Guardiola relishing return to Wembley for showdown
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Barcelona's players throw teammate Eric Abidal (top) in the air as they celebrate beating Real Madrid to qualify for the final during their Champions League semi-final second-leg match at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona on Tuesday. Gustau Nacarino / Reuters |
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is looking forward to a Champions League final at the place where he tasted his only triumph in Europe's elite club competition as a player - Wembley Stadium.
The former midfielder was a key part of the Barca team that won the European Cup in 1992 against Sampdoria at the old Wembley before the stadium was rebuilt.
Tuesday's 1-1 draw with archrival Real Madrid sent Guardiola's team through 3-1 on aggregate to the May 28 final, where it will play English Premier League leader Manchester United or Bundesliga side Schalke 04.
"Now we are going to play again in Wembley and it's an honor to reach the final of the Champions League," the 40-year-old said.
"Football is coming home no?," he added, a reference to the theme song for the Euro 1996 championships held in England.
"I would have prefered to play in the old Wembley and I don't know if everyone will be supporting Manchester United, but we will try to recover the players and try to keep showing the world our style of football.
"That means keeping the ball as long as possible and showing respect for the opponent."
Real was on the receiving end of another Barca masterclass in possession soccer on Tuesday when the Catalan club had 64 percent of the ball and restricted its opponent's formidable attack to just one shot on goal.
Guardiola said United, who has a 2-0 lead over Schalke 04 from last week's first leg ahead of Wednesday's return match at Old Trafford, was a different team to the one Barca beat 2-0 in the 2009 final in Rome and praised its manager Alex Ferguson.
"He has been able to readapt constantly and recreate teams and win and win and get to many finals," Guardiola said.
"We will find out tomorrow who our opponent will be and we are going to prepare as best as possible.
"They (United) have different strikers and attackers but their mentality will be the same. We will respect the opponent but take the ball and attack. That's the way we play football."
Ronaldo vents fury
Meanwhile, Real Madrid's Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, repeated coach Jose Mourinho's claims that bitter rival Barcelona was favored by referees on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw.
The former Manchester United player - who was outshone by Barcelona's two-time world player of the year Lionel Messi over the two legs - was especially incensed by the decision of Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere to rule out a Gonzalo Higuain goal early in the second-half.
De Bleeckere - one of several referees to be targeted by Mourinho's outburst following the first leg last week - decided Ronaldo had fouled Javier Mascherano in the lead-up to the goal, though, it was harsh as Barca defender Gerard Pique had pushed Ronaldo initially.
Had the goal stood it would have given Real a 1-0 lead in the game and a real chance of progressing at Barca's expense.
"It (trying to overhaul Barcelona's first leg lead) was Mission Impossible 4," said the 26-year-old, who scored the only goal to secure Madrid the Kings Cup against Barcelona late last month.
"We knew what was going to happen. We were used to it after the first leg. Higuain's goal was fine.
"Once again we have to live with that. (On the lead-up to the goal) Pique pushed me and I fell on top of Mascherano, who when he played in England (for West Ham and Liverpool) would not have fallen to the ground like that, but here he does it like everybody else.
"There was nothing wrong with the goal that could have altered the course of the match but the referee didn't want to see it that way.
"Those who know abut football know that Barcelona are very well protected. We just have to live with these injustices," said the Portuguese.
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