Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has given an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport in which he has praised what Serie A teams have done in the Champions League this season.
When asked if he was surprised to see two Italian teams in the semifinals, he replied: “No, it’s not a surprise. Italian football is in good shape”.
“I’ve seen the match on Tuesday night and Napoli impressed me. The matches against Milan this season have always been close. You win or lose for tight margins that can make the difference.
Do you have to say that Napoli is a bad team just because they’re out of the Champions League? No, because I saw them playing and I’ve been impressed. They’re going to win the Scudetto”.
Guardiola then focused on Milan and how their European pedigree has helped the players against Napoli in the quarter-final of the Champions League: “People believe that Champions League is the same as the Serie A. But in Europe, Milan change their mindset. It’s a club like Bayern Munich.
“I remember Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio Capello, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Costacurta… They are history. And it counts. This is the reason why those teams are so strong.
“Milan in Napoli played good games. They won in the league, they won the first leg in Champions League and they drew 1-1 the other night even if there was a penalty that could have been awarded to Napoli. I repeat, it has been a close match”.
Five teams are in the semi-finals of European competition this season and that includes Fiorentina in the Conference League. This is the first time in history that something like this has happened, with pretty much all of the teams creating their own piece of history with their progression.
Inter take on Milan in the semi-finals of the Champions League, whereas Juventus can end up facing Roma in the final of the UEFA Europa League. There remains a possibility of Guardiola’s City taking on an Italian side in the CL final.
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Andrea Agostinelli I GIFN
