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‘You have to be lucky’: Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola grateful for small margins
A delighted Pep Guardiola said Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Internazionale at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium that claimed the Champions League and a historic treble was “written in the stars”.
Rodri’s 68th-minute strike gave City a first European Cup in a hard-fought final in which Romelu Lukaku spurned a late chance to equalise with a header, Ederson saving via a knee at close range.
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Guardiola said: “It was written in the stars that we’d win this season – and we did. I’m feeling tired, calm and satisfied. This fucking trophy is so difficult to win. We knew it would be hard. They are really good. We were anxious in the first half but it was a question of being patient. I told them to be patient.
“You have to be lucky, with Ederson at the end, and this competition is [a toss of] a coin. The momentum came from winning the Premier League and FA Cup and now we have this. It was not our best performance. I have no energy to think of next season and we need a break. We will start from zero and it’s our job. Winning the treble is so difficult.”
City join Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United 1998-99 vintage as the only English teams to claim the treble. Guardiola said: “It is a honour to sit alongside Sir Alex Ferguson – I got a message in my phone this morning from him that touched me.”
This was City’s 12th major trophy under Guardiola. “Maybe we can build a museum for all the trophies,” he said.
Guardiola thanked the club hierarchy. “They support me unconditionally in the defeats in this competition,” he said. “In many clubs if that would happen you are sacked.”
Of next season, Guardiola said: “No, don’t talk, I need a break. My chairman said: ‘Oh, London is next season’s venue [Wembley] of the final,’ so I don’t tell you my answer to him. Now is time to celebrate. There are teams who win the Champions League and disappear. We have to avoid it. Knowing me it is not going to happen but it is a big relief to have this trophy. Now we don’t get asked about it.
“Especially this season, the entire world says if we don’t win the Champions League we will not be complete and I agree, I have to accept it, that maybe it is me that is wrong … People [may] say I have to win trebles every season. I am good manager, Pep, but not that good.”
Rodri, who was dropped for City’s 2021 Champions League final defeat by Chelsea, said he had been playing poorly before the break. “I wasn’t good in the first half – I was playing shit to be honest,” the midfielder said. “I just said to myself: ‘You have to calm the situation.’ And I scored a goal. Unbelievable.
“Finals are like this. You expect to play well like always. The emotions are there, the nerves are there, but the lads, we compete until the end. Some of these guys are 20, 21, 22, some of them their first final. It’s normal, but we compete like animals. It wasn’t easy. What a team we faced, unbelievable they way they defend, the way they counterattack.”
Ilkay Gündogan lifted the trophy after doing the same with the FA Cup and Premier League. “Unbelievable,” the captain said. “Difficult to put in words. Today we made history. It was difficult for both teams. We weren’t at our best in the first half. We were hesitating. We knew we had to do better in the second. It was probably a 50-50 game. We feel very fortunate it was for us.
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“We knew everyone was talking about the treble. The pressure was there but this team is built to handle the pressure in the best possible way. The Champions League is a beautiful competition and we are all incredibly happy to have won. This team deserves the highest recognition and winning the Champions League elevates us to the very top of the game.
“To win the treble is something amazing. It is the ultimate achievement for any club team, and we have done it. It reflects the quality we have in our squad, but it also shows how dedicated we are.”
An emotional Jack Grealish said: “It’s what you work your whole life for, innit? I’m just so happy, man. They played so good today and I was awful but I don’t care. To win the treble with these players and staff, it’s just so special.”
Of Guardiola, he said: “He’s just a genius, isn’t he? I’ve just said to him: ‘I want to thank you because you’ve made this happen for me. You put so much faith in me, buying me for a lot of money.’ Even last year when I was playing crap, he stayed with me and spoke to me, and then this year he’s given me that platform to go and perform, so I’ve just said thank you to him.”
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Kyle Walker was dropped for tactical reasons but came on in the closing minutes. “I made a speech before they went out,” he said. “This club means so much to me. To experience what I’ve experienced, I’m for ever in debt. My mum and dad are in the stands. From where I come from in Sheffield it’s not easy. I remember when my mum didn’t have a pound for the ice-cream van. To have this with them, I’m so thankful.”
City will fly home on Sunday on a club-liveried Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The following day they will stage an open‑top bus parade in Manchester city centre.
