champions League semi-final of 2015/16, when Simeone’s Atleti beat Guardiola’s Bayern Munich 1-0 at home courtesy of some Saul Niguez magic, before the 2-1 Bayern win that saw the Spanish side progress on away goals.

Technically, therefore, Guardiola has the better record against Simeone, of two wins and one defeat, but it doesn’t feel like it. Simeone got the better of the Catalan in that tie, reaching a second final in three years, so now it’s time for a rematch.

Respect between Guardiola and Simeone

Any tactical tussles on the pitch will stay on the pitch during this tie, as these are two coaches who have enormous respect for each other. Guardiola let Simeone attend a Barcelona training session when he was starting out as a coach, while the Catalan also recently took the time to appear in a documentary about Simeone’s life.

They may have very different ways of viewing football, but both understand that there is no one way to play. On Tuesday, we’re well and truly in for a treat.