Guardiola dismisses Rosell prediction

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has played down claims from the club’s president that they will beat Real Madrid 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final.

Barca president Sandro Rosell made the bold prediction in the lead-up to the April 20 final after the Catalan giants thumped their rivals 5-0 in a La Liga fixture back in November.

On that occasion, a David Villa double helped Barca to a famous victory but Guardiola says it won’t happen again and thinks that Rosell should have avoided making such a rash comment.

“I would have said 60-0,” said Guardiola with a wry smile.

“But he (Rosell) could have avoided making such a comment. I would not have said that. Everyone has their opinion. He said it in an act of solidarity, and this is how it should be seen, but it could have been avoided.”

“It is impossible to win 5-0 against Real Madrid in the final.”

Guardiola added that the comments were not in the tone of the club.

“The president has much more experience than me to give opinions,” he said.

“The tone of the club all along has been to not make a show when we win and congratulate our opponents when we lose. Players are exemplary in many ways inside and outside the stadium. This is Barca.”

Barcelona lead La Liga by five points and will be hoping to keep the distance between themselves and Real Madrid by winning away at Villarreal on Saturday.