“Anything could have happened, well done Italy” – Corriere.it

He just won the Champions League. On the sideline, chatting about soccer with Alex Del Piero, as if they were sitting at a chiringuito on the beach, Pep Guardiola gives a little lesson to everyone. Not so much for what we saw on the pitch, where his Manchester City didn’t charm for once, and indeed Pippo Inzaghi’s team seemed better, but for how he managed the euphoria afterward. It is his third Champions League, the first in the history of the Citizens. «I’m happy, I still have to metabolise. I have the peace of mind knowing that anything could happen, Lukaku could score and we went to extra time, we could double with Foden and win more comfortably: a match like this is like a coin toss, which is why I always say that it is the league where he sees your strength, the Champions League is like this, heads or tails… Two years ago I lost, everything seemed wrong, now everything seems perfect, yet we could have lost».

A calm chat, no exaggeration, despite having just conquered the treble (“It’s a unique thing, I’m very happy”), sweet words for Inter and for Italian football in general.

«I congratulate Inter – his words to the microphones of Sky -. They are very strong, but I knew it. I know how they feel, I was there two years ago, but they must think they are the second strongest team in Europe, it’s not little. They must know. Physically they are very strong, we couldn’t play our game. Italian football is always the same, with three finalists in Europe, it cannot be a coincidence. Do you still see yourself far from the Premier League? But you have to travel, go out to understand, we always tend to speak too badly of ourselves. Instead, every country has its own particularity, but I see things from Inter, Napoli and Milan, especially last year, which makes me say “These are good”». Champions League winner’s word.