Guardiola expects exciting final
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FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted on Monday that he and his players have taken a look back in time at their last meeting with Manchester United in the final of a Champions League.
The two sides will meet again in Wembley Stadium on the coming Saturday, just two years after Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in Rome.
"Yesterday and today we have looked at video of the final we played two years ago," said Guardiola.
"Manchester United played better than us in the first half, we were better in the second. They are a competitive strong team and they can made four or five lineups with no problem and they are all competitive. They are one of the best teams in the World and have been for the last 10 or 15 years and we are proud to play against them," he added.
Barcelona go to the final after two disappointing semifinal games against Real Madrid against a rival that dedicated itself to defending both at home and away. Guardiola expects a different game against the English Champions.
"I think we will see a good final, but you never know, at times sides are too scared of losing and that can spoil things. We have to try and think what Manchester will do," he said.
"They have players who can pressure us up the field and if they dominate us such as Chitcarito (Hernandez) and (Antonio) Valencia who are dangerous with spaces. I think we are going to see a good final and we hope all our fans will be able to travel," said Guardiola.
Manchester United will have a similar side to the one which Barcelona defeated two years ago, although they no longer have striker Cristiano Ronaldo who is now at Real Madrid. Guardiola doesn't believe that United miss their former star.
"It doesn't matter that Cristiano Ronaldo isn't there. He may have gone, but the rest of them are still there. I think they are a tremendously powerful side. Against Schalke in the semifinal, they made a lot of changes for the second leg and still won. I could never do that," he said.
Finally Guardiola made a brief explanation of the saying that Barcelona, which is from the region of Catalonia, is "more than a club".
"It is a long history and we would need a long time to explain it all, but FC Barcelona is a cultural entity, it is more than a football team and we have history behind us," he said.
"A long time ago we defended our rights and people came to the football ground to express their freedom and we are proud to represent what that means."
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