Pep plays down expectation
But his life has not been one to follow the norm since he was a youngster in Agen — and tough decisions have instead shaped a footballing career that now looks set to reach greater heights.
Laporte will step out at Wembley today in the Carabao Cup Final against Arsenal as Manchester City’s record signing following a £58 million ($81 million) move from Athletic Bilbao.
The 23-year-old had been with the Basque club since 2010, rejected City two years ago, and declared his intent to play for France’s national team despite being coveted by Spain.
And the classy, yet strong centerback recalled how the journey began as he said: “I never played rugby, but my father played in the French Second Division.
“He didn’t want me to play rugby because it was very, very hard on the body. And so at school, I picked up my love for football and the rest is history.
“I’ve spent my whole life playing football with my friends and family. Since I was a kid, I’ve just been used to having a ball at my feet. I like to think of myself as a modern defender rather than an old-school one.
“I’m trying to evolve with how football is going, but the truth is I like the style of playing the ball out from the back and hitting long passes.”
It was those qualities that saw City pursue Laporte again in January. A broken ankle for France Under-21s meant he decided to stay at Bilbao in 2016 and he said: “I was injured and I didn’t think it was the right moment for me to come here.
“The injury complicated things a bit, but I knew that if I kept working hard, the chance would come as City knew the potential I had.”
Manager Pep Guardiola’s presence was key this time, while he added: “Then I looked at the team and there are so many young players a similar age to myself. That was a major factor in my thinking.”
Having learned his trade under former Argentina and Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa at Bilbao, Laporte is hoping his game develops further with Guardiola.
“The two of them just know so much about the game,” he said. “They’re different personalities and managers but in terms of learning and training, I couldn’t ask for two better. The learning process is amazing.
“Bielsa brought laptops onto the training pitch and showed us videos of where to be on the pitch in terms of position.
“They were strange little things, but that’s why we learned a lot under him. My current manager doesn’t bring laptops out on to the training pitch. It’s a different method, but it’s just as valid.
“I have already learned a lot from Pep in the short time I’ve been here.”
Laporte is lauded in Agen for his sporting achievements, but also for helping to save his boyhood club from administration as FIFA player development rules meant they received a 1 percent (£580,000) fee as a result of his transfer.
“I was born there, I grew up there, I did everything there so obviously I’m really happy to have been able to help my old club, especially with them having financial difficulties,” he said.
MANCHESTER: Growing up in a rugby-loving French town, it would have been expected for Aymeric Laporte to follow in his father’s footsteps and develop a similar sporting passion.
LONDON: Pep Guardiola is anxious to play down suggestions that winning his first piece of silverware for Manchester City in today’s League Cup final against Arsenal would herald a period of dominance.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach takes his side to Wembley with the Premier League title virtually in the bag and a place in the Champions League quarterfinals looking certain.
But despite City’s dominance this season, Guardiola will be eager to get his hands on a trophy, even if it would have been fourth on the list of his priorities when the campaign began.
City are clear favorites to beat Arsenal but Arsene Wenger’s men have made a habit of cup success in recent years, winning the FA Cup in three of the past four seasons.
“Not even in Barcelona when we won the first title in the cup did I expect to win 14 titles in four years,” said Guardiola.
“I’m more pragmatic. I think in football it’s a big mistake to think what might happen in the next three years. It’s a big mistake for our heads, our targets, it makes no sense.
“When people asked in the beginning, about winning four titles (this season), I said of course we’ll try, but the big teams have not been able to do that
“I received calls from the local council congratulating me on my move to City and thanking me for what it had done for the club.
“There has been talk about naming a plot of land after me, but I don’t know exactly what.”
— the big Liverpools, the big Uniteds, the big Arsenals, the big Chelseas.”
Defeat for City could lead to a certain feeling of anticlimax at the Etihad as it would follow hot on the heels of their FA Cup exit at the hands of lowly Wigan Athletic — ending their quest for a historic quadruple.
Striker Gabriel Jesus could make a shock return at Wembley after being out with a knee injury since the end of December, although there are doubts over Raheem Sterling’s fitness.
More accolades will surely follow should he develop into the great player that many predict.
A first trophy with Premier League leaders City — and for Guardiola since his arrival in 2016 — is his immediate target, though, as he added: “Winning a
trophy would definitely help the development of the team.
“It would be great to get a trophy under our belts and then focus again on the league and try to maintain the distance between us and second place and win that at some stage.”