It never seemed likely that Pep Guardiola would seek to address Manchester City’s defensive problems in a conventional way.
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“I think he’s an ideal manager for any kind of player”, said Clichy, who is in Shenzhen with his team-mates for Thursday’s match against Borussia Dortmund.
The striker also stated that he expects to play first team football for Man City.
The sticking point is the price, with Everton valuing the player at around £50m. Guardiola is monitoring the 30-year-old closely and is cautiously optimistic regarding his progress. Especially when the majority of City’s squad were not born in England.
The captain’s return would put Mangala’s long-term future at the Etihad Stadium under threat and could mean the France worldwide is sent out on loan.
Guardiola not willing to comprimise on fitness has been a feature throughout his managerial career, implementing the same strict standards at both Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
New manager Pep Guardiola has come in and made some big changes at the Etihad Stadium, with diet a key part of his preparations for the squad.
“Fernandinho can play in 10 different positions because he has the quality to play wherever”, he said. “He’s a quick, fast player, so intelligent, aggressive and strong in the air”. “We think he can play there”, Guardiola added. And the strikers are going to score a lot of goals because we are going to create chances. “A lot of the players have lost significant amounts of weight – including those who looked like they didn’t need to lose any!”
“He just wants us to trust him, he wants to trust us, and I think it’s the right way to start a relationship”. “The players have to choose the captain. It’s a reason for me to come here, but not the only one”, he said. They have to decide who the real captain is for them. They have some of the best players and facilities in Europe. “They are comfortable with the challenge and they are trying to understand me and I am trying to understand them as soon as possible”.
The highly anticipated Manchester derby between City and United in Beijing may have been cancelled due to poor pitch conditions, but a business event involving a delegation of business people, officials and academics from Manchester went ahead as planned.
Long time Barcelona target Nolito joined English Premier League side Manchester City this summer, ending that particular rumour.
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One thing for sure is that this is a meeting of two tactical minds with Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel exchanging blows and letting their talented teams loose to ensure an entertaining pre-season clash.
