Champions League Final: For Manchester City, winning the Champions League has turned into a dream and an obsession, according to Pep Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne. As they go ready to play Inter Milan in the championship game on Saturday in Istanbul, City are poised to achieve greatness.
For a match that might not only see Guardiola’s team win the European championship for the first time but also complete the triple, they are heavy favourites. The Premier League champions are trying to put years of disappointment behind them after experiencing several near-misses while pursuing the goal they most desire.
When asked if winning was a “dream” or a “obsession” during City’s pre-game news conference on Friday at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, De Bruyne shared his thoughts on the subject.
“Maybe both, it depends who you ask,” said the Belgium playmaker. “Every professional player wants to win the Champions League and be on top.
“If you can win the Champions League, you’ve reached one of the biggest things you can. To compete every year is amazing, and I’ve been able to compete against the best, but we’ve got a chance to close that if we are good enough.”
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In each of Guardiola’s seven seasons as manager, City has advanced to the tournament’s knockout rounds, but they have not yet achieved their goal. The closest they have come is finishing as runners-up two seasons ago after losing to Chelsea in the championship game.
Guardiola, who won the competition twice as Barcelona boss, said: “It’s absolutely a dream, yes.
“To achieve things you always have to have the correct proportion of obsession and desire. It’s a positive word for the desire and will to win it. It is of course a dream for us.”
Erling Haaland’s goal scoring has contributed to City’s exceptional season. The dynamic Norwegian has 52 goals to his credit after a stellar debut season at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola, whose two previous triumphs came in tandem with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, expects that Haaland will prove to be the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Haaland acknowledged this week that he was recruited to City to win the Champions League. Haaland has only scored once in his past seven games, but Guardiola is not concerned about this going into the encounter.
“I don’t have doubts,” he said. “If you have doubts about Erling scoring you are a very lonely person.
“Tomorrow he will be ready to help us win the Champions League.”
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Haaland has formed a potent attacking partnership with De Bruyne.
Elaborating more, he added: “You have a feeling with a player and I understand what he wants. It clicked really well. He’s scored at an incredible rate and settled really easily.”
De Bruyne has been chasing Champions League success with City since 2015.
He said: “We have been consistent, we have been good enough, but we have to find a way to win the first one. It would be immense for the club and the fans, something amazing.”
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