In time, the coaching tree that expands out from Pep Guardiola is going to be massive. Some will fail (like if Mikel Arteta had taken the job at Newcastle), but the Spanish tactician’s otherworldly training methods will almost certainly be absorbed and even expanded upon by some future coaching Übermensch that worked under Guardiola for a long period.
We all know that Manchester City loves to spend big, and it has been under the watch of just about every governing body in football as of late. FIFA and UEFA are the big ones, and they have been after City for a while now after exorbitant amounts of spending and the suspicious transfers of youth players since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016.
The nominations for FIFA's self-indulging award of naming "The Best FIFA Football Awards" for coaches and players were announced Wednesday morning. The winners will be revealed Sept. 23 in Milan at The Best FIFA Football Awards show. Here are the FIFA Best Awards nominees for 2019.
Ready? #TheBest Men's Player nominees:
Manchester City looks to be wrapping up its first signing of the summer.
With a few players that are starting to age, Pep Guardiola has been looking for immediate replacements. Fernandinho, arguably one of City’s most important players in the past few years, is 34 years old. While he still has a lot to give for Manchester City, he isn’t as young and spry as he used to be.
Manchester City demolished Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final on Saturday at Wembley. It was an expected result and the Hornets were never really in it, even if it was just a two-goal game at halftime.
The win wrapped up a domestic treble (quadruple if you count the mostly meaningless Community Shield), the first ever in England.
So dominant were the Citizens that their coach, Pep Guardiola, was made extremely uncomfortable by the final score. After Raheem Sterling completed his hat trick to make it 6-0, Guardiola’s reaction said a lot.
Manchester City has regained its slender one point lead in the title race after defeating Leicester City at the Etihad 1-0. The Cityzens were put under pressure as Liverpool narrowly defeated Newcastle 3-2 at St. James’ Park on Saturday. Liverpool now must beat Wolves next weekend to have a chance at the title. Leicester City came to play at the Etihad and did not let the defending champions have it easy on their home ground.
After Manchester City and Tottenham played one of the most thrilling Champions League matches in recent memory on Wednesday, the two clubs were always going to struggle to match the intensity and entertainment value in their Premier League matchup on Saturday.
A few weeks ago, Chelsea was hit with a transfer ban for illegally dealing with underage players in its academy system and third party ownership. Now, a Manchester City transfer ban could be instituted for two windows (one year), according to reports.