On the eve of the highly anticipated match between Manchester City-Inter, Pep Guardiola spoke at a press conference this afternoon. The Spanish coach answered the questions of the many journalists present and as always had high praise for the team coached by Simone Inzaghi.
While waiting for the intervention of the Interista coach that we will follow tonight on Passione Inter starting from 8.00 PM, here are the highlights of Guardiola’s conference:
INTER AFTER ISTANBUL – “Yesterday I revisited that final for the first time. They were already an excellent team and they still are, they have kept the same coach and in Italy they have been exceptional, they are the strongest in Italy. Simone is a great coach”.
MEMORIES OF ISTANBUL – “It was a great evening, but a tough match. We played the second half better than the first, the goal came from the side of our fans and it was beautiful. Inter have won several Champions League, for us it was the first and it was wonderful. Now they are even stronger and people will see it tomorrow, but tomorrow’s is not a final”.
STRATEGY – “We have to sort out the defense because their way of attacking is hard to control. It’s the first match, we have to be tactically sound with our objectives”.
GABBIA ANTI-HAALAND – “In the event of a trap, we will try to overcome this issue. It’s normal that they will try to stop him, but we will try to create a system that allows us to score many goals”.
INTER – “They are a historic club, with an incredible mentality. They are used to winning, they have that mentality and they are able to endure. They are strong physically, they have excellent individual talents in building up from the back. Calhanoglu, Acerbi, especially Barella. It’s a complete team, that can win the Italian championship and has kept the structure of the Champion’s final”.
INTER ATTITUDE – “Fierce Inter? Yes, but I already expected that in Istanbul. The media thought we would be highly favoured, but I knew how strong they were: someone flipped a coin but we won. Tomorrow however, it will be a different match, a final is another thing compared to a group stage. We will try to play our game and our race”.
LAUTARO BALLON D’OR – “Yes, perhaps. But I hope a player from our team can win it. He’s an extraordinary striker, knows how to score, knows how to do many things: he’s the captain of Inter, plays in the world champion Argentina. You have to be a special player to do such things”.
CHAMPIONS – “Can Inter win the Champions League? Yes”.
THURAM – “He moves a bit more into space compared to Dzeko and Lukaku, he’s really strong and has formed a very nice pair with Lautaro. He also plays with a backstop, they make very clear and well done moves, he’s a great acquisition”.
