Pep Guardiola has admitted that, for him, the Champions League semi-finals against Barcelona will be a "very emotional" knockout tie. "Everyone understands how special it is for me, for Thiago and for my staff. Barcelona was our life", he said after the draw.

"I'm here because of my time at Barcelona", the current coach of Bayern Munich acknowledged, referring to his success with the 'Azulgranas', although he insisted he was "very happy" at the Bavarian club. "If you're in the semi-finals, you play against great teams. Of course, Barcelona are one of the best but at the end of the day it's a football game", said Guardiola. "It will obviously be a special game. We need to study Barcelona. Barcelona are my home. What more can I say?...I don't have anything bad to say about my former team or players. I won a lot with them", he stressed.

Asked about the differences between the current Barcelona and the one under his charge Guardiola limited himself to talking about the addition of new players, such as Neymar and Luis Suárez. "They have a new coach, but otherwise they still play like they did before. With great speed in attack", he said. He tipped Barcelona as being "the strongest team at the moment", going on to say he had not been surprised by Luis Enrique's appointment as Barça's latest coach: "He has great qualities as a manager. We both know that the other wants to win. He's a great guy, a great person. I'm happy to be going up against him".

Guardiola does not believe it would have been easier to face Barcelona in the Berlin final rather than in a two-legged tie. "It's not any easier in one, two or three games; it's always difficult. They are a great team," he said. "The semi-final is not the most important match, but it is the most exciting", he concluded.