Reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League “for the seventh year in a row, it’s quite impressive,” Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola reacted on Wednesday, thanking the club’s owners who “gave him time » to build a competitive team. “It was difficult to attack them (Copenhagen) because they are well organized with four or five players at the back. The result is there, the qualification,” commented the Spanish technician on TNT Sports after the 3-1 victory against the Danes in the round of 16 second leg.
From now on, “we are respected” in the big European Cup, welcomed the former coach of FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who arrived in 2016 on the Manchester City bench. With the English club, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, he only failed to reach the quarter-finals once, during his first season.
“I remember, when I arrived, the club didn’t believe we could do it. It was a process, step by step,” he rewound. “The problem is that coaches don’t have time in modern football. But they (the leaders of City, editor’s note) gave me time, they gave us time, the credit goes to them. Now we are a team that believes it can do it,” he added.
The 2021 finalist and 2023 European champion will know the identity of his opponent on March 15. “Let’s wait and see. The most important thing is to be here for the seventh year in a row, it’s quite impressive,” he concluded.