Guardiola: Rivals will struggle to match our success
City manager hails eight trophy wins out of nine Spaniard continues love affair with Wembley
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City’s recent domination of English football may never be matched after watching his rampant side beat Aston Villa to win a third successive Carabao Cup final here yesterday.
City’s triumph means Guardiola’s team have won eight of the past nine domestic trophies on offer and, with the club still in contention to win the FA Cup and Champions League this season, the Catalan hopes more success will follow.
Guardiola says he could never have envisaged City sweeping the board as they have when he was appointed manager in 2016 and remains determined to add to his haul of two Premier League titles, three League Cups, one FA Cup and two Community Shields.
“Definitely not,” Guardiola said when asked if he could have forecast such serial success. “I think it’s more remarkable that of the last nine titles we won eight, except the [FA Cup] and that is incredible. It would be so difficult for anyone to do it again – not just us, our opponents. That needs consistency.
“The most remarkable thing is that when you have a team that’s incredible in the Premier League, and the last champions, so many champions drop after winning the league, finishing fifth or sixth or seventh, but we are still there in second, seven points clear from third, so that counts.
“There is no time to rest or celebrate but I think when you review what you have done in the last nine competitions it’s because this group has something special.”
Guardiola has won all six of his finals with City at Wembley, a ground where he also won the Champions League with Barcelona as a player and manager in 1992 and 2011 respectively. “I love the old Wembley and new Wembley – you can invite whenever you want,” Guardiola said with a smile.
Victory took Guardiola’s trophy haul to 29 in 11 seasons as a manager with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City and, although his team are set to relinquish their Premier League crown to runaway leaders Liverpool after a disappointing title defence, he believes his players are still hungry for more glory.
“I am so satisfied,” he said. “It’s not just about one title, it’s to show every game to try to win and that’s the best thing we can give for our club. Sometimes you win a title and then after you don’t win a title until a long time. The important thing is that everyone knows we have responsibility to win the titles, eight from 11 is something remarkable. We have won the last six [finals], it is remarkable. We have the Premier League to finish second and we have the FA Cup and the second leg against Real Madrid in the Champions League [round of 16].
“When I was 14 I said I’d be a manager and win 30 titles! Of course I’m so pleased but for the incredible group of people at Barca, Bayern and Manchester City, I’ll always be grateful to have been part of it. They are incredible numbers in a short time.”
Guardiola heaped praise on teenager Phil Foden for his man-of-thematch performance and lauded Claudio Bravo for a stunning save to deny Bjorn Engels and Villa a dramatic late equaliser.
“Unfortunately for him [Foden] he fights against one of the best in the world in his position but in training he’s incredible and always ready, we can count on him to play wider or inside and the way he is ready to compete,” Guardiola said. “He’s faster on the counter-attack and clever in the small spaces, he’s got incredible finishing. He’s always scoring in training.
“He’s 19 and every game he’s played it’s new experiences for his mind and body, he can be here and play without a problem, I never doubt that he can do it and it was perfect for me to let him play.”
Bravo’s shot-stopping has often been a subject of criticism but he rose to the occasion. “He is one of the most incredible professionals I’ve ever seen,” Guardiola said. “He will have success whatever he does in life. The keepers in a final they have to save it and he did it.”
Guardiola was also impressed by the reaction of John Stones after the defender’s error led to Villa pulling a goal back, with the pair embracing at the end. “Always with players we speak about how you react,” Guardiola said. “It was not easy for him in front of 90,000 and after that he never made one mistake and made two big clearances [at the end]. I know he’s struggled a bit because he didn’t play much but we need him, he was involved in most of the titles many times.”