Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, said that his team’s win in the Champions League final against Inter Milan was “written in the stars” after his team achieved the triple on Saturday.
The collection of the 52-year-old Spaniard was completed at City when compatriot Rodri scored the game’s lone goal in the 68th minute to give City a hard-fought and narrow 1-0 win against the tenacious Italians.
Guardiola has now produced 12 major trophies for City, emulating Alex Ferguson, whose Manchester United team also won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in 1999. Guardiola’s Manchester United squad also won the triple in 1999.
Not only that, but he is the first coach to win two trebles. He won the Spanish version of the triple when he was the manager of Barcelona in 2009, which consisted of winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League.
As a manager, Guardiola has already won three Champions League championships, and only Carlo Ancelotti, who has won four, has won more.
He said that he had received a message of good luck from Sir Alex Ferguson, whose tally of 38 titles for Manchester United still surpasses Pep Guardiola’s collection of 17 trophies with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City.
Guardiola was quoted as saying to the media, “It is an honor for me to be alongside Alex Ferguson.” “I received a message this morning that really struck a chord with me; that was such a sweet gesture.”
In order for United to win the triple, they had to stage a miraculous comeback in the nick of time against Bayern Munich. While City’s victory was less spectacular, they were still had to endure hardship.
TOUGH NUT
Inter proved to be a difficult nut to crack, just as Guardiola had expected, and they posed a danger to prolong City’s wait for the trophy that owner Sheikh Mansour has yearned for ever since he bought the club in 2008.
“Tired. Calm. Satisfied. An emotional Guardiola stated this after he had consoled each and every one of his players and the members of the club’s administration who had joined the celebrations on the field. “It’s so difficult to win it,” he remarked.
“Inter are in a league of their own. At the halftime break, I cautioned you to be patient. You have to be fortunate. This competition is decided by flipping a coin.
It was predestined from the beginning of time. We have ownership over it.”
Although City were not at their best, credit must go to Inter since they were able to break City’s flow with their dogged performance. Guardiola’s team entered the final having lost just once in their previous 27 games across all competitions, but they were not at their best.
Erling Haaland, who has scored 52 goals so far this season, was held in check by Inter’s defense, which added another challenge for City to overcome. Chief playmaker Kevin De Bruyne went down with an injury in the first half of the match.
“We weren’t at our greatest level. Following the World Cup, the squad made some progress, and we were right there with them. “It wasn’t our best performance,” stated our head coach, Pep Guardiola.
Next year, Manchester City will compete for a record-tying fourth consecutive title in the Premier League and will be among the favorites to win the Champions League once again.
“It’s hard for me to think about the next season since I have no strength left in me. It has been much too long, and we need a break,” Guardiola said.
“At this point, our players are participating in worldwide competition. UEFA and FIFA, give some thought to this. People are now required to report back after the conclusion of the Premier League around two to three weeks ago. It is an excessive amount.
And despite the fact that City have just entered the ranks of European champions, Guardiola has said that there is still a significant amount of work to be done before they can be considered genuine powerhouse in Europe.
Guardiola, who was greeted with applause both inside and outside of the news conference, remarked that his team is now just 13 Champions Leagues titles behind Real Madrid. “If you two get some rest, we should be able to catch them.
“After winning the Champions League, some clubs disband, so we must make sure it doesn’t happen to us. But I hope this answers any questions you had for me concerning the Champions League.