Pep Guardiola once called Wembley "the church of football". And for him personally, this stadium is truly of special significance in both his coaching and playing career.
It was at Wembley in 1992 that Guardiola and Barcelona won the first European Champions League title in club history. Nearly two decades later, he returned to this stadium as a coach and created one of the greatest performances in the history of Champions League finals, when Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in 2011.
Now, Guardiola is preparing to enter Wembley again, possibly for the last time as Manchester City coach. The FA Cup final against Chelsea will mark his 24th time leading Man City at Wembley. That achievement is even more than the number of appearances of many England coaches in the history of this stadium.
Guardiola has won a total of 12 titles at Wembley: two with Barcelona, five League Cups, three English Super Cups and two FA Cups with Man City. However, what is noteworthy is that after the victory over Crystal Palace in the middle of the week, Guardiola mentioned more defeats than glory.
The Citizens have lost 2 consecutive FA Cup finals to Man United and Crystal Palace. If they continue to lose to Chelsea, Guardiola's team will become the second club in history to lose 3 consecutive FA Cup finals, after Chelsea in the period 2020-2022.
That will be a big paradox for Guardiola - who has turned Man City into a dominant force at Wembley. His team has reached 4 consecutive FA Cup finals, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the league, and also set a record of eight consecutive seasons in the semi-finals.
But for a coach defined by titles, "near wins" are never enough to become successful. Despite being famous as a tactical revolutionary, Guardiola in many aspects is still a traditionalist. Many foreign coaches have been criticized for underestimating the FA Cup, but that has never been true for Guardiola.
Even when he put aside many key players in the match against Crystal Palace to prepare for Wembley, many opinions suggested that Guardiola is prioritizing the FA Cup over the Premier League title race, which still has faint hope.
The 3-0 victory over Palace partly proves that decision was correct. One of the most notable points in this match is that Phil Foden was pulled into the center of midfield - a role that few people predicted before. The English star played prominently and showed that Guardiola is still looking for new solutions in the context that Rodri has not yet fully reached his best physical condition.
Rodri's importance to Man City is almost irreplaceable. The defeat to Man United in the FA Cup final in 2024 was the first time Man City failed when the Spanish midfielder started after a streak of 74 matches.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland - the team's number one striker - still carries the curse in the finals. The Norwegian striker has never scored for Man City in a single final, although he has appeared in many big matches.
In the opposite direction, Chelsea is still a special opponent for Guardiola. Man City is unbeaten against The Blues in the last 13 matches in all competitions, winning 10 matches. But Chelsea's last victory against Man City came in the biggest match between the two teams: the 2021 Champions League final.
Chelsea has now changed significantly, and Man City no longer maintains the same squad as that year. Only a few names like Bernardo Silva or Reece James are likely to continue to start at Wembley this weekend.
For Guardiola, the FA Cup is always of special significance. He once won this title with a 6-0 victory over Watford in 2019 - the final with the biggest gap in the history of the tournament. However, the Spanish strategist has repeatedly admitted that the FA Cup is the most difficult domestic title to win in his career.
He has more League Cups than any other coach, only behind Sir Alex Ferguson in the number of Premier League titles, but he still always has special respect for the oldest cup in English football.
And if Guardiola is really entering the final months at Man City, Wembley could become the place to close an era.
