Guardiola: It is an honour to coach Ribery

The Bayern Munich boss has hailed the Frenchman`s willingness to track back and make sacrifices for the team and is eagerly anticipating Saturday`s Club World Cup final

Agadir: Pep Guardiola says he feels honoured to coach Franck Ribery after the France international helped Bayern Munich into the Club World Cup final on Tuesday.

Ribery scored the opening goal in Bayern`s 3-0 semi-final win over Guangzhou Evergrande, with Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gotze also finding the net in Agadir, and Guardiola had nothing but praise for the Ballon d`Or nominee after the final whistle. "For me it is an honour to be Ribery`s coach," the Bayern boss said. "Franck has an unbelievable heart to play this game and is humble enough to track back up to 40 metres time and time again, to follow his opponent and help the team. "For me it is an honour to be able to train him." Bayern scored three goals in the space of seven minutes either side of the break to progress to the final of the Club World Cup and will now play either Raja Casablanca or Atletico Mineiro in Saturday`s final. "I am so, so happy for the players, Jupp Heynckes and the club to play the final next Saturday and I hope to bring this title to Germany for the first time," Guardiola continued. "We have to prepare our head and our legs as soon as possible. The most important thing is to know we have a unique opportunity in our lives to play this final. "It is not easy to be here, it is so difficult to try to become the best team in the world. So it is a good challenge for us and good preparation. Raja or Mineiro are going to play as well as possible to win this title." The final is scheduled to take place in Marrakech on Saturday. Goal.com