Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1172978
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 OCTOBER 2019 17 SPORTS FOOTBALL PEP Guardiola is again try- ing to get Man City fans to fall in love with the Cham- pions League as he looks to finally conquer Europe again. The Premier League champions are among the favourites to win Europe's top club competition this season - as they compete in it for a ninth successive year - but their fans are still to be truly won over by it. Guardiola has previously commented on the lack of atmosphere at European games in comparison to Premier League fixtures. This has been alien to the Catalan given his back- ground as a player and manager at Barcelona and also after working at Bay- ern Munich. Yet City, who have leapt out of the pack to the top of the English game in the past decade, have no great tradition in the Champi- ons League. Their sup- porters also regularly boo the competition anthem in a long-running protest against organisers UEFA. "The fans must know it - without them and the nice environment at home it is impossible," said Guardio- la at a press conference to preview Tuesday's Group C clash with Dinamo Zagreb at the Etihad Stadium, for which a crowd of 48-50,000 is expected. "We are going to try in our football to seduce the fans and say, 'OK we can do it'. We have to seduce them so they realise how it's impor- tant, and the only way to seduce them is by winning games and playing good. "I know for the fans it's the Premier League that's most exciting. We know that as a club, we've done polls, and the people prefer by far to win the Premier League than the Champi- ons League. I know how special that is but this com- petition is nice too and our fans they have to live it as a dream. "These players are fantas- tic, awesome, outrageous. They are top. They deserve to feel that they can win but we need the fans." Guardiola out to seduce City fans Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola