Man.City quietly remake

Last season, Man.City played friendly matches with Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona, Chelsea before the Community Shield match with MU. This summer, Man.City did not play any friendly matches, only an internal practice match with "brother" team (same owner) Palermo in Italy's Serie B (August 9). Why?

Photo: Reuters

Coach Guardiola said he must try not to think about Man.City's preparation conditions before the new season, because if he thinks about it, he will... go crazy! He wants the whole team to rest to the maximum extent possible. He said: "Every game is good, every week is good. Maybe in a few months, you will ask, and I will answer that we are exhausted. We have fallen into a disaster. The FIFA Club World Cup has destroyed us. In short, I also... do not know what the situation will be like in the future".

In fact, the 2025 Club World Cup is the tournament that Man.City is eager to conquer, to redeem their reputation after a trophyless season. They were the only team to win all the matches in the group stage, but surprisingly lost to Al-Hilal in the first knockout round. And Man.City has been almost silent since leaving the Club World Cup.

For a club that is considered a "super club" like Man.City, spending only about 150 million pounds on 5 new players in the transfer market is a bit cheap. No contract has reached 50 million pounds. Tijjani Reijnders (from AC Milan) is the only new player with a transfer fee higher than 35 million pounds. Everyone knows that the summer transfer market is always more exciting and of higher quality than the winter transfer market. Yet this summer, Man.City has spent only about half of what they spent in the middle of last season.

Of course, the quiet appearance does not mean that Man.City is not actively preparing for the new season. Looking at the surface, it is quite clear: Coach Guardiola's plan to regain glory has made improving the defense the number one priority. Including the transfer period between last season and this summer, Man.City has added 1 goalkeeper (James Trafford, cost 31 million pounds - not cheap at all), 3 central midfielders and 5 defenders. In contrast, they have only 2 new faces in the attack, striker Omar Marmoush and right midfielder Rayan Cherki.

Taking into account both the quantity and quality of shots on goal, statistics show that the defense is the most obvious "weak point" that Man.City needs to improve in the upcoming season. In fact, Mr. Guardiola does not need to shop. The return of midfielder Rodri, in theory, is worth no less than a "blockbuster" contract. With Reijnders and Rayan Cherki playing close to Rodri, along with Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back, Man.City has almost half a completely new squad compared to last season.

Commentators are eagerly waiting to see Cherki (21 years old, £34 million, from Lyon) as a new star to watch in the Premier League. But perhaps the most anticipated individual at Man.City next season is... Coach Guardiola. After 7 consecutive seasons of winning titles, Man.City failed on all fronts last season (excluding the Super Cup).

Coach Guardiola is under a lot of pressure before this season. From Arsenal Wenger to Jose Mourinho, every coaching legend eventually comes to an end. Next, will it be Guardiola, after nearly 20 years of being famous in the coaching profession? It's time for observers to prepare to "dissect".