Manchester City are set to play their second game of the pre-season against Bayern Munich tomorrow. After defeating Club America in a narrow 2-1 victory, the Cityzens will turn up the heat as they will face a higher level of competition against the German team.
Head coach, Pep Guardiola was interviewed in a press conference ahead of the match. Here’s what he had to say:
“Erling [Haaland] and Julian [Alvarez] will have a positive effect on our game. We scored a lot last season; we won the #PL and got the semi-finals of the #UCL. We were one of the top scorers in Europe. So far I’m so excited and so happy [with the squad]…”
Pep Guardiola on the summer transfer window:
“Sometimes the market was strange for us. Normally we buy and didn’t sell much. This summer for different reasons, we sell. Sometimes you want to but can’t. This summer it happened so quick. New players come and we continue with them…”
The Spanish manager clearly stated that character is important whenever the club wants to buy a player. He would prefer to work with “guys who are nice”.
“One of the things I am trying to discover before we buy a player is if he is a nice guy. I don’t like to work much with guys who are not nice. When you have a locker room and the chemistry is good, that is worth more than hours of tactics…”
“This summer we’ve bought exceptional people. The rest we know each other. We are sad; Raheem [Sterling], Gabriel [Jesus] and Oleks [Zinchenko] were incredibly beloved. Since I arrived, the chemistry has been incredible. It makes things good for me.”
Pep Guardiola on Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, and John Stones:
“They trained really well. I have an update every day with Brian [Barry-Murphy]. They’re like this. Tomorrow they come back to Manchester. On Tuesday they start training with us for Community Shield.”
Erling Haaland will make his #ManCity debut vs Bayern Munich, “If he doesn’t fall out of bed and break his ankle,” according to Pep Guardiola.
“There are a few teams – it’s always I would say Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid – that when they call, the players go directly, it’s not a problem. The other clubs have to pay a little bit more money, otherwise they don’t come
Guardiola was particularly not entirely impressed by the National Football League in America. When asked how big of an NFL fan he is, he said: “Not much. Tom Brady… but, not much.”
“The stadiums [in the NFL] are so beautiful. Big stadiums, big things, but the grass; they don’t care about the players. Hopefully this stadium [Lambeau Field] will be better than three days ago, that [NRG Stadium] was not good…”
“But the stadiums [in the NFL] are really well. The locker rooms are a little bit small… Oh my god.”
Although Bayern Munich are really strong opponents, Man City will certainly not throw all their eggs in one basket to ensure that they win the tie between them. The English champions are just one week away from their clash with Liverpool in a match that has a clearer importance than the friendlies.