Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A CITYZEN OF THE WORLD
Guardiola defends Sterling’s right to get involved in issues beyond football and says: He’s trying to create a better society
PEP GUARDIOLA has encouraged Raheem Sterling to continue to use his profile to support good causes, insisting it can help him on the pitch.
Sterling sparked a debate when, after receiving abuse from the crowd at Stamford Bridge, he spoke out about the negative portrayal of young black players in the media.
And this week the Manchester City winger (right) pledged his support to a campaign to block plans to sell off a leisure centre where he played as a child.
City boss Guardiola suggested both were evidence of increased maturity and heightened social awareness.
“People say ‘No, no, people in sport cannot do anything, cannot speak about politicians, cannot seek justice. But of course we can. And if he believes in doing that, that’s a good thing.
“Many many people do these things and other people don’t notice, but they do it. I am pretty sure they do it because it makes them feel better.
“When Raheem does this kind of gesture, it’s because it’s going to help people.
“Life has been so generous to him so far, but he can contribute to a better society for other people.
To say thank you for the nice things he has.”
Guardiola’s side face Crystal
Palace at the
Etihad today as they look to keep the pressure on
Liverpool at the top of the
Premier League table.
But the City boss brushed off suggestions from Reds manager Jurgen Klopp that his side had “no signs of weakness,” dismissing the German’s comments as mind games ahead of their crunch meeting on January 3. “Every team has strong points and weak points and of course we have weaknesses,” Guardiola said. “These kind of comments have to be put in perspective.” On the face of it, the Carabao Cup success over Leicester City earlier this week has put extra strain on Guardiola’s squad. Yet instead he chose to see the positives of remaining active on four fronts, claiming it allows fringe players a taste of the action.
“It’s another competition, I know that, but in that competition everybody is involved. I think over the last month more or less everybody has played a lot of minutes. For me it’s the only way to sustain the locker room and to keep people fresh, mentally and physically.”
The increased number of fixtures in December has enabled Guardiola to experiment, including play John Stones as defensive midfielder.
And with a further 10 matches between now and January 29, City’s squad will be stretched.
“It’s important for me and my staff to see the players in different positions and also to rotate,” the former Barcelona manager said. “We needed to do that. If we don’t, then in February we will die. When everybody is involved it’s much better.
“Until the end of January, it’s incredible the amount of games we have. In February and March we can breathe a little bit.
“We try to get to February in all the competitions. After that, we see what happens in the important games, the knockout games. Are we in or are we out? We are going to see.”
City travel to Leicester on Boxing Day and then visit Southampton next Sunday. Then it’s three home games in succession, starting with that title crunch against Liverpool.