In a quarter of an hour, which was delayed before the microphones at the Bernabéu, Pep Guardiola sent so many messages of praise to Real Madrid that anyone would have thought it was his inauguration speech on the white bench. "It is always a pleasure and an honor to return to this field. It is one of the largest in the world and I want to enjoy it," the Manchester City coach started.

"In this competition there is no one better than them," Guardiola said of the club that overwhelms the championship record. In his opinion, the "magnitude" of Madrid in Europe affects each of its players. "Every player knows the weight he has in this competition. Whoever comes here knows that not winning the Champions League is a small big failure," said the former Barcelona coach.

In another of his responses in English, he referred to Real as "the king of this competition" and defined Zinedine Zidane as "one of the greatest players of all time." As for his work in front of the white wardrobe, Pep was also very explicit with the French: "What he has done in Europe will not be repeated. Or it will be very difficult."

After this storm of praise, it was not very clear what the role of the City should be, a club with an immense economic muscle but that has not even stepped on the Champions League semifinals with Guardiola in front. "We are convinced that we feel like playing against them. Knowing if we can live up to it," said Santpedor's noi .

Almost six years after his last visit, then at the head of Bayern, nothing had to do with the character of the Spanish coach. "This Madrid is much more aggressive and supportive. They press ahead and the game still has it. They play very well. We will try to defend the strengths they have," Guardiola said.

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