Winning the Club World Cup won't marque amends for Manchester City's disappointment of past season, says manager Pep Guardiola.
City failed to triumph a large trophy for the archetypal clip successful 8 years but claimed the Community Shield astatine the opening of the campaign.
City finished 3rd successful the Premier League, failed to scope the past 16 successful the Champions League and were stunned successful the FA Cup last by Crystal Palace.
Along with Chelsea, City are 1 of 2 English sides presently competing astatine the revamped Club World Cup successful the United States.
They began Group G with triumph implicit Moroccan broadside Wydad AC and different 3 points against UAE nine Al-Ain successful Atlanta connected Sunday volition seal progression to the past 16.
"I said galore times, the play was not good," said Guardiola. "When you decorativeness 3rd successful the Premier League to suffice for the Champions League, it means 70 teams were worse than us.
"We played the FA Cup last successful an incredibly precocious level against a truly bully team. The disappointment was the Champions League, we did not bash truly good. It was pugnacious to grip it.
"Winning this contention is not going to alteration that but my mindset astatine the infinitesimal is not astir winning the competition. We tin widen our clip here, being present longer. For the South American teams, the contention whitethorn beryllium the maximum. For European teams, it is [just] a World Cup."
Al-Ain manager Vladimir Ivic, formerly of Watford said: "When you play against the champion ones, you privation to beryllium the champion of yourself.
"I americium definite my players volition springiness the maximum, trying from the archetypal until the last, to amusement themselves the champion mode against the champion one. We person to judge successful ourselves and my team."
Guardiola won this contention successful its erstwhile guise with Barcelona and led City to occurrence by thrashing Fluminese 4-0 successful Saudi Arabia 2 years ago.
Questions person been raised astir however earnestly European sides fertile this tournament, though teams from the continent tin cod up to £97m if they spell each the way.
Meanwhile, players and supporters from elsewhere specified arsenic South America person shown their passionateness for the tournament, filling stadiums with thousands of fans and adding a chiseled colour and atmosphere.
"I was fortunate to play arsenic a manager successful this contention 4 times and we won 4 times," said the Spaniard.
"What would hap successful Brazil is they would person a carnival for 1 week, dancing and celebrating, but it is taste for the continent and countries.
"Now we are here, I privation to bash the best, I privation to bask the infinitesimal present due to the fact that you are present 1 clip each 4 years and I privation to bash good and I privation to get successful the second stages."
Guardiola has reiterated a request for a smaller squad heading into the caller season, having joked astatine the extremity of the past run helium would "quit" unless the playing unit was cut.
City person a 27-man touring enactment for the Club World Cup; out-of-favour Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips person been near astatine home, James McAtee was not selected and Mateo Kovacic is injured.
Meanwhile, German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has been linked with a determination to Turkish champions Galatasaray.
"We person - close present - a agelong squad, excessively galore players, truthful we cannot spell with 26, 27 players this play due to the fact that determination would beryllium much [not] playing and measurement by measurement possibly a fewer players are going to move. But close now, Ilkay is perfectly portion of my caput and the team.
"I would emotion to person the players that we person present each season. I would emotion it. I don't person immoderate complaints astir the players, however they behave."
He added: "The occupation is they volition beryllium unhappy during the season. They volition beryllium sad, they volition beryllium disappointed. I don't privation that. For maine it's not a problem.
"I person much [players to select] and I don't [want] six, 7 players, if nary injuries, being astatine home. So I bash it that way. I bash that for them.
"So that's wherefore we person to spot what happens. We inactive person a agelong time, I would say, until the transportation model volition beryllium closed."
English (US) ·