Pep Guardiola was one of Athletic's nightmares while he was on the FC Barcelona bench. Two Copas del Rey won as coach of Barcelona and both were against the rojiblancos who this Saturday have a new opportunity to defeat Barcelona and lift the title.
On TV3, the now Manchester City manager recalled how that final was and described his players that night as “fucking murderers” to highlight his great winning gene and the desire that they put him to get the trophy in Pep's last game in front of the club's bench.
“That day there was something more emotional, more personal than in other finals, but I had to try to be cold,” he admits about himself. Meanwhile, he noticed more emotions than usual, the squad, Guardiola assures, was calm. “I remember going out onto the pitch and seeing the tension in the Athletic players. Those of the Barça, on the other hand, it seemed that they had a friendly. They were used to playing finals. They knew we were going to win, “he adds.
In the interview they asked him about a legend that circulates about the game. After Barcelona it was 0-3 in half an hour with goals from Pedro, Messi and Xavi, they say that at halftime the Athletic players asked them to slow down and not “hurt themselves”. The coach denied it.
“I would tell you with total certainty that this is not the case. Bielsa's teams are educated in resistance and never give up. The Barça players, furthermore, if they can score five, they score five and if they can score eight, it will be eight. They were very good people, but in the field some fucking murderers, “he sentenced.