Guardiola: City not on par with Europe’s elite
Last-16 spots still up for grabs • European leagues tired of breakaway threats from big clubs
Manchester City must accept that it may not be able to compete with the top teams in Europe at the moment, manager Pep Guardiola said this week.
City’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday was its fourth of the campaign and left the defending English champion third – 14 points behind leader Liverpool.
Guardiola’s side was ripped apart by United on the counter-attack and it looked a shadow of the side that won the domestic treble last season.
“That is the level we face, against Liverpool, United, Barcelona, Madrid, Juventus – they are the teams we have to face and the reality is maybe we are not able now to compete with them,” said Guardiola.
“We have to improve and accept it and move forward. Maybe we need to live that as a club to improve, to accept the reality now and improve.”
City’s backline has been ravaged by injury, with Guardiola fielding defensive midfielder Fernando in central defense in recent games.
“The reality is we are 14 points behind for the mistakes we have done, for the quality of our opponents and especially, as well, the things we cannot control,” he said.
“We are at the beginning of December and we have other competitions to play in and other games to fight and improve on.”
City is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Dynamo Zagreb in the Champions League, where it has already sealed progress to the knockout round as the Group C winner.
Meanwhile, the umbrella organization representing Europe’s domestic leagues is tired of breakaway threats, it said on Tuesday in response to a proposal to create a two-division world soccer league.
The Financial Times and New York Times have reported that discussions led by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez have taken place over the possibility of setting up the league featuring the world’s richest clubs split into two divisions.
The FT has reported that CVC Capital Partners and Gianni Infantino, president of soccer’s world governing body FIFA, are among those approached by Perez about a new league.
FIFA has said that it always talks to stakeholders about finding the best solutions for the game and that it recently met with Real Madrid and other clubs to discuss the revamped Club World Cup. Real Madrid and CVC have not commented on the reports.
“We are getting very tired of all the threats coming from a few rich clubs in football,” said European Leagues chairman Lars-Christer Olsson in a statement which did not mention Real Madrid by name.
“Threats that they are going to break away from the football ecosystem as we know it and create their own private environment.”
Olsson pointed out that 2019 had been
“a year full of discussions around the future of professional club competitions.”
Earlier this year, UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) put forward a plan to turn the Champions League into a semiclosed competition from 2024 onwards. It was eventually dropped amid strong opposition.
In 2016, there were multiple media reports that some big clubs had been discussing a breakaway Super League. Shortly afterwards, the format of the Champions League was changed to give more places to clubs from the biggest five leagues.
Olsson said that the current pyramid system, which gives the smallest of teams a chance to climb their way up through the divisions, should remain intact.
“The dream is alive, for clubs and players, girls and boys, that one day they may reach a professional level and they can even make it all the way to the top,” he said.
“Professional club football is not a private business for a few where only the size of the pockets determines who is welcome.”
“The solution is not a closed league at the top of the pyramid in Europe and certainly not a closed shop on top of the world where only a few of the richest clubs are invited.”
WADA ban leaves FIFA with puzzle over Russia and 2022 World Cup
Russia’s national team will not be able to play at the 2022 World Cup as an official Russian side following doping sanctions that bar the country from major sporting events for four years, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said this week.
However, the ruling leaves open the possibility that Russia could play at the tournament, due to be held in Qatar, on a “neutral basis” – something that has left world soccer’s governing body FIFA facing an unprecedented situation.
Russia can take part in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup as normal, but it remains unclear how exactly the national team would feature in Qatar if they qualified for the 32-team finals.
“If they qualify (for the World Cup), a team representing Russia cannot participate. But if there is a mechanism put in place, then they can apply to participate on a neutral basis, not as representatives of Russia,” said Jonathan Taylor, chair of WADA’s compliance review committee, told a news conference.
FIFA’s statutes make clear the World Cup is a tournament for its national member associations and teams play on that basis.
There is no known precedent for a team competing at the World Cup which does not represent a national FIFA member association or feature the name of their country.
The sanctions against Russia, which staged the 2018 soccer World Cup, also bar it from hosting major sporting events or applying to host new events for a four-year period.
But the ruling does not affect St Petersburg, which is hosting some of the pan-continental Euro 2020 games and the 2021 Champions League final.
European soccer governing body UEFA said it had no comment.