Guardiola: Barcelona will attack Real
Reuters - Monday 02 May 2011, 21:05
BARCELONA - Barcelona plan to attack Real
Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg
despite holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, coach Pep
Guardiola said on Monday.
"We'll have to attack, but with common sense," Guardiola,
who led the Catalan club to the 2009 title in his first season
in charge, told a news conference at Barca's Nou Camp stadium.
"We have to dominate and we have to be prepared, because it
will be terribly hard, from the footballing point of view and
emotionally too," he added.
"We have to move the ball quickly, make it fly. I know that
the 100,000 fans at the ground will help us."
Last week's game was marred by ugly scenes between players
and coaching staff and the arch-rivals filed complaints about
each other with UEFA that European football's governing body
dismissed earlier on Monday.
UEFA has brought charges against both teams and they face a
disciplinary hearing on Friday.
Guardiola said he was looking forward to moving on after
four games against Real in three competitions in 18 days and
said he had been trying to put the off-ball incidents out of his
mind. They drew 1-1 in La Liga last month before Real beat Barca
1-0 in the King's Cup final in Valencia.
"We are lucky that tomorrow everything finishes," he said.
"I try to forget it. Try to focus on what we did in the first
game and what mistakes we made.
"We try to prepare the second game and just focus on the
match that's all."
It would be wrong to write off Real and coach Jose Mourinho,
who eliminated Barca at the same stage of last year's
competition when in charge at Inter Milan, Guardiola added.
"Eleven extraordinary players are going to come out, guided
by a very competitive manager who wants to knock us out. The
most important thing in their lives right now is this game," he
said.
English Premier League leaders Manchester United will defend
a 2-0 lead over Schalke 04 when they host the Bundesliga side in
the other semi on Wednesday. The final is at London's Wembley
stadium on May 28.