Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appeared to taunt Italian football before tonight’s Champions League Final against Inter: ‘We know that when the result is 0-0, they’ll think they’re winning.’
The Spanish tactician spent a few years in the Peninsula as a footballer, playing for Brescia and Roma in Serie A.
Guardiola discussed the approach of Italian teams earlier this week during Manchester City’s media day at their training centre.
“You [Italians] feel comfortable saying you are not favourites, but we just accept it, and there is nothing more we can do,” he said.
“We want to win, but we all know Inter want the same. Italy is strong in every competition.”
Pep said more during Friday’s pre-match interviews. This time, he spoke to Alex Del Piero and Paolo Di Canio, two of Sky Sport Italia’s pundits in Turkey.
“The Italians in these situations are very good. We know that when the result is 0-0, they’ll think they’re winning, and we’re losing,” he said.
“If we concede a goal, we should not think about scoring three, but just one to draw. We must be calm and suffer in the bad moments. We know there will be.”
Former Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo also spoke about Guardiola’s relationship with Italian football in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday.
The ex-Italy international beat Guardiola’s Barcelona in the Champions League semis in 2012, going on to lift the trophy with the Blues.
“Guardiola is more than a coach, he is a visionary, but he knows how competitive Italians are and fears us,” said Di Matteo.
Guardiola played 28 games in Serie A, scoring three goals.