Success had tilted significantly in favor of the Catalans. Every year was the best, the previous one it was not the best. That was something Real required.
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The 34-year-old former Sweden global took his rejection to heart, if subsequently labelling Guardiola as a “spineless coward” and “not a man” is anything to go by.
He may occasionally need help from Juan Mata or Marouane Fellaini to offer more protection.
Jose Mourinho meanwhile has problems at the back with Antonio Valencia also returning late from global duty.
De Gea believes that United are well equipped to compete this season after a ideal start that suggests that the two sides who meet on Saturday may be the strongest contenders for the title. “He couldn’t do what he did at other teams in Europe”.
But landing an early jab on the chin of Guardiola would be an irresistible carrot for the Portuguese who has transformed the mood at Old Trafford since his arrival, following the departure of the unpopular Louis van Gaal.
“We met in the Premier League meeting”.
“It depends on the way we play”, he said. “After Ferguson, they weren’t in the level they used to be, without trophies and Champions League [qualification]. So they are a top team”.
It is not surprising to see scores of articles chronicling the history of the rivalry between the clubs or the two managers, nor pieces on the price of attending the game or even how Manchester is now the capital of English football, but they would not normally appear in the online and print versions of Spain’s biggest media outlets.
“We are ready, we are waiting”, Mourinho said, refusing to get drawn on the inevitable spotlight at the renewal of hostilities between himself and former Barcelona boss Guardiola.
“This game isn’t going to be easy but in the end we have to just play the way we play and dominate the game in our style”. We’re a very well-organised team, the manager is a victor and he transmits that very well.
“With Pep Guardiola, especially, and Jose Mourinho this season in Manchester, the coverage has increased a lot”.
Needless to say, if Fernandinho were to figure prominently in a team display such as that which saw City rip Man United apart in their own backyard in 2011, it could be the start of him navigating a long trail of success under Guardiola.
The 25-year-old said: “They are doing well also”. I think the same with us. I don’t think it is worse than any others.
Mourinho hopes to be fulfilling those responsibilities basking in the afterglow of a big win, if not one with much relevance in the title race.
Guardiola is looking forward to experiencing the Manchester derby first-hand having led Barca against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich versus Borussia Dortmund – two of European football’s undisputed showpiece occasions.
That year’s Spanish Super Cup witnessed a new low in the relationship between the clubs as Mourinho poked Guardiola’s assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye during a touchline shoving match.
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These sides have been installed to finish first and second in the English Premier League this season and City get a marginal nod from the bookies in this respect. Back in England, Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger had their say.
