Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City are not ‘failures’ after the club’s Champions League exit in midweek.
City were eliminated from the competition’s semi-finals after a dramatic late collapse against Real Madrid, with the Spanish side scoring twice in the 90th minute to force the tie into extra time.
Defeat was a huge disappointment following last season’s final loss and the club’s domestic dominance, with Guardiola admitting ‘football is unpredictable’ when asked if this group of players were capable of Champions League success.
“It’s a question I cannot answer – football is unpredictable,” he said at his pre-match press conference ahead of the club’s clash with Newcastle this weekend.
“We have to be there in all competitions. It’s an honour for us and people don’t appreciate what this club does. For me it’s incredibly remarkable to be in the Champions League semi-finals again, making steps to be better and competing against an established team home and away.
“The people say if this group of players or Guardiola don’t win a title, then they’re failures, I completely disagree. We know how difficult everything is. You can do or say whatever. But the club and feeling we have, we try to do it. We accept everyone was sad but we were close. The players wanted to play the final, but for this club to compete against Real the way we did was a joy.”
Guardiola also dismissed the notion that the club’s latest loss in Europe would increase his ‘hunger’ for trophies, before suggesting the defeat can be used as a positive as City look to improve next season.
“No, I am always starving. I cannot spend a year just thinking about how happy I am. If we had won the CL it would be the money we spend, not how hard we work. The players don’t realise now but it’s [losing] a gift for us. I’d love to win the CL and be in the final but we have to be better from what happened in Madrid.”
