Page 118 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

down the left flank, but created little danger through the wide areas.
United continued with their plan but they found less space. Ferguson swapped Berbatov

for Park on sixty-five minutes, which weakened the midfield zone. The numerical superiority
in midfield became clearer and Barça seemed from then on calmer and in control.
The Barcelona defence dropped deeper and the rest of the team followed suit to avoid
Cristiano finding space behind the defenders. Because of it, Barça suffered less and
Ronaldo became anonymous. It was a logical move by Pep as it was a final and they were

already 1-0 up; but that meant they created less pressure upfield; waiting for United and
looking for isolated moves, such as the one which led to Barcelona’s second goal.
Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United (Messi, 70). Evra loses possession and Xavi advances,

unimpeded. He sends a perfect cross towards the far post where, unmarked, Messi steers
a header across Vander Sar and into the far corner. Well-crafted goal, poor defending.
Scholes replaces Giggs, Keita comes on for Henry – seventy-six minutes.
So United did play well in the first half and Barcelona was more practical and defensive
than they were in following seasons, risking less than usual. On that night, individual quality

made the difference and Barcelona won their first European and domestic treble in their
110-year history.

The press conference

Pep Guardiola: I’m pleased with the way we achieved the result; we took risks, we played

with three upfront. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The Barcelona coach went on to pay homage to Paolo Maldini, dedicating the victory to
the Italian legend who, just a few days previously, had played his last game for AC Milan at
the San Siro but had been jeered and whistled by a section of his own club’s supporters.
Pep was disgusted at the player’s treatment and wanted to make a point while showing his

appreciation for a fellow professional from his era in the game.
Later that evening, as Pep and Manel Estiarte made their way out on to the unlit pitch of
the Olympic stadium to savour the moment, the two friends paused to reflect upon what the

team and coach had achieved that evening. Pep spoke to the man who had stood by him
throughout the years in a way that he could only do with his closest and most trusted
friends: ‘We’ve just won the European Cup for the third time, the same number as
Manchester United. We’re getting closer and closer to the very top of the elite. We are the
European Champions! It feels like we’ve just written our names in history.’