Miami (AFP) – The main appeal of the Club World Cup so far has been the chance to see South American and African clubs and their fans offer a reminder that football thrives outside of Europe too. But as the tournament moves towards the business end, FIFA’s new competition is also providing the opportunity to see one of the game’s greatest coaches in the midst of rebuilding and recreating his dynasty.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have won six of the last eight Premier League titles along with a host of Cups including the 2023 Champions League. But last year they looked like an empire in decline, finishing 13 points behind Liverpool with performances that were even less inspiring than the results they generated. At times it felt like the end of the Guardiola era, but the Spaniard has set about rebuilding his team and the 5-2 demolition of Juventus on Thursday indicated the process is moving along swiftly and successfully.
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“I’m really pleased because the most important thing is the players have to realise what we have to do to get back to what we were the last decade,” said Guardiola. It is tempting to view the City rebuild project purely in terms of personnel, and certainly astutely recruited new arrivals Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki in midfield and Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back showed against Juve that they have the profiles to fit into the City mould immediately.
But after success built on his trademark relentlessly dominant possession football, is Guardiola also undergoing a change in his approach? Certainly, against the Italians – and despite the Florida heat — City played at a high tempo and with an aggressive, attacking intent, particularly down the flanks. With the two full-backs, Matheus Nunes and Ait-Nouri, pushing forward in support of wingers Savinho and Jeremy Doku, City created overloads in the wide areas that Juve struggled to cope with.
Since the arrival of centre-forward Erling Haaland in 2022, City have evolved away from near constant short-passing towards a more mixed approach and the willingness to go long, even when Omar Marmoush led the line, adds another dimension. It was noticeable that the City coach was quick to praise his goalkeeper for his accurate long passes to his strikers. “Ederson was an incredible quarterback, making incredible long balls for Omar and Erling, and especially after we had the patience to make a lot of passes to be calm,” he said.
Perhaps the reports of the death of ‘Pepball’ were greatly exaggerated? Guardiola’s principles, forged at Barcelona, remain in place but they are evolving and adapting to a game where relentless pressing, as well as high-speed passing are essential — as Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain showed in their triumphant Champions League campaign.
It would be interesting to watch City evolve in pre-season friendlies, but it is even more instructive to see them do it in a competitive environment. Saudi club Al-Hilal may not have the history of City’s usual rivals, but the team coached by Italian Simone Inzaghi were unbeaten in the group stage, drawing with Real Madrid and Salzburg and beating Mexico’s Pachuca. Their defence features former City full-back Joao Cancelo and ex-Napoli centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly, while Portugal international Ruben Neves brings control and quality to their midfield.
They will set out, like so many teams in Europe, to frustrate City and will hope to do a better job at that task than Juventus. But there is a swagger around City again, a confidence and a quiet determination to end a season of disappointment with a trophy and a statement of intent.
© 2024 AFP
