The City boss, who has won a remarkable 30 trophies during his distinguished coaching career, believes attitude and fortitude of mind are critical in determining showpiece matches.
And with City looking to make it 10 games without defeat at Wembley, he says Saturday’s game is an acid test of whether his players are ready for our Champions League tie with Real Madrid next month.
“This is a final,” he said. “In finals there are lots of factors. Minimal details.
“Being strong in your head, how you overcome situations.
“Mentality - these games are about mentality, not tactics.
“It will be a good test to see if we are ready to play against Madrid.”
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Guardiola also reiterated his love for the FA Cup, the world’s oldest and most prestigious domestic knock-out competition.
City won the trophy for the sixth time last season and are looking to reach the final in consecutive years for the third time our history.
Guardiola says as a young boy growing up in Catalonia, he loved watching FA Cup finals and believes the tradition of the famous trophy is something to behold.
“The cup in Spain is interesting, especially the final. But I think it’s because there are more than a hundred teams in the FA Cup [that makes it special],” he said.
“It’s one game, not two legs. It’s special.
“In England, tradition and innovation is part of your culture. The FA Cup is great.
“It’s a pity we cannot play with fans but we are finishing the Premier League, we are able to play in the FA Cup...it’s not perfect but it’s good enough.
“In England, my first memories of English football are FA Cup finals.
“I remember in Spain we can always see the final, the tradition, everything. It is so nice.
“We are looking forward to it and we are so excited to travel to London and play the game.”
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