Manager Pep Guardiola has asked Barça to show their identity in the Wembley final. He added that he has already picked his eleven and that Barça need to be more intense than they were in Rome.
“You don’t get to enjoy finals much. You have to compete and suffer a lot, and win through football. More than ever we have to show our football to the world”. Pep Guardiola was speaking in his press conference before tomorrow’s Champions League final, which marks FCB’s return to Wembley: “The ball should fly and try to break the players’ balance. I’d be happy for us to play the way we have over all this time”.
“We’re ready”
Guardiola has been happy with what his men have been doing since arriving in London on Tuesday. “They have transmitted good sensations to me. I’m proud of this team. Because of how they have behaved this week I feel a responsibility and duty to them … These days we have been focused on United, and on our physical and mental condition. We have only thought about the final, very calmly, and we’re ready to play the best game possible”.
Game of the decade
The Manchester United manager considers this to be the final of the decade. “I am full of pride to hear his words, but we both have to demonstrate that. We’ll try to play the best football possible and I think it’ll be a great final” said Guardiola. “When a team reaches three out of four finals and also three out of six, it’s because they have done things well, maybe a bit better. We have both had an extraordinary decade and whoever loses will feel hurt, but all that was achieved in recent years will still be there”.
More intense than Rome
He also said he has already decided on his line-up and bestowed praise upon praise on Saturday’s opponent. “It is one of the most complete teams I have ever seen. An example for all the world … They have many variants, we have tried to learn about the maximum number of them, their strong and weak points, and we’ll try to beat them”. He feels such respect for United that he even said “if we play like we did in Rome, we won’t win. Watching the final, I realise we played a lot worse than I thought. We have to change things, we must be quicker and more intense”.
A great season
Regardless of the Wembley scoreline, Guardiola believes that “for me it has been a very good season. We are extra happy to be here”. On what he told the fans after losing in the semis last year, he said “we have already paid them back more than well. It was a bit cheeky of me, but the people have really enjoyed themselves already”. And he is also glad the fans have finally been able to travel to London without trouble “because a final without your people would not be such a final”.
Ferguson: “This could be the best final of the decade”
Roger Bogunyà
Sir Alex Ferguson, Man United manager and a whole institution in the football world, expects a very attractive final” against Barça. “This could be the best final of the decade”, he said in a press conference prior to Saturday’s final at Wembley.
Alex Ferguson, who has won 36 titles in 25 seasons at Manchester United, is convinced his team is better prepared than it was in Rome in 2009. “We are as well prepared as we could be. If we compare ourselves with the team back then, we are more experienced now, we are more used to playing in Europe and we are much more focused.” But Ferguson denied that any of that meant they were looking for any kind of revenge.
“There could be lots of goals and excitement”
What will the final be like? Ferguson said “I don’t think it matters in games like this what the bookies say, who the favourites are ... We have to concentrate on tactics. The rest doesn’t matter. Just what happens on the pitch. This is a very attractive final. There could be lots of goals and excitement. There will be good football, I’m sure of that … Both teams have had enormous success over the last decade. The teams are evidently of high quality. This could be the best final of the decade”.
Praise for Guardiola and his Barça
Asked to comment on rival coach Josep Guardiola, Ferguson said “he is a young coach who has done a lot to change the team’s play. We all recognise that he has made the team more mature. Since he arrived, the play has evolved. I think it’s been fantastic. If we look at Barça in the past, with Dutch managers, we see that they have come on.” Ferguson also admitted that he wanted to sign Guardiola as a player back in 2001, before he eventually joined Brescia: “He had an incredible pass” he said.
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