Guardiola excited by City UCL opener against Inter Milan

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Guardiola excited by City UCL opener against Inter Milan  17/09/2024  CFGA, Manchester, UK

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00:00Afternoon, guys. Same for us as ever, and mics on either side. There are no embargoes,

00:14so please raise your hands, let us know that you'd like to ask a question. We'll take...

00:18Is there any Italian-speaking media in the room? Okay, we'll hold until the end of the

00:22press conference, if that's okay. We'll start with English. Someone to start, please. Simon?

00:29You've obviously been phenomenally successful in the Champions League in the old format.

00:35With the way that this competition has been restructured, do you have to look at the eight

00:42games in a different way, or what are you trying to do? Are you trying to finish top

00:47to get a seeding, or just a top eight? How does it work?

00:51Win our first game, and the second one, and see what happens, and the last of the last

00:58games, take a look. Just like in the Premier League, it's not necessary to take the table

01:02right now. It will be in the future. Win the first game, and the next ones, and after we

01:09see. For all of us, it's new. Maybe for more experience next season, if we are lucky to

01:16play this competition, maybe we can read better what we have to do. Normally, in the

01:22past, when we had success to go through in the group stages, at home we were able to

01:26win all the games, except one year. Make the nine points, and this is what we have to do.

01:31Our games at home, we have to try to take the points, otherwise everything can happen.

01:36Pep, obviously you had a very special night against Inter, sort of 16 months ago. Do you

01:42feel that they're a better team now than they were then?

01:46It was a better team in that moment. It was a good team in that moment, and it's a really

01:51good team right now. Same manager, Simone knows how to have incredible patterns. You

01:59know, in Italy, the last years, they were the best. In Italy, it's always been a tough

02:08league, a lot of experience, and so competitive. Tomorrow will not be an exception.

02:14Have you watched that final back a lot of times?

02:16Yesterday, the first time, yes.

02:21Man City v Inter seems like exactly the sort of game UEFA would want for the start of this

02:27competition, but some of the players are already talking about having to play extra games.

02:34Having to play into January in this group stage, is that more mentally difficult to plan for?

02:42I've said many times, I don't think much about the future, about what happens in January

02:47and February, or what is the mental. I don't know, I'm focusing on preparing well for the

02:53game and trying to win tomorrow. After the rest of the day, Arsenal and Watford, I don't

02:58think much, honestly. It's always been like that. I don't know what's going to happen,

03:03not even tomorrow, imagine in January. Many things can happen. I think in modern football,

03:10modern sports, you have to handle the present and what is the next game, and that's all.

03:21Good afternoon, good to see you. For a lot of City fans, that final back in 2023 was

03:28a wonderful occasion. What's your most vivid memory of that night?

03:33The ball was nice, tight game. The first half was much, much better than the second half.

03:39After goal, we had one clear chance to fulfil, they had two clear, clear chances.

03:46The coin came in our side, could go to the other side. It's so nice to have many Champions

03:54League, we have just one, so winning was of course special, but if you analyse the game,

04:00it was so, so tight. I said in the days before the final, I remember how tough

04:06is the opponent. Now the people believe me more, because the people need to see

04:11really how strong they are. But it's not a final now, it's a game at home. We are going to go to

04:19Milan, it's completely different. With our people, our games at home, we try to do it.

04:27How much inspiration perhaps will your players draw from that wonderful night tomorrow?

04:33Sorry?

04:34How much inspiration will your players draw from that night when they play into tomorrow?

04:44I think they have to know what they have to do. They have to judge something, because

04:52with the way they attack, it's so difficult to control.

04:56In that moment, about the inspiration, about the emotions, I think I'm so cold on that.

05:05It's the first game of the group stage with eight games, and after, what happens in the future.

05:09So we just tactically be present, what you have to do.

05:17I wanted to ask about Kevin De Bruyne, because obviously he had the difficult injury last

05:22season, and then he came back. A lot of assists, some games really good, some games not so good.

05:27But it seems like this season he started it as good as ever. How does he seem,

05:31how does he feel around the training pitch?

05:33Yeah, I agree. But it's the same with Erling and all the comments after the game. I said

05:41the season will start now, and there are a lot of games. Of course it started really well,

05:45came back good, helped us in the Premier League games, in the competitions that we had. But

05:53now we see. So every three or four games, so he cannot sustain in any player every week.

06:01But yeah, I'm happy. His mood is good, and he's playing a good level.

06:04And in terms of Phil Foden, when he's back available for selection,

06:08should we expect him to be playing more in the central areas now, like at the end of last season?

06:14Or could he still be used on the wing?

06:16Yeah, we have Gundo now back and other players. But yeah, his position,

06:21you know, it's better he's there. But when everybody's fit, the contention is tough,

06:26and they have to compete for themselves, to perform well. I want to rotate, but they have

06:31to prove when I rotate they are ready to play. When they don't perform well, I rotate less.

06:36So the business here is to win the next game, and not because I give presents for

06:42this player or the other one. I want everybody involved, because it's the best way to work the

06:47injuries, to be fresh mentally, physically, but they have to perform.

06:52Erling has 99 goals in 103 games for City. If he scores tomorrow, he'll beat Cristiano Ronaldo to

07:00be the fastest player to get to 100. I think Ronaldo got 100 goals in 105 for Real Madrid.

07:05What do those numbers say about Erling? And how much better can he get?

07:09Akanji was talking at the weekend about him becoming an all-round player,

07:13involved in the game a lot more. But can you just talk about those kind of numbers?

07:16Because you've said in the past that those are kind of messy and Ronaldo numbers.

07:20Can he bowl? But if you tell me in the next 100 games he'll score another 99 goals, for me it's

07:26fine. So if he won't improve, don't improve. If he scores in the next 100 games 99 goals,

07:34I'll be more than delighted, and City and all the organisation from Man City as well,

07:39and I think for him as well. But I think the experience playing game and game and game and game,

07:46they will improve. So it's difficult to improve when you don't play. So as much games he's going

07:52to play in this club, he will be a better player. For a natural way, not because we say something

07:58special, or he practises something special, in a natural way.

08:02Are those numbers surprising you though? Because you knew you were getting a goal scorer,

08:07a guy that was a great finisher, but have those numbers even surprised you?

08:13A little bit, yeah. Do you know why? I played 11 years as a profession,

08:21as a football player. I was a football player in the past, you know?

08:24I scored 11 goals. This guy in four goals scored nine. So have one more game, equalised me.

08:32So imagine, he surprised me.

08:38Just on the improvement, Pep, do you sense there is that hunger and thirst in him to improve?

08:46He's a player who just isn't satisfied.

08:49The difference of last season, he feels his body,

08:53his niggles and his tiredness, it feels better. I think the difference between this season and

08:59the previous one, or especially in the first season, they're making incredible numbers,

09:02the year of the travel. He came from Dortmund with a lot of problems muscular in the first

09:07month, the struggle a little bit. So far he feels, I'm clean, I feel good here and no problems. But

09:17what I said before with Kevin Hansen, every three or four days, game, game, game.

09:22I don't know, in one or two or three months' time. I don't expect every single game to score

09:27three or two, three or two goals. I don't expect that. The moment that it's going to happen,

09:32it's not a problem because I know the quality is there. But I think the difference of last

09:36season is what I said, he feels good, no problems. When a player, not just him, all the players

09:43had that feeling, he can perform his best. Is that a bit worrying for opponents that

09:49he's still being able to hit those numbers, even though he's had injuries, missed two months last

09:55season, he's had niggles and problems to get with, he's still got to that? The opponents will find

10:01a solution to control these numbers of goals. And we have to find the resolution to beat them,

10:09to find a way. But, of course, they are going to find...

10:14And after when this happens, it's because there will be more players over him,

10:18and I have to create an environment around him to another player to score goals.

10:25But hopefully he can continue his mindset positive and he can continue to help us.

10:31One more in English, guys, then we'll take some Italian.

10:33Hi Pep, you've studied Inter's games, obviously, a lot this season. What in particular makes you

10:39think that they're such a dangerous team for you to face?

10:43First is the historical team, the incredible mentality. They are built to win every single

10:50game. They are created to win the competitions. Last year they won a lot, and that means the

10:57mindset of the players that I'm able to do it is quite similar to us. They have a good high

11:04pressing, almost man-to-man, similar to Brentford. After they defend with the typical mentality in

11:09Italy that they have to suffer, I don't know how much it means that they are not a problem.

11:15Strong team in set-pieces, good incredible qualities in the build-ups with Bastoni,

11:21Chanel, Loglou, Pavard, and after good guys coming for the second line, especially Varela.

11:30I don't know if Di Marco will be fit, but every time he crosses right with four or five players

11:35in the box, yeah, a complete team. You cannot win the Italian league or being in the position

11:44two years ago with the same manager, 90% of the players the same ones,

11:48final Champions League if you don't have something special.

12:18It would be a competition that we can think of, that we were much, much stronger than them.

12:23One thing that the media says is that going to a final, making us weaker than the others, is a dream.

12:34In Italy this is a dream, you are masters. But I knew that they would be strong as they will be tomorrow.

12:41I have a lot of respect for them, for what they have been doing for so many years.

12:46It will be a different competition, because a final in the Champions League is completely different

12:54from a group stage match, but we'll see. We'll see if we can impose our game and play a good match.

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