‘Historically, Inter are bigger’ than Manchester City, says Guardiola

Pep Guardiola and the Skyblues on the roof of Europe? HANDOUT/REUTERS

City, cautious favorite

Pep Guardiola (coach): “I watched as many Inter games as I could to try to get to know them, but in the end it’s a football game. The team that plays better for more than 95 minutes wins. Historically, Inter are bigger than us. But that’s not important. What is important is that tomorrow (Saturday), at 10 p.m. local time in Istanbul, we achieve the best possible performance.»

Kevin De Bruyne (middle): “I think we worked very hard to be at the best possible level. We managed to win a lot of matches and national trophies. Everyone here knows how we play as a team, how we play defensively and offensively. We will simply try to act in this way tomorrow (Saturday).»

Ruben Dias (defender): “The biggest mistake we can make is to forget that it’s a final. People can say what they want, in my mind and in the mind of the team, there is no favorite in the final, no matter what you did to reach it. (…) We can see the character of a team in these matches, if the players want to move forward or start to hide. We like the pressure. It makes you run faster, jump higher. We just have to take it into account and enjoy it.»

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The C1, a dream or an obsession?

De Bruyne: “Maybe both. Every professional footballer wants to win the Champions League and be at the top, with his team and as an individual. When you win the Champions League, you have achieved the greatest thing a player can achieve. (…) For me the seven years at City have been incredible, with a lot of ups. We haven’t been able to win the Champions League yet. We were good in this competition, we just have to find a way to win this first one. For the club and the supporters, it would be incredible.»

Guardiola: “It really is a dream, absolutely. To achieve things, you have to have the right proportion of obsession, of desire. Obsession is a positive word. It is a dream for all of us.»

The failure of 2021

De Bruyne: “We lost two years ago (1-0 against Chelsea on May 29, 2021 in Porto, editor’s note), it happens, we were less good that day. You have to accept it and move on. Fortunately we have another opportunity to prove that we can win this competition.»

Guardiola: “I would like to tell you the lessons we learn from this, but I cannot. It’s another game, two years later, with different players. Two years ago I tried to produce a good game against Chelsea, it didn’t work, people say my choices were bad. I have a plan for tomorrow (Saturday), if we win it will be good. We are ready, the players will give everything, knowing and respecting the opponent.»

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“Don’t Get Nervous Too Quickly”

Guardiola: “Onana (the Inter goalkeeper, editor’s note) is an exceptional goalkeeper. Everything they do, with Bastoni on the left side in particular, is exceptional. We have to try to prevent their connections as much as possible, especially with the ball.»

De Bruyne: “We know Inter, they are very compact and always play in the same system. Their two strikers hold the ball well and they defend incredibly well. We do not expect a very open match, it is often the case in the final elsewhere. One must not get nervous too quickly. There might not be many chances at the start but we have to try, play our way and be relaxed.»

Slides: “It’s a Champions League final, we can’t expect an easy game. We know Inter’s strengths and it’s not just one, two or three players. We know that at the slightest moment when we do not give them enough importance, we will already be making a mistake. It won’t happen like that.»

Statements taken at a press conference