Champions League title for Man City would be a 'surprise', according to Danilo

Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2019 by squawka.com

Manchester City defender Danilo has said he and his teammates are trying to 'surprise' Pep Guardiola by winning the Champions League.

Despite winning seven major honours in the past eight years, European success has so far eluded City, with the club never progressing further than their semi-final appearance in 2016.

Can City finally secure European glory? Five key things to know…
1. Since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, City have won seven domestic honours.
2. Those honours include three Premier League titles, the most recent coming last season after tallying 100 points.
3. The Citizens are yet to progress beyond the Champions League semi-final stage during that time.
4. Their only European trophy to date is the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup.
5. Brazilian full-back Danilo says he and his teammates want to 'surprise' Guardiola by winning the Champions League.

Guardiola, however, has two Champions League titles to his name as a manager and Danilo has admitted his teammates are desperate to 'surprise' the Catalan tactician by bringing home club football's biggest prize this season.

"The Champions League is a very interesting trophy to us and we have had discussions about that – and we are going to try to surprise the manager with it sooner or later," Danilo told the Mirror.

"We all know it's not an easy competition to win but we have the quality and we can assure that we will give off our best."

The Citizens face FC Schalke in their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday, with the German side struggling in 14th in the Bundesliga this season.

Danilo: Guardiola vs Zidane impossible to compare
Danilo, 27, helped Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid win two Champions League titles between 2015-2017 before joining Man City and assisting Guardiola's side to a 100-point Premier League title last season.

The Brazil international is unable to pick between the two managers, though, insisting they are both 'top coaches' and that a comparison is 'impossible'.

"Of course they are very different, first they are all top coaches and it's impossible to compare the two," Danilo added.

"For me, I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with them. Pep's attention to details is second to none, Zidane what he has achieved for himself is unbelievable so for me it's really hard to say if this is better or not.

"I am just as happy to be with Guardiola now as I was with working with Zidane in the past."