Guardiola salutes his treble winners

Josep Guardiola could barely contain his delight as he was applauded both in and out of the news conference that followed FC Barcelona's 2-0 defeat of Manchester United FC in the UEFA Champions League final:

We're not the best team in Barça history but we've had the best season.
I'm leaving straight away tomorrow – I can't do anything to top this ... We're very happy, delirious. We're aware that we've done something magnificent. I'd like to congratulate the whole club and the fans. We're not the best team in Barça history but we've had the best season. We've won three trophies but it's also about how we've won them. As a player it was great to win this trophy for the first time. Now we have three which isn't as many as other clubs but we're getting closer to a select group of mythical teams. I've said many times that we're fortunate to have the legacy of Johan Cruyff and Charlie Rexach. They were the fathers and we've followed them.
At the beginning of the game we didn't expect Manchester United to press so high. They caused us problems and we have to admit they had a great chance to score from Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick [in the second minute]. We scored with our first chance and then tried to move the ball inside. In the semi-final last year we noticed Messi had problems with Evra so we decided to move Leo from out wide to have one more player in midfield. He's the best right now and has written his name on the Ballon d'Or. Messi has a real talent and will never hide – when the going gets tough he really gets going.
I have to process my emotions now as we've done something wonderful. We're not a tall side and have defended without a few regular players but we attacked and defended well against the best team in the world. Give me a few days to rest and then I'll tell you how I'm going to tackle next year. I just want to play well and be back here again. You can play badly and still win, but if you are daring and attack you have a better chance of winning – there's nothing more dangerous than not taking a risk. You can enjoy a victory but with time you enjoy it even more. Tomorrow we will celebrate with Catalonia.

via uefa.com

Xavi Hernández celebrates rome 2009

Xavi Hernández was left to reflect on a "wonderful" feeling after inspiring FC Barcelona to victory in the UEFA Champions League final with yet another midfield masterclass.

The 29-year-old crowned a memorable 12 months in Rome by setting up Barça's second goal for Lionel Messi in the 2-0 win against Manchester United FC and was selected as the man of the match by the UEFA Technical Study Group, yet another personal accolade for the midfielder who was also named the player of the tournament at UEFA EURO 2008™:

I'm very happy, especially for the team and for my personal prize – we're very content. This is historic, for Barcelona and the squad.

Xavi, one of seven homegrown players in the Catalan club's starting lineup produced by the famed academy at La Masia, encapsulates the club's philosophy and has no doubts the Blaugrana's family spirit had been a crucial factor:

I feel very comfortable; I've said for a long time that it is wonderful with these team-mates around me. We worked hard and pressured United by attacking so they wouldn't feel comfortable. Apart for the first ten minutes, we dominated most of the game.

That has been the story of Barça's season, with 42 of their 61 matches ending in victory and the Spanish Liga and Copa del Rey titles already secured – although Xavi has no doubts which trophy means the most, saying simply:

This one, it's clear. It's the club's third European Cup and without doubt this is the best title. I don't know, I'll leave that for other people to say. I can only say it's a privilege to be considered in that debate. I don't know if we are the best team, but this treble is historic so we have to enjoy it.

via uefa.com

Xavi willing to play waiting game

As far as Xavi Hernández is concerned, the template for FC Barcelona to overcome Chelsea FC and reach the UEFA Champions League final is to replicate the whirlwind first half the Catalan side produced in defeating FC Bayern München in the previous round.

On that day Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry mounted a four-goal onslaught in the opening 43 minutes of the first leg which, effectively, ensured Barça's presence in the last four. But even if that is the dream route to follow at the Camp Nou against Guus Hiddink's side, Xavi believes Chelsea are a much tougher prospect and that the decisive moments of the tie will come in London.

It would be a huge advantage, in fact it would be a bit of a dream, if we could hit four goals against Chelsea like we did that night. What we can repeat, however, is the level of play and the intensity with which we attacked Bayern. My opinion remains that we are not likely to finish the tie in the first leg – the match at Stamford Bridge will be decisive. Look what happened when Chelsea won at Anfield. Despite that victory they had to fight to stay alive in the second leg and what I feel is important is that we now have enough experience to play this cleverly over the two legs of the tie.
Chelsea do have the tremendous physical power and competitive spirit which everyone talks about but they are also now managed by a fine Dutch coach and I think it's important to point out that they have top-class footballers in the side. Lampard and Drogba stand out but there's also the experience of John Terry – he and Essien are among the best in the world in their positions. I admire Terry and have a great deal of respect for him. In fact I well remember how his aerial ability knocked us out of the competition four years ago.
I don't accept that the Premier League is the best in the world, in fact I'd say that in technical and tactical terms our league is superior. I know that a great deal was made of how Liverpool eliminated Real Madrid but one game doesn't prove anything conclusively. Barça are not in this semi-final by chance and we've defeated good sides like Bayern and Olympique Lyonnais to get here. We are ready for this test.

via uefa.com

United fired up for Dragons' visit

Manchester United FC may have only 48 hours' recovery time between the visit of Aston Villa FC and their quarter-final first leg against FC Porto but Sir Alex Ferguson believes his European champions will enter Tuesday's tie re-energised by Sunday's events at Old Trafford.
When Italian debutant Federico Macheda struck three minutes into added time to secure a thrilling 3-2 comeback win, he not only sent United back to the Premier League summit, but also restored hitherto flagging levels of belief. "You have to say that winning goal has just galvanised the club," said Sir Alex, who went on to describe it as a "defining moment" in their campaign.
From staring a third successive defeat in the face with eleven minutes remaining, United were celebrating the kind of victory that has become the Old Trafford trademark under the Scot.

We survived some hairy moments but when it went to 2-1 then you saw Manchester United, the risk came out, everyone started playing with abandon. We are sending some of our supporters into cardiac treatment, including the manager, but it is fantastic to watch.

Sir Alex, who said man-of-the-moment Macheda can expect a place on the bench, hopes the return of Wayne Rooney, suspended on Sunday together with Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidić, will provide extra impetus along with Cristiano Ronaldo's return to scoring form, although Dimitar Berbatov misses out with an ankle injury. "Our team will now hopefully start going into overdrive," said the 67-year-old. He must hope this goes for his suddenly fragile defence too. United have conceded eight goals in the last three domestic outings and even if Vidić returns and Rio Ferdinand shrugs off a groin problem, they cannot afford to repeat recent wobbles against opponents who have registered two goals in each of their last three European away games.
Moreover, the Portuguese champions secured an eighth successive league away win on Saturday in beating Vitória SC 3-1, and their coach, Jesualdo Ferreira, arrived promising an attacking outlook.

English teams play with speed and high intensity at home but we must not lose our identity. We have an attacking spirit, we are not going to change and we will play to win. We want a victory above all but to score a goal will be important.

Porto eliminated United when these sides met in the 2003/04 Round of 16, their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford securing a 3-2 aggregate success. It was the only time they have avoided defeat on eleven previous visits to England but Ferreira, who could start with a front three of Hulk, Lisandro and Cristián Rodríguez, is determined his charges rise to the occasion: "We are top of our league and want to show what we can do." Sir Alex is certainly not underestimating opponents who finished ahead of Arsenal FC in the group stage, despite losing 4-0 in London.

The first thing Cristiano said to me when we had the draw is 'this is a difficult game'. We have watched them and they are a difficult side. Physically they are very strong, and Hulk up front is a very good player.

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Klose prognosis is bitter blow to Bayern

FC Bayern München will go into both legs of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final next month without striker Miroslav Klose who has been ruled out for at least six weeks after ankle surgery.
The 30-year-old had the operation in Switzerland today after injuring his right ankle during Bayern's Bundesliga win at VfL Bochum 1848 on Saturday. It was reported initially that he faced a two-week lay-off, but in fact he could be sidelined for as long as two months. Although the surgery has been declared a success, the Germany centre-forward will miss Bayern's quarter-final matches – on 7/8 and 14/15 April – as well as the first leg of any semi-final, scheduled for 28/29 April.
Bayern coach Jürgen Klinsmann said it was a "bitter diagnosis and a severe blow" to lose the club's leading scorer, with Klose having hit ten league goals and seven in the UEFA Champions League this season. The attacker also sits out Germany's forthcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Wales. Bayern, second in the Bundesliga and into the last eight of Europe's élite club competition after putting 12 goals past Sporting Clube de Portugal, were already deprived of Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry, Tim Borowski and Hamit Altıntop for the Bochum game.
Klose was injured after half an hour at the Ruhrstadion when he caught his foot in a divot in the pitch. "We wish him all the best and hope he'll be back soon," added Klinsmann. The Bavarian team will find out their quarter-final opponents when the draw is made at UEFA headquarters on Friday.

via uefa.com