Page 126 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

And the competitive nature of Barcelona was undisputed. Before Wembley, Pep had lost
only one final, the Spanish Cup against Madrid. In fact, in his four years as a Barcelona

manager all the other finals played (eleven) were won.
Pep Guardiola: We were lucky at Wembley because in the semi-final against Inter we
had to go by bus because of the volcano and the threat of another ash cloud meant we had
t o go to London earlier. This gave us four days on our own, calm days, which was

incredibly rare for us. We were away from Barcelona and the pressure of the people,
friends and family. We were happy at Arsenal’s ground and we had time to prepare well for
the final. We could think about what we had to do to, and we prepared everything, every
single bit. We didn’t miss anything and in the final you can see that we played well, we were

the better team. The first final, in Rome, was a lot more equal, but in the second, at
Wembley, we were better prepared.
Sir Alex Ferguson: At Wembley, we had to decide how to play tactically against
Barcelona because of Villa and Pedro and the way they penetrated, and the fact they had

no central striker made it hard to plan.
PG: Our preparation for that game was crucial. Things like that tend to get overlooked by
analysts and pundits after the match but they make the difference in big games.
SAF: In that final we were well beaten. We were playing a more mature Barcelona, the

team had evolved and formed a complete unit. Piqué and Messi had matured, Xavi and
Iniesta performed like the players they are.
PG: It’s important to remember that finals are usually very close games, which is what
made our performance against Manchester United stand out even more. There have been

other games when we’ve played really well, but it’s always more difficult to do that in a final
because of the emotional factors that come into it and the quality of the opposition.
SAF: At Wembley, the two wide players were big improvements on Henry and Eto’o in
2009, in terms of penetration. This is probably because Henry and Eto’o were centre

forwards rather than wide players. I remember contemplating a change of tactics and going
against Messi – I toyed with the idea at half-time. But after the restart they got in front and
although we took a gamble in moving Valencia to right back and Nani to wide right,
Barcelona always had control of that game in 2011.

PG: In that second final my team knew each other more. We had spent a few years
together and I think that we played the game being more aware of our style and United’s
strengths and weaknesses.
Sir Alex: I don’t regret anything we did at Wembley because they were the better side.

The first two goals were entirely avoidable and maybe with a bit of luck we could have won
the game, but when the other team’s that bit better than you, then there’s not much you can
do about it. You accept it.
PG: The United players said it, ‘What they have done to us today, that has never

happened before.’ They understood it, they congratulated us on it, they recognised it –
something that doesn’t usually happen in football. Those ‘wars’ against our domestic rivals
are perhaps more difficult to understand for a foreign audience but I also think it is a cultural
thing. English football culture is different, they’ve been playing longer than us, there is a

respect towards not only the coaches but also the players that we don’t have here.