Pep Guardiola pushed aside any suggestion he would not
shake hands with arch-rival Jose Mourinho and insisted all
would be friendly when Manchester City play Manchester
United on Monday.


"We are polite guys, why not?" Guardiola said Sunday when
asked if the pair would extend hands, despite an
acrimonious rivalry which stretches back to 2010 when the
Catalan had stewardship of Barcelona and Mourinho took
the reins at Real Madrid.


"Why should we not shake hands? No reason why. He will
want to win and so will I, that’s all," the City boss told a news
conference after training at Beijing's Olympic Sports Centre
ahead of the International Champions Cup pre-season tour
match.

"It's a friendly game, a really friendly game."
Since taking on their respective Manchester football giants,
each manager has insisted they will not concentrate on each
other too much.



But Guardiola acknowledged that United would mount a
serious challenge in the English Premier League after a
period in the doldrums since the retirement of Alex
Ferguson in 2013.
"I’m pretty sure they will be stronger than in previous
years," said Guardiola.
"With this manager I’m sure they will buy new players. They
will be a strong team."


Sunday's training session was switched hastily to the smaller
Olympic Sports Centre to preserve the famous Bird's Nest
stadium's pitch following days of storms in the Chinese
capital that have left the ground saturated.
The first Manchester derby outside the UK will be played at
the centrepiece of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Monday
night, weather permitting. More than 200 people have died
in flooding in northern provinces surrounding Beijing.

------------------------
- 'Not ideal' -
Guardiola acknowledged that conditions would not be ideal
and his first priority at this stage of pre-season was to avoid
any injuries.

"We didn’t see the pitch but there is a lot of water in the last
days so we understand it’s not in a good condition," said
Guardiola.

"But OK we’re going to adapt and adjust. The most important
thing is that the players are not going to be injured.
"We know the humidity for the training is not ideal, but we
also know that it’s so important to come here to know the
people and to play a good two games against amazing teams
like United and Dortmund."

Captain Vincent Kompany is in Beijing with the squad after
recovering from an injury-blighted campaign in 2015-16, but
did not train with the rest of the players as he is undergoing
his own intensive programme to regain full fitness.
Guardiola said there was a possibility he could be ready for
the first game of the new season against Sunderland on
August 13, but he would not rush the Belgian central
defender back and risk further injury.

"The physio says he is ready but he needs to show that he
can play one week, then one week more, to play regularly,"
said Guardiola.

"The most important thing is for Vincent to get fit – if it’s for
Sunderland, perfect. If not, September."
United lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on Friday
and City will play the German side in the southern Chinese
city of Shenzhen on Thursday to conclude their China tour.

time for the match pls.. I rep mancity

funnynation:
time for the match pls.. I rep mancity

Soccer24.com

Derby is gonna b explosive, meanwhile you can check my siggy