02.11.2010 23:51

“I’m sorry we didn’t finish the job, but I’m satisfied"

Jordi Clos

Pep Guardiola was happy with the way his team played in Copenhagen against what he considers a great team. The Barça coach thought it was a great match played in a tremendous atmosphere.

Guardiola said before the game that he expected a tough, difficult challenge, and he got that in the 1-1 draw tonight. But he was happy enough to take a point. “I’m sorry we didn’t finish the job, but satisfied with our performance because there was a great team before us, who have a great coach … Never as manager of Barça have I come up against such a tough, intense team”.

Barcelona dominant

He felt his side controlled matters well because “if we hadn’t, they’d have run all over us.” Guardiola also felt justified in playing “defensively for corners and thrown ins” and for the number of chances they created. He argued that “we did all we could to win … we hit posts, but I’ll never blame bad luck. We were in control, we defended well and we just weren’t quite accurate enough.”

Generally happy

Guardiola summarised the game by saying “we had an extraordinary first half, it’s a shame they equalised so quickly. In the second half, they pressured us for about fifteen minutes”. He also said that his players “are exhausted” which shows just what an effort they had put into the game. For him “it was a great match, open until the end and played in a terrific atmosphere”.