Guardiola gunning for trophy

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola said his side are keen to make an impression in their FIFA Club World Cup semi-final in Japan.

As UEFA Champions League winners, Barcelona automatically enter the tournament at the final-four stage.

They begin their campaign for a second title when they take on Al Sadd of Qatar on Thursday.

A strong Barca squad arrived in Yokohama just one day after their 3-1 ‘El Clasico’ victory over Real Madrid on Saturday.

Despite falling behind in under 25 seconds, Barcelona fought back to claim a vital win over their bitter rivals – and the two teams are level on points at the top of La Liga.

Guardiola said, however, that the club is willing to put on a show for their Japanese fans.

“As Japan is a far away country, we do not come here often at all therefore every time we do come here we have the responsibility of showing the best we can do,” he said.

“We’ll also try to show our best off the pitch, to the people who are visiting us in the hotel and around the cities we will visit on this trip. Also we’ll try to play well for the country to enjoy.”

If Barcelona beat Al-Sadd in the semi-finals it could set up a mouth-watering final with South American champions Santos and their star player, Neymar.

The Copa Libertadores holders play Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol in the last four on Wednesday.