10 April 2017
“I haven’t watched back the highlights from the Berlin final but it’s a night I remember vividly. The memories I have actually make me feel optimistic; last time we faced a team that were just too good for us in their determination and ruthlessness in the key moments.
“Tomorrow night we might be facing a team that is still better than us but now we have two years of growth behind us that have given us great confidence and experience in managing games like this.”
“I don’t know of any other sides that play with three purebred strikers like Barcelona but when those three are Messi, Suarez and Neymar, they have so much power up front.
"All three have excellent attitudes which makes them even more difficult to stop; we are not talking about three individuals but a unit that moves as one.”
“I always feel excited and nervous before every game; I’m sure I will have the same sensations at kick-off time tomorrow because if not, you might as well retire! The beauty of this sport comes out on occasions like this.”
“It’s true, I have never conceded a goal to Messi! To be honest I’ve been lucky to have faced him more often and to have had world-class defenders in front of me who have made his job that little bit harder."
“We’re delighted to have Dani on our side because the way in which he has taken to Juventus has played a big part in our development over the course of the season: he is giving everything for the cause.
“They have changed little since Berlin unlike us. We’ll see if we have managed to cut the gap tomorrow night.”
“Perhaps at times we have lacked that extra bit of experience and know-how that you need to win the Champions League but I hope that in that time we’ve learned what it takes to succeed and we manage to show that on Tuesday night.”
“Life is full of surprises. No matter how much respect I have for Barcelona, I certainly never imagined that they would overturn that deficit, not only because of the scale of the comeback that was required but also for the quality of their opponents.”
