As the first team to successfully defend their Champions League title, Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City has earned a spot among the greats.
On a beautiful night in Istanbul on Saturday, City won the championship after defeating Inter Milan 1-0 in a hard-fought final thanks to a goal from Rodri in the 68th minute.
Under Guardiola, City have dominated the domestic scene, winning five Premier League championships in six years along with two FA Cups and four Carabao Cups, but they were yet to achieve success in Europe.
In his post-game press conference at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Guardiola said, "You have to win in Europe to be considered a great team and we did it.
For City, the task now is to build on their victory and create a dynasty in European football.
"I don't want to vanish after one Champions League," remarked Guardiola. Next season, we have to put up a lot of effort to compete.Teams who triumph in the Champions League occasionally vanish. "Knowing me it is not going to happen but it is a big relief to have this trophy," he said. "We have to avoid that."
After years of close calls in the tournament, Guardiola praised City's leadership for continuing to believe in him as well as Inter for their tenacious performance.
"For Inter, I must congratulate them on their performance," he remarked. "I can relate because we went through it two years ago.
I must express my appreciation to Inter for their performance," he remarked. "I can relate because we went through it two years ago,"Although there are no words to describe the suffering, it is astonishing that they are the second-best team in Europe.The second word is for my chairman, CEO, and sporting director. If you don't win the Champions League after a certain number of years, you usually get fired. How many clubs do you need to finish the job?This year's competition appears to have been preordained.
"Now is the moment to rejoice. I'm excited to travel to Manchester on Monday in our (open-top bus) with three trophies.
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