The Club World Cup is underway, and ESPN has published an article talking about Manchester City's preparations. On Thursday night, Guardiola led the team to Florida to prepare for the Club World Cup and speak again. The players enjoyed dinner at...
Club World Cup is underway, and ESPN has published an article talking about Manchester City's preparations.
On Thursday night, Guardiola led the team to Florida to prepare for the Club World Cup and speak again. The players enjoyed dinner at the hotel (the menu includes chicken, lamb and fish) and had stretching training outdoors.
Then, Guardiola summoned all the players to tell them that this game in the United States was a new beginning. This is not a continuation of the poor performance of the 2024-25 season, but the beginning of the 2025-26 season, which should be treated like this.
Manchester City have done everything they can to make this game feel like a new starting point. Those who were not in Guardiola's plan, Grelish, Walker and Phillips were all left at home. The new football director Viana quickly completed the signing of Sherki, Reindes, Nuri and others, with the transfer fee exceeding 100 million pounds.
These are the goals that Manchester City has been focusing on for a long time, but they could have waited longer. However, it is gradually becoming a hope to introduce as many new players as possible during the Club World Cup transfer window specially established by FIFA. By living and training with the team, I hope they can get into the team faster. By the time the Premier League season begins in August, they should have been fully adapted.
ESPN said that Manchester City's transfer business may not have ended yet, and Guardiola will decide whether to need more signings based on the performance of the Club World Cup. With Walker likely leaving the team, there are still vacant in the right back position. Although there are Rico Lewis, Akanji and others who can fill it, there is no clear first choice. In January, the club had been interested in Juventus's little Cambiaso, but now the enthusiasm has cooled down.
For Guardiola, it's also important to start cleaning up some players this summer. He chose a 27-man roster for the Club World Cup. If Kovasic had not been absent due to an Achilles tendon injury, there would have been 28 on the list. Guardiola threatens to "resign" if he is forced to coach a bloated roster next season, meaning some players who travel to the U.S. with the team may still leave this summer.
The changes this summer are not limited to players. Trusted staff members Juanma Lilo, Inigo Dominguez and Carlos Wessons all left, replaced by former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Linders and set-piece coach James French from Anfield. Linders' appointment is particularly striking, the Dutchman played a central role while he was coaching Liverpool, who is considered one of Guardiola's strongest opponents in his career.
Kolo Toure also joined Guardiola's behind-the-scenes team in the United States, and Manchester City has not ruled out the possibility of him in a permanent position in the future.
According to ESPN, one goal of Guardiola this season is to get players to pass faster, which is inspired in part by Paris Saint-Germain's performance against Inter Milan in the Champions League final. During training at Lynn University on Saturday, Manchester City assistant coaches can be seen walking continuously between various training sessions, shouting "speed, speed".
The training lasted for a long time in the wet weather in Florida on Saturday, starting from 10 a.m. to the formation drill that ended nearly two hours later.
There is no negligence in the preparations for this Club World Cup. Manchester City staff began their first inspection of the training grounds as early as October and returned again in December and March. Field staff brought from Manchester immediately began mowing the lawn to restore the field as the players completed their training at one venue and moved to another.
ESPN said that Manchester City will regard every Club World Cup match as a Champions League match. The only difference is that after the game, players and staff will return to their base instead of spending overnight rest and recovering in other cities.
Before Wednesday's first game, according to Manchester City insiders, Guardiola was "very happy and relaxed". He smiled and shook hands with reporters during an open training, and even said that he liked the weather here, which was sunny most of the time and occasionally rained.
