FROM BALL BOY TO WONDER BOY
Phil Foden was on the touchline when City won the 2012 title, now he wants a spot in the team
PHIL FODEN had a front-row seat when the balance of power shifted in Manchester.
He was crouched on a stool as Vincent Kompany rose to head past David de Gea before going off on that now legendary celebration packed with frenzied emotion.
It was a Monday night in April six years ago and Manchester City’s derby victory helped seal a first league title since 1968. Foden, a ball boy that season, jumped up in delirium.
‘I remember I was sitting at the opposite end to where Vinny scored — behind the other goal,’ Foden says in his first newspaper interview. ‘It was such an important game and Vinny got the header.
‘It was just such a mad atmosphere. I’ve had a few instances like that, where I’ve fallen over the hoardings when I’ve tried to jump over them!’
Foden, only just 18, is shy. He is deliberate in what he says and wants to make the right impression. Born in Stockport, there is an authenticity to his character and he still plays football in the street with mates. ‘Any free time I get, I go and play with people in my old area,’ he says.
His attitude around the City Football Academy is described as exemplary and Pep Guardiola has made sure he has stayed with the first team for more than 12 months now.
City have high hopes for the midfielder, a supporter who used to travel on the tram to watch them. ‘I can remember us getting beaten a lot and being near the bottom,’ Foden says. ‘But now it’s all changed.’
Changed and then some. Foden is too young to recall City spiralling down the divisions and is indoctrinated in new City, where winning and winning with style are everything.
He is being exposed to some of the best coaching in the business and that Guardiola isn’t sending him on loan suggests City believe Foden can improve significantly in training.
Talks over a new contract are yet to start but should be a formality because Foden has made it known he cannot see himself playing anywhere else. Some key figures are helping to shape his career. David Silva is proving to be a mentor. Guardiola’s assistant, Mikel Arteta, is putting in the extra work with Foden after training. ‘I want to try to follow the senior players, learn off them and get as many minutes as I can,’ Foden says. ‘It’s about learning at the moment because I’m so young. ‘I do some individual work with him (Arteta). His touch is still quality, he joins in the training and he’s still one of the best.
‘David was my idol. It’s great to have players like him giving you advice. If I do something wrong they’ll correct me, just helping me out. Little words here and there.’
Word quickly got around about Foden at the academy. Parents would flock to his team’s pitch to catch a glimpse of him. A wider range of fans became aware of him when he was voted player of the tournament as England Under 17s won the World Cup last year.
An invitation to link up with Paul Simpson’s England Under 19s was turned down this summer and Foden went instead on City’s tour of America, playing against Dortmund and Liverpool.
‘It was more because Pep wanted to keep me here and I wanted to stay here as well,’ he says. ‘I feel I will develop more playing against older people and better players.
‘I was at the World Cup in Russia for a week. I’m going to push for (Qatar) and hopefully be there.’
Whether he does or not could hinge on Guardiola as much as Foden himself. ‘The boss keeps me on my toes quite a bit,’ he adds.
That line felt telling.
‘David Silva was my idol. It’s great he’s now giving me advice’