MAN CITY v SWANSEA THE CALL TO JESUS
City star: I signed because Pep bothered to phone me CLEMENT IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN
ONE phone call from Pep Guardiola gave Manchester City the edge in signing Brazilian wonder- kid Gabriel Jesus.
Already on the scoresheet for City after his recent £ 28million move from Palmeiras, the teenager revealed Guardiola was the only pursuing manager who contacted him personally when Europe’s top clubs were circling last summer.
“He was a huge influence for me. He was the only manager who called me,” said Jesus.
“There were some clubs interested in me, but Guardiola was the only one who called me.
Important
“He showed his interest in having me here, that I was going to come here to help, that he was counting on me. That was when I decided to join Manchester City.
“When I took the decision to join City, Pep Guardiola’s call was very important. He called me, spoke to me about the project and said I was going to be an important part of it.
“I felt very happy. The prestige of Manchester City’s shirt is also very important. I have always watched and followed the Premier League, so those factors made me take the decision to come here.”
Guardiola immerses himself in football with an intense passion for the game – and Jesus has revealed he is just the same.
The 19-year-old said: “He’s crazy about football, like me, it’s 24 hours a day. We have that thing in common.
“When I’m not training or playing, I’m watching football or watching something football-related on my phone, or about our next rival. I play football video games too.
“The manager is a good guy. For the short time I’ve been here I’ve realised he’s a really good guy. He deserves everything he has won in his career.”
After scoring at West Ham, Jesus has made an immediate impact – but he says that’s not by accident.
“I have to say it’s going much better than I expected,” he said.
“When I spoke to some players that had already played in the Premier League, they said it was going to be very difficult.
“But I put in my head that by working hard, you can achieve your goals. That’s what I did.”
And the youngster hopes his goals can make the difference for City – especially if the title race goes to goal difference like in 2012.
“I’ve just found out the table can be decided by goal difference. It’s different than in Brazil where it would be head to head.
“It’s always good scoring goals.” PAUL CLEMENT reckons he has at least one advantage over Pep Guardiola – thanks to years spent with chalk in his hand rather than a ball at his feet. Guardiola may have the highest playing pedigree with Barcelona, but Clement (left) – who takes Swansea to Manchester City – insists his background as a classroom teacher means coaching held no fears. The former assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, never rose above amateur level as a player.
But he said: “The advantage of having not played at the high level and going into coaching is that, while those people were busy playing the game, that was a period when I was learning.
“I never played at any great level. Due to injuries and my other profession as a teacher, I needed to stop.”
The 45-year-old has a scholarly approach, like a younger English version of Arsene Wenger. It was the Arsenal boss who gave Clement a 4-0 thrashing in his first match in charge of the Swans.
But stunning back-to-back victories over Liverpool and Southampton have transformed their chances of survival.
Clement admitted: “Carlo was asked about the difference between having played at the top level and having not. He didn’t think it made any difference. It doesn’t help you select a team or decide tactics, motivate a player or deal with conflict. Those are totally new skills.”