Guardiola confident in Valverde's abilities

The Manchester City coach, Josep Guardiola, former Barcelona coach, is sure that the new Barca coach, Ernesto Valverde, "will do very well" as he has demonstrated throughout his professional career.

Guardiola mentioned that Valverde is a "very good friend" and a "great coach" to whom he would not give any advice in his new role.

However, the City coach believes that Valverde has to stay true to his football philosophy as he has demonstrated throughout his career in Greece and in "media-difficult places like Valencia" or at Athletic. "He knows a lot and he is an extraordinary person", he emphasized.

When asked about the work done by Luis Enrique Martinez in the last three seasons leading Barcelona, Guardiola commented that with the Asturian coach, the team played true to their style. "They were an almost unstoppable team", he said.

As for what Barcelona needs to regain the continental crown after Real Madrid won the last two Champions League titles, Guardiola assured that "very few things", especially since Barcelona won the Copa del Rey and fought until the end to win the league.

"Barcelona is the most competitive team of the last 15 years. Competitiveness means winning every week and in the leagues no one has achieved such success", the City coach recalled, insisting that in Europe, "a bad evening" sends you home.

"I believe that no team has been as competitive as Barcelona. The Champions League is shorter, you can play eight good games, but the league is every day, therefore there is no better team and they will do it again," he assured.

Guardiola congratulated Real Madrid for their recently conquered Champions League title, but he believes that they should not be overconfident because "Barcelona always bounces back".

He extended his congratulations to the Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane, but he does not believe that football comparisons can be made between them.

"We resemble each other in hair. He has done an extraordinary job and I am very happy for him. He was a player of another level, one of the best I have ever seen, and the results as a coach speak for themselves", he added.