Man City shared a video recording of the club's recent training session, and coach Pep Guardiola seemed to be the least talkative person on the training ground.
“Savio, face the goal!”, The Spanish strategist shouted to the winger Savio when his team was conceded in a small exercise match.
This statement can mean, or may not mean anything special for Savio. However, when placed in a nearly 14 -minute highlight video produced by Man City's internal communication team, it drew a clear picture of Guardiola – not because he said anything, but it was almost the only word of the 54 -year -old coach in the whole video.
The video is filled with the exciting players on the training ground, notably James Trafford practiced with the goalkeeper group in the first day since returning from Burnley for £ 27 million. Obviously, there is no lack of energy from the players in the first week of the Green Man's return.
But for Guardiola, he was not the center. The captain of Man City was only shouted a few times, the rest of the energy and the direction on the pitch came from two new assistants, Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure.
Both are new faces in Guardiola's coaching staff, besides James French – a fixed expert brought back from Liverpool. The appointment of Kolo Toure was confirmed after he impressed at the FIFA Club World Cup. Meanwhile, the three old names Carlos Vicens, Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez have all left.
The impact of this personnel change is still waiting for the response time, but the initial signs are positive and energetic. It is reported that the influence of previous season assistants is not enough, both with Guardiola and the players.
Whether in the monitored journalism sessions or videos published by the club, Lijnders and Toure show their personality and voice from the beginning. And that new explosion is definitely not ignored by the players.
So this is good or not good? Many people think that a talented coach like Pep that speaks less, less communicating will become a concern. However, Guardiola certainly has a completely different perspective. After the disaster last season, Pep wanted to own his personal assistants, who like to make his own views and contribute a certain voice.
That is why he decided to break up with the old staff to bring back to Lijnders and Toure – those who not only listen but also know the direction like a separate coach. Man City needs a new method of working with more “heads” to contribute, and that has initially been shown.
Man City fans will have a rare opportunity to witness it directly on August 5, when both the men's teams and the women's teams practice at City Football Academy in the witness of the audience. This is a strange highlight in the summer of Man City, when they attended the FIFA Club World Cup but was eliminated early, causing the club to “open” the training ground for fans to witness the team prepare for the new season at Manchester.
Later, Guardiola and his students will leave for Palermo on Friday, preparing for a friendly match with another club in the City Football Group system in Sicily – also the last friendly match before they encountered Wolves on August 17 in the opening round of the Premier League.
Pep will definitely have many things to say to the students in the coming days, but his voice is no longer the only one after the changes this summer.
