Page 120 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

would be impossible. Nevertheless, in order to overcome Manchester United in another
European final, he would need to reinvent elements of his side, hence the decision to sign

David Villa. Pep’s interest in bringing the Valencia striker to the Camp Nou first became an
issue back in 2009 when, during the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, Guardiola
rang the player to tell him how much he wanted him at Barcelona and the role he saw for
him at the Camp Nou. The move broke down amidst competition from Real Madrid and
several Premier League clubs; but the fact that Pep had shown his faith in the Spanish

international a year earlier played a huge part in the striker moving to the Catalan club in the
summer of 2010.‘Pep is going to call you,’ Puyol told the forward. When Guardiola rings you
to tell you he needs you, it’s impossible to be left in any doubt that his interest is genuine.

David Villa will always be grateful to Pep for his persistence.
Having won the league three weeks previously, Villa, who had settled in extraordinarily
well in his first season at the club, was one of the footballers rested during the last games
of the domestic campaign – with an eye specifically on the Wembley showdown. ‘You will
get to the final in great shape, trust me, David,’ Pep repeated to him in the preceding

weeks. The manager knew that his eight World Cup finalists, and the Dutch midfielder
Ibrahim Afellay, had not had a break from the game for a very long time – vital both
physically and mentally. Pep would prepare for every eventuality and made the following

promise to his players:
‘Lads, you’ve a commitment to the fans in reaching the final, but if you get us there, then
I’m committed to making sure you win it.’
Guardiola was choosing his words carefully to sprinkle his customary gold dust on a
season that was again turning out as astonishing as any other. But he was not sure how his

fatigued side was going to react. The game was going to have the usual thorough analysis
and preparation, but did the players have enough left in the tank to respond to the
demands, physical and psychological?

Even Pep’s meticulous preparation and contingency plans could not have foreseen the
freak circumstances that popped up unexpectedly days before the final and that required an
immediate response.
The season before, a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland had drifted into European airspace,
forcing Barcelona to frantically rearrange their plans and travel by road to a Champions

League semi-final against Inter Milan, wrecking their pre-match preparations.
With an impending sense of déjà vu, the news broke that another Icelandic ash cloud,
spreading from the Grimsvotn volcano, was heading towards England and might lead to all

flights being suspended ahead of the Champions League final weekend. Pep and his staff
reacted quickly. To avoid having their plans left in tatters at the last minute, the club decided
to move their flight to London forward by two days from Thursday to Tuesday; giving them
four days in England to focus on the final.
It may have been a blessing in disguise. The team stayed at the luxurious Grove Hotel

and Spa in Hertfordshire and trained nearby at Arsenal’s London Colney facilities. The days
spent in the relative seclusion of their base in the English countryside afforded them some
vital R&R time as well as the opportunity to focus on the match, away from the pressures

and constant media attention they would have been subjected to in Barcelona.