Winning Club World Cup would not make up for City's disappointing season, says Guardiola
LONDON: Winning the Club World Cup title again would not make up for the disappointing 2024-25 season that Manchester City have had, manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of today's Group G clash with Emirati side Al-Ain in Atlanta.
Guardiola's City fell short of winning the Premier League for the fifth time in a row, finishing third in the English top-flight. They also failed to reach the Champions League's round of 16, being eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout phase playoffs.
"I said many times, the season was not good," Guardiola told reporters on Saturday.
"Winning this competition is not going to change that, but my mindset at the moment is not about winning the competition. We can extend our time here, being here longer."
Guardiola, who has won the Club World Cup four times as manager, guided City to their first world title in 2023, before the tournament was revamped as a 32-team competition to be held once every four years.
City, who beat Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 2-0 in their campaign opener, have a chance to qualify for the round of 16 with a win over Al-Ain, who suffered a 5-0 loss to Juventus in their first game.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Winning Club World Cup would not make up for City's disappointing season, says Guardiola
LONDON: Winning the Club World Cup title again would not make up for the disappointing 2024-25 season that Manchester City have had, manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of today's Group G clash with Emirati side Al-Ain in Atlanta. Guardiola's City fell short of winning the Premier League for the fifth time in a row, finishing third in the English top-flight. They also failed to reach the Champions League's round of 16, being eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout phase playoffs. "I said many times, the season was not good," Guardiola told reporters on Saturday. "Winning this competition is not going to change that, but my mindset at the moment is not about winning the competition. We can extend our time here, being here longer." Guardiola, who has won the Club World Cup four times as manager, guided City to their first world title in 2023, before the tournament was revamped as a 32-team competition to be held once every four years. City, who beat Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 2-0 in their campaign opener, have a chance to qualify for the round of 16 with a win over Al-Ain, who suffered a 5-0 loss to Juventus in their first game.
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Guardiola admits not even Club World Cup glory can save City's disappointing season
PHILADELPHIA, June 22 — Winning the Club World Cup title again would not make up for the disappointing 2024-25 season that Manchester City have had, manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of today's Group G clash with Emirati side Al-Ain in Atlanta. Guardiola's City fell short of winning the Premier League for the fifth time in a row, finishing third in the English top-flight. They also failed to reach the Champions League's round of 16, being eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout phase playoffs. 'I said many times, the season was not good,' Guardiola told reporters on Saturday. 'Winning this competition is not going to change that, but my mindset at the moment is not about winning the competition. We can extend our time here, being here longer.' Guardiola, who has won the Club World Cup four times as manager, guided City to their first world title in 2023, before the tournament was revamped as a 32-team competition to be held once every four years. City, who beat Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 2-0 in their campaign opener, have a chance to qualify for the round of 16 with a win over Al-Ain, who suffered a 5-0 loss to Juventus in their first game. 'Now we're here, I want to do the best. I want to enjoy the moment here because you're here one time every four years... And I want to arrive in the latter stages,' Guardiola added. — Reuters
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Bellingham's goal a surreal experience for new Dortmund signing
CINCINNATI: Jobe Bellingham said his first goal for Borussia Dortmund was a surreal experience as the new signing from Sunderland made an immediate impact at the Club World Cup on Saturday. Bellingham scored the third goal in Dortmund's 4-3 win over South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns at the TQL Stadium and was named man-of-the-match at the end of the Group F encounter. "It's a little bit surreal really when the ball hits in the net, it's just crazy," the 19-year-old said. "Everything happened so slowly but yeah I'm really pleased." It was a second run out, but first start, for Bellingham since his move from Sunderland to the Bundesliga giants, where he will look to follow in his elder brother Jude's footsteps. Jobe's goal was smartly taken although the Sundowns goalkeeper palmed the ball straight at him. But Bellingham avoided an attempted block by a defender, and sent the keeper the wrong way, by cleverly holding his shot for a split second. Bellingham said it had been a hard assignment in the midday sun in Ohio, where the temperature was 32 degrees Celsius (90°F). "I think the conditions make it so difficult, especially for us being a European team. They (Sundowns) played a fantastic game but I'm sure they're used to this kind of weather, but we definitely aren't. "But it's something we are going to have to adapt to as the tournament goes on." Bellingham said he was happy to be playing so soon after signing a five-year deal for what reports said was a 33 million euros ($37.70 million) deal. "The lads have really helped me settle in and it's been a different experience because rather than signing and then having a summer off, I've got an opportunity to meet everyone and get to grips with how we play and how the coach wants us to play as a team." Coach Niko Kovac said he was delighted with the form of Bellingham.
