How can Guardiola cancel his former players when he visits them at Camp Nou? What does history tell us about the Catalunyan coach in this stage? Here are the key elements Pep will face against Los Blaugranas

Perhaps the most feared matchup for Barcelona came true. Their prodigal son, the architect of one of the greatest teams ever to perform in a football field will return to Camp Nou, but he will come back as the man who will be paid to deny them another treble. Pep Guardiola will face Barcelona for the first time since he signed as Bayern Munich's coach, and the meeting will have an element of nostalgia even if their former boss has the chance to eliminate them.

Guardiola's term coaching Barcelona started back in the 2008-2009 season, in which he led Los Blaugranas to the historic treble. His first semi-final experience in the Champions League ended up with two draws against Chelsea, but Andres Iniesta's stoppage time goal gave them the chance to play the final game, which they won 2-0 against Manchester United in Rome.

Guardiola celebrates Iniesta's tying goal at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

 

His second experience was not as pleasant, since his team endured a heavy 3-1 loss against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the first leg. Gerard Pique's goal gave his side a little hope, but Los Culés were not able to overcome the first leg's result and ended up giving away the title.

Mourinho about to storm into the pitch after beating Barcelona in the 2009-2010 Champions League semi-finals.

The Catalunyan coach earned his third straight trip to the Champions League semi-final stage to face the club's most-hated opponent: Real Madrid. In what turned out to be an exciting matchup between Spain's most important teams, Los Blaugranas defeated Jose Mourinho's side with a 3-1 aggregate and won the right to play their second final match in three years.

Guardiola with the late Tito Vilanova, during their semi-final match against Mou's Real Madrid.

His final season as Barcelona's main man ended up with a shocking result, when his side was thought to be favorite against Chelsea, but the Blues ended up eliminating Los Blaugranas with a 3-2 aggregate. During the second leg, Lionel Messi missed a crucial penalty kick, which would have given Barcelona the ticket for the final game.

Guardiola watches Fernando Torres' goal that eliminated Barcelona from the 2011-2012 finals.

After taking a sabatical, Guardiola signed with Bayern Munich with the intention of repeating Jupp Heynckes' treble with the Bavarians. While  he won easily the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal, Guardiola was defeated in spectacular fashion by Real Madrid with an aggregate of 5-0. Guardiola lost his first game as coach while playing at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and was handed his biggest loss as coach while hosting the second leg at Allianz Arena.

Guardiola's Champions League semi-final record with Barcelona saw him win two series, losing two more. As surprising as it may seem, Guardiola's semi-final record with Los Culés is not as dominant as people may think, winning only two games out of the eight his team played, drawing four more and losing twice. If you add the two legs against Real Madrid, Pep sports a losing record of 2 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses.

His visit to Camp Nou surely will raise a lot of eyebrows, and his relationship with the team's past has already made coach Luis Enrique praise his former team-mate after finding out they were paired against each other.