Jeddah: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said his players are ready for the FIFA Club World Cup final but also know how dangerous opponents Fluminense will be as they play the typical Brazilian style of the 1970s, 80s and the early 90s like when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994.
City take on the Brazilian giants on Friday evening here and Guardiola admits he is captivated by their diverse mix of experience and youth and the flair they play with.
City booked their ticket to final with Tuesday’s 3-0 semi-final win over Urawa Red Diamonds 24 hours after Fluminense had overcome Al-Ahly 2-0 at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
For City, the game presents the Club with an opportunity to become the first English team to win the five major trophies of Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in a single calendar year.
Addressing the media in pre-match conference the City boss said his squad were primed and aware of the importance of the occasion but equally there was respect in abundance for the quality of our opponents.
“The players are ready and they know how important it is. The pleasure is to have done it. We won the semi-final. We try since the semi-final against Urawa to assess the quality that Fluminense have. I know exactly the talent and the quality of Fluminense and what they can do. They have beaten teams from Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay,” Guardiola was quoted by club’s official website.
“I know the players and respect them for what they do. It’s really good the way they play. They have five or six players over 37, that means they can control emotions. They play typical Brazilian style of the 1970s, 80s and the early 90s like when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994.
“They play lots of ball, short passes, one v one, physicality. We have to be aware how much they will try to run behind. We have to be precise with the ball and accept they play the way we never face. It is not positional, they move a lot. The ball moves side to side. We have to impose our rhythm and do a good performance and be resilient in the bad moments.”
City have been through a period of indifferent form in the Premier League– winning one, drawing four and losing one of our last six domestic fixtures– leaving them on fourth place, yet they are considered the favourite to win the Club World Cup.
Guardiola said a key to victory will be keeping a tight rein on the emotions. “How do we do that? (suppress emotions). How do you play a Club World Cup final without emotion?” Pep asked. “Emotion is there, it’s how you handle it. It’s there in the head. It’s how long it stays in your mind. That’s the big target in finals.
“It’s the fourth time I am here. The first time at Barcelona in 2009 we scored in the 93rd minutes to go to extra time,” he said.
IANS