Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is eager to get going at the tournament, not just because it's a chance for his side to put a below-par season behind them but also because he's excited about the festival atmosphere that the Club World Cup promises.
“We will see how we finish the season. We'll see how we arrive in that tournament all together, and after, we see what happens.
"Normally, when I start a competition like, for example, the Premier League, I never start by thinking, 'Oh, we’re going to win, we have to win.' So, one step at a time, however we arrive there, we will try to play better than we played that season," Guardiola said to DAZN.
He continued: “Of course, we grew up in a supportive fanbase from the last decade and we’re really proud because the people enjoyed in the past watching us play, and, of course, with pre-seasons in Asia, sometimes in America, you see a lot of blue shirts in the stands and following in the towns and asking for autographs and pictures with our players. So that makes us so proud.
“It’s happening today in football, even in domestic leagues, there are different managers, different cultures and different ways to play. So, of course, you're playing against a team from Oceania, from Asia, from South America. It’s a new one, that's why it's football, right?
"It's not always the same style, it’s different visions and different types of players, cultures.
“The influence of my previous managers have opened my mind, especially my mentor, Johann Cruyff, for opening my mind and vision of the way to play. I'm pretty sure that without the influence of Johann Cruyff in my career as a football player, how difficult it would’ve been to become a manager.
“When people say now that one manager developed that player better than another manager, that is not true, because the team and the ecosystem that you can create and the way they can play all together, rises or increases the quality of that player.
"There are few who alone can change things. The other one needs the team - by himself, it is nothing.”
Manchester City begin their Club World Cup campaign against Wydad on June 18th.
Guardiola was speaking ahead of the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. Watch all 63 games live on DAZN for free.
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