Manchester City were supposedly set to operate on their entire defensive line after Pep Guardiola took over. But we witnessed an anti-climax with only Eliaquim Mangala leaving the club with John Stones coming in. There were concerns with all 4 of City’s fullbacks being over 30-years old and it is universally known the amount of workload and impact his fullbacks are expected to have. They are fullbacks, they are wingers, they are central defensive midfielders. And sometimes they are all these in the span of 90 minutes.
Hence, along with technical brilliance, the pre-requisite factors are pace, stamina and dedication. On the evidence of the displays of last season, it was apparent that City’s rearguard was falling short on multiple counts. Other than Sagna and to a degree Clichy, no one else showed enough to stay back.
But Pep got his tenure started with a surprise decision to retain all four of them and has juggled around the likes of Kolarov and Zabaleta and deployed them in new and varied roles. Kolarov was surprisingly selected as a left-sided centre-back since the beginning and impressed in the role. Pep also asked his fullbacks to come inside and facilitate his passing game in the middle of the park. While it all seemed rosy when they won 10 out of 10 at the start, understandably it did not last.
Kolarov started to flounder and teams out-pressed City frequently and Pep had to tweak once more. After a difficult period recently, he has reverted to a slightly more conventional approach at the back. And the change back to basics seems to have worked as they have got back to winning ways with back to back wins against Watford and Arsenal.
But after the damaging knee injury to Gundogan last week which has effectively ruled him out of the season, Pep has to deal with the latest setback which has come in the form of Pablo Zabaleta’s ligament injury. It is a recurrence of last season’s condition which saw him miss a large chunk of the season. And while the Argentine will look to get back as soon as possible, City seem to have decided to move for cover at right back.
According to latest reports, Manchester City’s Txiki Begiristain has moved significantly in the market and is said to be ahead of Barcelona in the pecking order to sign the Shakhtar Donetsk right-back Darijo Srna. The report also states that Pep Guardiola is a big fan of the Croatian and had previously tried to sign him at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
He is expected to come for a small fee and given his age (34) is certainly a short-term option. His experience will be invaluable and the opportunity to finish his career with a flourish and experience the best league in the world will certainly attract the veteran.
