LONDON (AFP) - Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has challenged his team to make history when they face Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's side are already widely regarded as the best of their generation and Valdes believes they will join the sport's immortals with a third Champions League triumph in six years.
The likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool earned their place in the European Cup pantheon with sustained periods of dominance achieved thanks to a commitment to winning with style.
Valdes is convinced Guardiola's sublimely-gifted collection of stars will deserved to be ranked alongside those legends if they can repeat their 2009 final victory over United.
"A club who wins a Champions League is historical. This group of players will make history with another win, so it is a very important game for the club," Valdes said on Friday.
"What we want to do is make history for the club and this generation of players that has been with Pep."
The dazzling football played by Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and co during Guardiola's reign has brought nine trophies in three years and many pundits make them favourites to see off United at Wembley.
But Valdes believes the Premier League champions have improved significantly since they lost to Barca in Rome and he expects a much tougher match this time.
"Manchester has a lot of potential, that is something we have seen in a lot of matches. It is a different Manchester team since Rome," he said.
"Manchester has more power offensively. We have improved too in a great many things.
"We have come here to win. Obviously anything can happen, especially with a rival like Manchester United, but our attitude is 100 percent committed to winning."
Barca's cause is helped by the return to fitness of long-serving defender Carles Puyol.
Club captain Puyol, 33, has struggled with injury this season and may have to play out of position at left-back on Saturday, but he insists he is fully prepared for the challenge.
"I feel great, I'm fully fit," he said. "It is true that because of my injury I haven't played much recent but when I played against Real Madrid in the semi-finals I hadn't played much either and I was still ok.
"I've trained a lot since then and I am much better now."
As one of Barca's most experienced players, Puyol could be forgiven for taking his third Champions League final for granted.
But he is determined to savour every second of his experience at Wembley because he cannot guarantee another appearance in the final of Europe's elite competition.
"It has been hard getting here. We don't know if it will be the last for this generation. Of course we have to go for it," he said.
"It is difficult to reach a Champions League final. You need to enjoy it because the road is hard."
Pep Guardiola's side are already widely regarded as the best of their generation and Valdes believes they will join the sport's immortals with a third Champions League triumph in six years.
The likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool earned their place in the European Cup pantheon with sustained periods of dominance achieved thanks to a commitment to winning with style.
Valdes is convinced Guardiola's sublimely-gifted collection of stars will deserved to be ranked alongside those legends if they can repeat their 2009 final victory over United.
"A club who wins a Champions League is historical. This group of players will make history with another win, so it is a very important game for the club," Valdes said on Friday.
"What we want to do is make history for the club and this generation of players that has been with Pep."
The dazzling football played by Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and co during Guardiola's reign has brought nine trophies in three years and many pundits make them favourites to see off United at Wembley.
But Valdes believes the Premier League champions have improved significantly since they lost to Barca in Rome and he expects a much tougher match this time.
"Manchester has a lot of potential, that is something we have seen in a lot of matches. It is a different Manchester team since Rome," he said.
"Manchester has more power offensively. We have improved too in a great many things.
"We have come here to win. Obviously anything can happen, especially with a rival like Manchester United, but our attitude is 100 percent committed to winning."
Barca's cause is helped by the return to fitness of long-serving defender Carles Puyol.
Club captain Puyol, 33, has struggled with injury this season and may have to play out of position at left-back on Saturday, but he insists he is fully prepared for the challenge.
"I feel great, I'm fully fit," he said. "It is true that because of my injury I haven't played much recent but when I played against Real Madrid in the semi-finals I hadn't played much either and I was still ok.
"I've trained a lot since then and I am much better now."
As one of Barca's most experienced players, Puyol could be forgiven for taking his third Champions League final for granted.
But he is determined to savour every second of his experience at Wembley because he cannot guarantee another appearance in the final of Europe's elite competition.
"It has been hard getting here. We don't know if it will be the last for this generation. Of course we have to go for it," he said.
"It is difficult to reach a Champions League final. You need to enjoy it because the road is hard."
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