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Guardiola: I have missed the game
Jan 17, 2013 12:50:00 PM
The former Barcelona coach has revealed that he is desperate to make his comeback at the end of this season, and believes the Catalans will not give up their lead in La Liga
| Bet: | Returns: | Espanyol £55.00 | Draw £45.00 | Barcelona £16.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Espanyol £55.00 | Draw £37.50 | Barcelona £16.20 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Espanyol £55.00 | Draw £42.00 | Barcelona £15.71 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Espanyol £60.00 | Draw £41.00 | Barcelona £15.30 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Espanyol £55.00 | Draw £40.00 | Barcelona £15.70 |
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The Spaniard moved to New York after leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2012 to take a break from football, and even though he has little interest in all that is going on outside the game itself, Guardiola is looking forward to making his comeback.
"I've missed the game itself. All the stuff that surrounds it, not so much. But I have missed [figuring out] the way a certain team plays and how you can beat them, deciding on which players to select to try and win a match," Guardiola told Fifa.com.
"For me at least, that’s the only reason I’m in this game. If it wasn’t for that...
"Everything else, well, they’re not things that I have a constant need for. I can live perfectly well without them. In fact I’d say you can have a much better life without them. But the game itself, that’s what draws you in."
The 41-year-old then went on to discuss Barcelona's title chances, and stressed that something special would have to happen for the Catalans to miss out on La Liga success.
"Too many things, far too many things, would have to go wrong for Barcelona to lose this Liga title. I don’t see it happening, the gap’s virtually insurmountable. Not because Madrid aren’t capable of winning all their games, but because I don’t see Barcelona losing enough matches either.
"It’s too big an ask. The Barcelona players are used to success and they’ve got so many qualities. I think that this La Liga race is pretty much over."
Barcelona currently hold an 11-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid.
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Live!
Champions League final - LIVE!
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.
8:49 PM BST
The second half is just under way, but just to give you the thoughts of three-time World Referee Of The Year Markus Merk, who is working the game for Sky Germany tonight. He spotted an elbow by Ribery on Lewandowski that he feels could easily have resulted in the Frenchman being dismissed.
"Ribery was very lucky," he argued. "If the referee judges this as an intentional act, he can easily give a red card. I cannot understand why a player like Franck Ribery behaves like this in a Champions League final."
"Ribery was very lucky," he argued. "If the referee judges this as an intentional act, he can easily give a red card. I cannot understand why a player like Franck Ribery behaves like this in a Champions League final."
8:43 PM BST
Jay Jaffa is watching the game surrounded by German fans and he's picked up what he has described himself as a tremendously "precise" prediction from one supporter.
"We've had boos, moans and groans throughout the half from fans unhappy with Bayern's resurgence. The loudest cheers of all have been saved for Roman Weidenfeller though, after two exceptional saves from Arjen Robben. There's no doubt, in this pub at least, that the support lies with Dortmund and a friendly chap named Andreas believes BVB will come out on top, insisting: 'We will get stronger as the game goes on and Lewandowski will score in the final 10 minutes.' About as precise a prediction as you can get!"
"We've had boos, moans and groans throughout the half from fans unhappy with Bayern's resurgence. The loudest cheers of all have been saved for Roman Weidenfeller though, after two exceptional saves from Arjen Robben. There's no doubt, in this pub at least, that the support lies with Dortmund and a friendly chap named Andreas believes BVB will come out on top, insisting: 'We will get stronger as the game goes on and Lewandowski will score in the final 10 minutes.' About as precise a prediction as you can get!"
8:40 PM BST
Bayern have really come into the game and have had some great chances, but, for my money, Dortmund shaded that opening 45 minutes. They also shaded the poll Goal ran on Facebook earlier. We asked you who would win at Wembley tonight and 55 per cent of you sided with the underdogs. It really will be fascinating to see if Klopp's men can pull this off in the second half, which is just five minutes away.
8:36 PM BST
Half-time at Wembley and we're still scoreless. Quite how is beyond me, because both sides have had some wonderful chances but both Neuer and Weidenfeller have proven unbeatable up until this point. It really does look like it's going to take something special to break the deadlock.
Arjen Robben has looked the man most likely, having had two one-on-ones already, but Goal Germany's Tim Rohn says the Dutchman has annoyed his team-mates no end during that opening 45 minutes.
"There were two chances in which Robben should have passed into the middle. But he decided to take both himself - without success. Mandzukic was furious on one occasion, while Muller just shook his head. Robben's selfishness pleases only Dortmund's fans."
Arjen Robben has looked the man most likely, having had two one-on-ones already, but Goal Germany's Tim Rohn says the Dutchman has annoyed his team-mates no end during that opening 45 minutes.
"There were two chances in which Robben should have passed into the middle. But he decided to take both himself - without success. Mandzukic was furious on one occasion, while Muller just shook his head. Robben's selfishness pleases only Dortmund's fans."
8:31 PM BST
WEIDENFELLER SAVES WITH HIS FACE! Robben gets in on goal again, this time after Hummels fails to deal with a long ball over the top. The Dutch winger lets rip but Weidenfeller gets his mush in the way and the ball flies away to safety. The Dortmund shot-stopper knew little about that but, you have to say, both goalkeepers have done wonderfully well thus far to keep this one scoreless.
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